G.D., A briefe discoverie of Doctor Allens seditious drifts, London, 1588, Sloane-British Museum copy

G. D.

A briefe discoverie of Doctor Allens seditious drifts, contrived in a pamphlet written by him, concerning the yeelding up of the towne of Deventer, (in Overrissel) unto the king of Spain, by Sir William Stanley. London: John Wolfe for Francis Coldock, 1588

4to (185 x 128mm.), large woodcut of St George and the dragon on A1v, woodcut initials, nineteenth-century calf gilt, marks in gutter from stab sewing for an earlier binding, leaf with woodcut slightly worn and laid down, occasional light staining, a few small holes in gutter from old stitching

Sir William Stanley served under the Earl of Leicester in the Netherlands during the Wars of Religion. His regiment took the town of Deventer in October 1586 from the Spanish and Stanley was put in charge as governor, then in January 1587 he defected and handed the town back to the Spanish. He became acquainted with William Allen who published a defence of his actions at Deventer, which is the text being repudiated in the present work.

PROVENANCE

[Sir Hans Sloane], and plausibly with his accession number and shelf mark at the foot of the title-page, "c. 2044" (books in c were octavo or quarto volumes); British Museum, stamps on title page including early black octagonal stamp (indicating a book from Sloane's library on pre-1752 imprints) and duplicate sale stamp from 1787

LITERATURE

STC 6166 but with variant imprint (omitting the address of the printer) and woodcut of St George