Melanchthon, Philipp

thanking Hales for his kindness and friendship towards him, remarking that he is kept from his homeland, and lamenting the present state of the Church, "afflicted by tyrants and sophists"; he adds greetings from Caspar Peucer [who was not only Melanchthon's son-in-law but also the godson of John Hales, according to a letter of Melanchthon's of August 1555]

1 page, folio (320 x 205mm.), watermark of a shield [Briquet 836, Dresden & Leipzig 1553], deckle edges, integral autograph address panel, [Wittenberg], 15 May [1555?], light foxing



together with an engraved portrait of Melanchthon (after Heinrich Aldegrever, NH 185), printed by the London bookseller John Overton (active 1667-1703), 240 x 173mm., added to the letter by William Hamper (see provenance), slightly trimmed

The gift of John Caldecott, April 16th 1827, to William Hamper, note at foot of verso. Hamper (1776-1831) was an antiquary whose collection of manuscripts (most of which had accompanying portraits) were sold at auction by Evans on 21 July 1831; this was lot 454 and it was bought by Wilkes for £8. The 1831 catalogue described the addressee of the letter as Alexander Alesius, a Scottish reformer who lived in Frankfurt an der Oder and Leipzig and also a correspondent of Melanchthon.

George Peck, "John Hales and the Puritans during the Marian Exile", Church History 10 (1941), 159-177

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Melanchthon (1497-1560) was a prolific correspondent, maintaining contacts with reformers and scholars across Europe. Autograph letters by him do not appear on the market regularly, particularly letters unknown to scholarship; this letter has not been found in the online edition of Melanchthon's Briefwechsel, though it does record another letter from Melanchthon to Hales in Strassburg dated 18 August [1555] (no. 7554).

John Hales (1516?-1572) worked for Thomas Cromwell in the 1530s on the dissolution of the monasteries and under Edward VI he was a justice of the peace and a member of Parliament, at which time he sought to enable reform both social and religious. He went abroad in 1551 to go to the Imperial Court in Brussels and stayed on the Continent until 1559 (after the accession of Elizabeth), joining his brother Christopher who was studying in Strassburg; they both had excellent connections to the Strassburg reformers, including Martin Bucer, and Bullinger in Zurich. He worked on behalf of William Cecil, liaising between the English ambassadors and the reformers, and possibly for Cranmer as well. His whereabouts between July 1553 (Brussels) and September 1555 (Frankfurt) are not known, though Melanchthon's letters indicate that he must have been in Frankfurt in May 1555 and back in Strassburg by August; he was certainly a member of the English or Marian Exile community in Frankfurt in the later 1550s. Hales absorbed the ideas of Calvin during his years on the Continent and returned to England with strong puritan ideas.