Sir William Lee, 1688-1754. An inventory of Sir William’s Bloomsbury residence (taken 24 years after his death in 1788), is a remarkable document recording every item in all 30 rooms from the bed chambers to the coachman’s room, the servant’s hall and the kitchen. Every table, clock, candlestick, painting, pillow, bed, pot, pan, knife and fork are recorded with an additional list of linen, china and glass. The inventory ends with a 43 page listing of books located in ‘the front room’ and other rooms within the house. The collection, of approximately 1450 books, covers a broad spectrum of works including philosophy (Locke, Hobbes, &c.), politics, classics, lexicography, law, and literature (Fielding, Swift, Johnson, &c.). There are an additional eight manuscript receipts relating to Sir William senior. One is a remarkably dense 6pp receipt from Phillmore & Co. for building work ‘done at his.
- Title: An inventory of the household furniture, linen and china, in Bloomsbury Square, the house of William Lee Esq., deceased; together with an archive of manuscript invoices, receipts and quotations for building work carried out on behalf of the Lee family, 1734-1799.
LWL MSS 18
Acquired April 2016