Letter signed by Mary Queen of Scots sells at auction

A letter signed by Mary, Queen of Scots and a unique archive of sketches by Roald Dahl have sold at auction.

The collection of rare manuscripts from Kilravock Castle, near Nairn in the Scottish Highlands, has sold for nearly £125,000 when it went under the hammer at Lyon & Turnbull.

It included a selection of letters and documents signed by Mary Queen of Scots, her father, James V, son, James VI and I, and mother, Mary of Guise.

The collection of manuscripts from Kilravock Castle is one of the most important collections of historical Scottish manuscripts ever offered for sale.

A letter from Mary, Queen of Scots, who reigned over Scotland from 1542-1567 to the Laird of Kilravock, appointing him Sheriff for Inverness and dated 26th September 1565, sold for £15,120.

It was signed by both the Queen (‘Marie R.’) and her then husband, Henry Stewart, Earl of Darnley (‘Henry R.’) 

Mary, Queen of Scots, letter. Credit: Lyon & Turnbull

Another of her letters, again signed jointly by the pair, in which they remove the charge of Inverness Castle from the Laird of Kilravock and give it to the Earl of Huntly, dated 9th October 1565, achieved £11,340.

Meanwhile a group of five letters from her mother, Mary of Guise (1515-1560), Queen of James V Scotland, Regent of Scotland for Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1560), sold for £6,930

‘We are absolutely delighted with the results of the archive from Kilravock Castle,’ Cathy Tait, from Lyon & Turnbull said.

‘There was a great deal of interest from a wide range of collectors, both private and institutional.

‘The documents sold today comprise a range of very old and important items, illuminating Scotland’s history, and we are pleased that they have found good homes.’

In the same sale, a unique collection including original drawings by Dahl, one of the most celebrated and best-loved children’s authors in the English language, sold for nearly £24,000.

This sketches were produced by Dahl in black ball point pen for his memoir, Boy (1984), in which he describes his experience of growing up.

In the book, he writes about his childhood exploits, including playing a prank with his friends on the local sweetshop owner, Mrs Pratchett, by putting a dead mouse in a gobstopper jar. 

To accompany this tale, Dahl drew a mouse lying on top of the sweets with its legs in the air.

Sketch by Roald Dahl for Boy. Credit: Helen Jones

The drawings were found in an envelope marked Dahl’s drawings & odds and sods, which belonged to Ian Craig, art director at the author’s publishing firm, Jonathan Cape, in London.

The sketches were sold as part of the production archive from the late Mr Craig’s estate. It included Mr Craig’s own designs, as well as the publisher’s original page lay-outs and correspondence.

‘This archive is unique in the Roald Dahl canon – it’s very rare to find material by his own hand,’ Dominic Somerville-Brown from Lyon & Turnbull said.

‘This is reflected in the price achieved which also demonstrates the enduring popularity of his children’s stories 35 years after his death.’

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