Tres Thomae…, by Thomas Stapleton, a leading Catholic theologian, is a set of three biographies of saints who shared his own first name. An exile from England, Stapleton was Professor of Theology at Douai at the time and his book was published there.
A 1588 edition offered at Sotheby’s (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) on June 7 as part of the William O’Brian library – a sale previously featured on these pages in ATG No 2297 – had an unsightly ink stamp on the title, but immediately beneath it was the ownership signature of the English playwright and poet Ben Jonson. He also added his motto, tanquam explorator, at the head of the page.
Jonson had converted to Catholicism while in prison in 1598 and remained a recusant for some 12 years. Notes on the pages in which Stapleton writes about Thomas More cannot be firmly attributed to Jonson, but he was certainly a writer of interest, as evidenced by Jonson’s annotated copy of More’s works now in the cathedral library at Canterbury.