lborough estates until the demise of the
Dowager Duchess in 1744; John, the youngest son, who, by a family
arrangement, then succeeded to the Spencer estates, was the father of
the first Earl Spencer.

Lord Sunderland was a most liberal patron of literature, and the
splendid library which he commenced in his early youth, and sedulously
augmented till the time of his death, bore witness for several
generations to his love of books. This noble collection was kept in his
town house, which stood between Sackville Street and Burlington House,
where it occupied five large rooms, and at the time of the Earl's death
in 1722 consisted of about twenty thousand printed volumes, together
with some choice manuscripts, and was valued at upwards of thirty
thousand pounds; the King of Denmark being anxious to purchase it of his
heirs for that sum. Charles, the fifth Earl, also took great interest in
the library, and added a considerable number of books to it, among which
was a copy on vellum of the Livy of 1470, printed at Venice by Vendelin
de Spira. Only one other perfect copy on vellum of this edition is known
to exist. In 1749 the library was removed to Blenheim, where it remained
until 1881. It was sold by Puttick and Simpson in five portions in 1881,
1882 and 1883, and the entire sale, which consisted of thirteen thousand
eight hundred and fifty-eight lots, realised fifty-six thousand five
hundred and eighty-one pounds, six shillings.

Lord Sunderland was always very liberal in his dealings with
booksellers, and the prices which he gave for his books frequently gave
umbrage to other collectors. Humphrey Wanley, Lord Oxford's librarian,
when giving in his Diary an account of a book-sale which took place in
1721, mentions that: 'Some books went for unaccountably high prices,
which were bought by Mr. Vaillant, the bookseller, who had an unlimited
commission from the Earl of Sunderland. The booksellers upon this sale
intend to raise the prices of philological books of the first editions,
and indeed of all old editions, accordingly. Thus Mr. Noel told me that
he has actually agreed to sell the Earl of Sunderland six ... printed
books, now coming up the river, for fifty pounds per book, although my
Lord gives no such prices.' And on the demise of the Earl, Wanley wrote:
'This day died the Earl of Sunderland, which I the rather note here,
because I believe by reason of his decease some benefit may accrue to
this Library, even in case h