US bidder snaps up Mary Queen of Scots letter on eBay
A MUSEUM-quality letter written by Mary Queen of Scots has been lost to the United States after being sold to a collector in an internet auction.
The previously unknown manuscript, penned in "Edinburg" on 15 December, 1557, fetched $3,250 (1,639) on eBay. The Belgium-based seller had set the starting price at $1,000 (504).
The letter was sent by the young queen to Viglius de Zuichen, president of the Privy Council, when she was aged 15. Unusually for Mary, who generally wrote in French, the copperplate text is entirely in Latin.
The two-page manuscript bears the queen's personal seal and is signed in her italic hand "Tue virtutis Amica" - your virtuous friend - Mary R.
The document features an unusual watermark depicting a hand reaching for a star.
The anonymous vendor, who lives in the Belgian town of Hoeilaart, described the letter as an "extremely rare document - a museum piece".
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