By Ruby Kitchen

Published 19th Jan 2023, 06:00 BST

David Stather, a lawyer from York, died this year after a lifetime shaping a remarkable store of books. There are works on witchcraft, and revolution, and rebellion and plots, with the oldest being a charter that dates back to 1285.

His cherished collection is now to go under the hammer with Tennants Auctioneers on January 25, and there are some pieces with a guide price of thousands.

This is a chronicle of the past as it happened, said book specialist Paul Hughes. And Mr Stather, with an overriding interest in history and law, amassed a vast archive.

Harriet Hunter Smart, from Tennants Auctioneers, looking at Lot 139 - More (Sir Thomas, Saint) ‘The Works of Sir Thomas More, Knyght, sometyne Lorde Chauncellour of England, written by him in the English Tongue’ - A collection of works by Sir Thomas More, Printed in 1557 - Once owned by William Rooper or Roper (1496-1578), Thomas More’s son-in-law, who had lived in More’s household for 16 years. Estimate: £8,000-12,000 plus buyer’s premium. Image: James Hardisty

"A lot of the material is contemporary to the events that were happening in the history of England," said Mr Hughes. "There are books about, and by, King Charles, and the Popish Plot. There are books where people were challenging the right of the king to rule, that kicked off the English Civil War."

Mr Stather, born 1940, was sent to Pocklington School as a young boy after his father - a D-Day veteran - was killed in a railway accident. His first foray into books was with fellow pupil Geoffrey Cox, writing a history of Market Weighton which he published at 17.

It was the discovery of an antiquarian bookshop in Micklegate called Spelman's that caught his interest, said friend Keith Walls. As a lawyer, he served in private practice and on the Legal Aid Board, but on retiring he devoted his time to local history and antiquarian books.

Of his friend, Mr Walls said: "He took great pleasure in ensuring the continued survival of numerous books for a further two or three centuries. He was dogged in his pursuit of the Wynkyn de Worde incunable now on offer in this sale, and his persistence was rewarded."

Harriet Hunter Smart, from Tennants Auctioneers, looking at Lot 122 - Howel (Jam), ‘Londinopolis; An Historicall Discourse or Perlustration of the City of London’ - Printed in 1657. Estimate: £200-300. Image: James Hardisty

With a profound interest and admiration for the law, its literature had shaped Mr Stather's thoughts, said Mr Walls, and he would rescue books to have them bound in a befitting style: "No one handled books with greater care than David, a bibliophile to the end of his days."

Among the highlights in the collection is a 16th century copy of The Workes of Sir Thomas More, owned by his son-in-law William Roper and passed down through generations.

With an estimate of £8,000 to £12,000, it is among the more sought-after lots. Then there is The Great Bible, from Edwarde Whitchurche ‘at the Signe of the Sunn’ in Fleetstreet in 1549, and Reginald Scot’s The Discovery of Witchcraft from 1665, with estimates up to £5,000.

Mr Hughes said: "A lot of these books are from the early era of printing," he added. "There is a book from 1486 - the first printed book is from 1450, so it is very early on.

"There are original laws, created by Henry VIII, that is how far back it goes. And then once you start becoming interested, you find everything else is linked."

Rare books sharing history as it happened from witchcraft to politics to be auctioned in Yorkshire