Christopher Harrison d.1612

Christopher HARRISON d.1612

Biographical Note

Of Kendal, Westmorland, apparently involved in trade as a clothier; possibly the father of Edmund Harrison (1591-1667), who was King’s Embroiderer to James I and Charles I. His will, with its attached inventory, constitutes the main documentary source on Harrison, revealing him as ‘a comfortable landowner with livestock and ample property’ (PLRE).

Books

Harrison’s probate inventory gives brief details of ca.40 volumes, of which all the identifiable titles, apart from ‘a booke of husbandrie’, are Biblical or religious/devotional, all in English. They include works by popular Calvinist theological authors of the time like Broughton, Dod, Perkins and Henry Smith. Several titles identified only as ‘bookes’ may perhaps have been on historical, household/trade-related or other topics.

Characteristic Markings

None of Harrison's books have been identified.

Sources

• Black, J. L. & Fehrenbach, R., Christopher Harrison, merchant, Private Libraries in Renaissance England 9 (2017), 149-155.