Page 5 - Fenning_Scoland

1591/2 Merchant Post Letter to London with 'porte 2s' rate sent, it is believed, from Kincardine, Scotland

The 'porte 2s' rate on this 1591/92 letter caused Mr Robson Lowe and Christie's Auctions to attribute
this letter to Scotland because the only other Corsini letter bearing a two shillings rate is Scottish,
being sent from Edinburgh to London in 1593. Within Scotland, it is attributed to Kincardine.

v

2nd March 1591/2. Letter to London, written in Italian, carried by Merchant Post
and rated 'porte 2s'. It is attributed to originating from Kincardine, Scotland.
The letter concludes with the words 'ii de ma[rco] de 91 a Cincama clo ne deus
servlttore Miguel Rois' which translates as '2 of March of '91 at Clncarna this from
him, God's servant, Miguel Rois'.
_,, ... ~, .. -
I . t-.'/ -· -
L 0
21 '2 () 1" '°'..>/? ~?k ~ 'r £<' ,/ ~-;V t;:
7
c
?J 2- .. '?? ~ t', 1' /l ~ ·n D J / - c:; o /{
0
iJ 0 I 0 '?n ~ _,_
-
-L' /. r• t • 'rii:: 4-: } . 1(?
-

1
'Cincama' is a phonetic spelling of 'Klncarne', one of the accepted 16 h Century
spellings for 'Kincardine' (the various accepted spellings are recorded in the
Register of the Great Seal of Scotland 1580 -1593). Therefore it is quite plausible
that this letter is from Kincardine but it is yet to be proven conclusively.
The addressee, Bartholomew Corsini, was an Italian merchant in London who
was trading as Bartholomew Corsini and Company. The Corsini mansion was on
the corner of Lombard Street and Gratious Street.
The writer, Miguel Rois, was a merchant as evidenced by the contents of the
letter but nothing more has been discovered about him.

References: The Philatelist and PJGB'. 1984 & 1985
'Register of the Great Seal of Scotland' (vol. 5) 1580 - 1593
The Corsini Letters ~ Beale, Almond & Scott Archer
Provenance: Lot 213A, Corsini Correspondence, Christie 's R.L Auctions, 11 Oct. 1988