Cecil, William, 1st Baron Burghley (1520-1598). Autograph document signed ("W. Burghley") as Lord High Treasurer to unknown recipient, possibly relating to a debt. [London], July 1574.

One page, 10 1/4 x 7 in. (260 x 178 mm), countersigned by Sir Walter Mildmay ("Wa. Mildmay"), Chancellor of the Exchequer under Queen Elizabeth I, folds. Framed and matted with engraved portrait, overall, 14 3/4 x 16 3/4 in. Unexamined out of frame.

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, was an English statesman and chief advisor to Queen Elizabeth I through most of her reign, serving twice as her Secretary of State before his appointment as Lord High Treasurer in 1572. In his new position, Cecil found himself in an excellent position to influence policy through Queen Elizabeth, who considered him among her most trusted advisors.

Cecil was a dedicated proponent of the idea that the British Isles should be united as a single Protestant nation, and was a key player in the dethroning and eventual execution of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1587, having personally summoned ten members of the Privy Council of England to decide her fate without informing Elizabeth, who had expressed fear of the precedent that might be set by executing a monarch and so sought plausible deniability in her eventual death by never directly ordering the sentence be carried out. Despite Cecil's seeming disobedience, he was never punished for his role in Mary's execution and would peacefully die at his London residence, Cecil House, on 4 August 1598.

This lot is located in Chicago.