Littleton, Edward, Baron Littleton, of Munslow (1589 -1645)

Edward Littleton was the eldest son of Sir Edward Littleton of Henley, Shropshire. He was educated at Christ Church Oxford, before studying law at the Inner Temple. A successful lawyer, he was appointed Solicitor General in 1634, and in 1639 Lord Chief Justice of Common Pleas. In 1635 he was knighted, and in 1640 was raised to the peerage as Baron Littleton, of Munslow, Shropshire. The following year when the previous keeper, John Finch, fled into exile, Littleton was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. Littleton died at Oxford on 27 August 1645; he left no sons and his barony became extinct. His only daughter, Anne, married her cousin, Sir Thomas Littleton, 2nd Baronet. The stamp was formerly identified as the stamp of William Michell of Houghton, in Sussex fl.1630. George Smith, and F. B. Benger, A collection of armorial bookbindings. London, Ellis, 1927, p.36 identifies the owner as Roger Michell.