A privately hand-delivered cover from Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby (1826–1893) to Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881), 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The cover is prominently marked “Private” and addressed in manuscript to: “The Earl of Beaconsfield” with the sender’s autograph signature, “Derby, ” at the lower left. According to the documentation accompanying the item, the cover was privately carried rather than transmitted through the postal system. It must date from after 1876, when Queen Victoria created Disraeli Earl of Beaconsfield. At this time the 15th Earl of Derby was serving as Foreign Secretary in Disraeli’s government, an office he held from 1874 until 1878. A reasonable dating for the cover is therefore c.1876–1878. Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby, was a prominent Victorian statesman and the son of Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, the three-time British Prime Minister. As Foreign Secretary under Disraeli, he occupied one of the most senior positions in the British government during a particularly important period in British foreign affairs. The reverse bears the distinctive Derby/Stanley family seal in black, incorporating a crowned “D” and the family motto “Sans Changer.” The envelope itself is distinguished by a bold black mourning-style border. An interesting autograph and political-history item documenting private correspondence between the British Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli during Disraeli’s second premiership.
Auction 01: Auction 01 – Historical Letters, Documents & Autographs — Melis Antiques & Art