A private 1860s cover from Sir Stafford Henry Northcote (1818–1887), a leading British Conservative statesman, to Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881). According to the earlier documentation accompanying the item, the cover was hand-delivered, rather than transmitted through the postal system. The front is manuscript-addressed: “The Right Honble. B. Disraeli M.P.” and bears at the lower left the clear full autograph signature of Stafford H. Northcote. Northcote was one of the prominent Conservative statesmen of Victorian Britain and an important political associate of Disraeli. During the 1860s he held two important government offices: President of the Board of Trade from 1866 to 1867, followed by Secretary of State for India from 1867 to 1868. Later in his career, Northcote became one of the senior members of Disraeli's second administration, serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1874 to 1880. Following Disraeli's elevation to the peerage as Earl of Beaconsfield, Northcote became one of the principal Conservative leaders in the House of Commons. The reverse bears a circular blind-embossed device, partially affected when the envelope was opened. From the surviving impression it cannot presently be identified with sufficient certainty, and no attribution to a particular government office is made. An interesting Victorian autograph and political-history item documenting private hand-delivered correspondence from Sir Stafford Northcote to Benjamin Disraeli, bearing Northcote's full autograph signature.
Auction 01: Auction 01 – Historical Letters, Documents & Autographs — Melis Antiques & Art