AUTOGRAPHS.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Autograph collection. A fine assemblage of around 250 signatures of the luminaries of the Victorian and Edwardian age, including a signed portrait of Ernest Shackleton, the signatures of Prime Ministers Arthur Balfour and H. H. Asquith, and the writers George Trevelyan, John Morley, and George Augustus Sala.Most of the signatures are clipped and mounted, alongside their letterhead. The rest are tipped-in letters, many of which are made out to Samuel Holliday (1846-1912), who worked as a superintendent for the North Eastern Railway for 48 years and consequently encountered many notable travellers - some are letters of thanks for his service. His obituary noted "he was one of the best known figures in railway circles at York and Newcastle, and was held in the highest esteem by all who knew him, either in his official or private capacity" (North Mail, Newcastle Daily Chronicle, 20 August 1912).Other letters are addressed to different people and acquired elsewhere. Where dated, the letters range from 1883 to 1916. Also included are loose signed photographic portraits of William Booth, Liza Lehmann, and Harry Lauder, and a signed sketch of Harry Furniss.Provenance: Anon. Sale: Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co., London, May 9, 1983, Lot 356; sold to Steve Forbes chairman of Forbes Magazine, and presidential candidate in the 1996 and 2000 US elections; his book label is loosely inserted.

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