PRIME MINISTER EDWARD G. (EARL OF DERBY XIV) STANLEY (GREAT BRITAIN) - AUTOGRAPH ENVELOPE SIGNED - HFSID 161132

EDWARD G. STANLEY, EARL OF DERBY
Mourning envelope to the Carlton Club, Conservative stronghold, signed "Derby" by Stanley
Autograph envelope signed: "The Secretary/Carlton Club/Derby", 5x3¼, with thin black border on front. The Carlton Club was founded in London in 1832 by a small number of Tory members of Parliament after the passage of the Reform Act that year. It later became a stronghold of the Conservative party, which Stanley helped to strengthen in its infancy in 1845. Stanley (1799-1869) was a British politician and three-time prime minister of the English Parliament (1852, 1858-59 and 1866-1868). A gifted orator, Stanley's mainly known for making the Conservative party a force to be reckoned with in English politics. He was a Whig when he first entered Parliament in 1820 and became Chief Secretary of Ireland in 1830, joining the cabinet in 1831. But he resigned in 1834 over the disenfranchisement of the Church of Ireland, which eventually stripped the church of its role of state church in Ireland. He served again under Sir Robert Peel in 1841 and eventually joined Peel's Conservative party, which tried to chart a course between the Whigs and Tories, but he resigned again four years later over the repeal of the Corn Laws during the Irish potato famine - laws that governed imports and exports of grain. He managed to bring a lot of members of Parliament with him - including a young Benjamin Disraeli, who would one day be prime minister as well - and bring them under the Conservative umbrella. Lightly toned, stained, soiled and creased. "T" and "S" in first line and "b" in second line is lightly smudged but legible. Border is worn with small tears along edge, especially right edge. Flap is missing. Envelope's top corners are cut open. Tear on back on left side. Envelope has been folded in half horizontally and unfolded; fold touches top of signature's second line.