PRIME MINISTER HENRY JOHN TEMPLE (GREAT BRITAIN) - AUTOGRAPH - HFSID 224726

PRIME MINISTER HENRY JOHN TEMPLE (GREAT BRITAIN)
The Irish peer who served as Prime Minister under Queen Victoria signed this slip of paper in a plastic protective glove stapled to a larger piece of cardstock
Signature: "Viscount Palmerston" in iron gall ink. Includes an illegible note a second signature. 2¼x3 card. Enclosed in a piece of protective plastic that is stapled to a 5x4 piece of cardstock. Prime Minister Henry John Temple of Great Britain (1784-1865), popularly known as Lord Palmerston due to his Irish Peerage title as the 3rd Viscount Palmerston, was Britain's Secretary of State for War (1809-1828), Foreign Secretary (1830-1834, 1835-1841, 1846-1851) and Prime Minister (1855-1858, 1859-1865). He held office almost continuously for nearly half a century from 1807 until his death. Because he held an Irish peerage rather than an English one, he was able to sit in the House of Commons. Disliked by Queen Victoria and often abrasive in dealing with foreign governments - he held a lifelong antipathy to the United States - Palmerston was nevertheless effective in promoting British interests. Although he opposed slavery, Palmerston sympathized with the Confederacy on the grounds that a breakup of the United States would benefit Britain. Note in unknown hand on cardstock. Staples used. Edges of cardstock lightly frayed. Mounting remnants at corners of cardstock. Slip of paper toned. Otherwise, fine condition.