This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/17/2022
[QUEEN VICTORIA (1819-1901)]. –– [BALFOUR, Arthur James (1848-1930)]. Letter patent issued by Queen Victoria to Arthur Balfour, dated 26 August 1898. Oblong folio manuscript (546 x 419 mm) on vellum attached to Queen Victoria’s pendant wax seal with two decorative tassels in fine maroon embroidery and wrapped in silver bullion wire mesh appointing Arthur Balfour to the Foreign Office and housed in a wooden box with royal seal on inner lid; seal rests on purple velvet lining and manuscript housed in purple velvet sleeve. Rubbing and partial horizontal splits to top of box, seal lacking metal case as originally issued. PATENT LETTER SIGNED BY QUEEN VICTORIA. One of the most consequential British politicians of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Arthur Balfour served as Prime Minister from 1902-1905 and is remembered for having issued the so-called Balfour Declaration in 1917 while serving as foreign secretary, which formally announced British support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.