[CALLIGRAPHIC MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM] PRESENTATION ADDRESS TO PRIME MINISTER SIR HENRY CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN FROM THE INCORPORATION OF WEAVERS OF GLASGOW

CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN, Sir Henry:

Published by [Original manuscript]., 1907

About this Item

37 x 29cm. Handsome contemporary full red morocco with elaborate decorative gilt borders and corner decorations; the upper board with gilt crest. Elaborate gilt dentelles. The verso of the upper board with cream watered-silk panel. The facing panel forming a gilt morocco frame for the laid-in calligraphic ink manuscript on vellum (32 x 24.5cm). The central text panel incorporating a decorative illustrated initial capital and a wax seal with blue silk ribbon; the surrounding decorative ink borders comprising the coats of arms of the various trades guilds of Glasgow, with vignette ink illustration of the "Old Alms House or Trades Hospital A.D. MDCV" to the foot. Signed to the foot "A. J. R. Armour. Inv. et Del. / Aird & Coghill Ltd. Glasgow". Near-fine, the binding with a little rubbing to the spine ends is otherwise in very good order; the interior silk panel and the manuscript itself are in excellent condition, remaining clean and bright. A suitably superior production combining fine binding and masterful calligraphy for presentation to the Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1836-1908), conferring upon him the Honorary Freedom of the Incorporation of Weavers from his home town of Glasgow on the 2nd May 1907. Campbell-Bannerman was the leader of the Liberal Party between 1899 and 1908 and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908, having previously twice held the office of Secretary of State for War in the cabinets of Gladstone and Rosebery. He was the first First Lord of the Treasury to be officially called the "Prime Minister", with the term only coming into official usage five days after he took office. He also remains the only person to hold the positions of Prime Minister and Father of the House simultaneously, as well as the last Liberal leader to gain a UK parliamentary majority. Known colloquially as "CB", Campbell-Bannerman's politics stood firmly in the tradition of nineteenth-century Radicalism, including a firm belief in free trade, Irish Home Rule, and the improvement of social conditions, typified by the reduction of working hours, the introduction of free school meals, and the empowerment of trade unions. He resigned as prime minister in April 1908 due to ill-health and died nineteen days later - the only prime minister to die in their official residence, 10 Downing Street - and was replaced by his chancellor Herbert Henry Asquith. Campbell-Bannerman had close ties to his home town, initially entering politics via a seat on Glasgow Town Council and later serving as the city's Lord Provost, as well as to the Incorporation of Weavers, having first worked from a young age in Glasgow's clothing trade.

Seller Inventory # 1700

Bibliographic Details

• Title: [CALLIGRAPHIC MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM] PRESENTATION ADDRESS TO PRIME MINISTER SIR HENRY CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN FROM THE INCORPORATION OF WEAVERS OF GLASGOW
• Publisher: [Original manuscript].
• Publication Date: 1907
• Binding: Hardcover
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)