Autograph letter signed by Clements Markham to Lord Northcliffe dated 1897

MARKHAM, Sir Clements Robert (1830–1916). Autograph letter signed to Alfred Harmsworth (Lord Northcliffe), arranging a meeting. 21 Eccleston Square, S.W., 5 April 1897.
 
1 page, written on crested stationery bearing the blue arms of the Royal Geographical Society. Folded once, with light creasing to the right-hand corner. 
 
A brief but attractive note from the future champion of Scott’s Antarctic expeditions, written from his London home while serving as President of the Royal Geographical Society (1893–1905). Markham played a decisive role in shaping British polar exploration at the turn of the century, acting as patron for the Discovery expedition.
 
The recipient — Mr Harmsworth — is almost certainly Alfred Harmsworth (later Lord Northcliffe), the newspaper magnate whose financial backing and media influence proved critical to British exploration projects of the period, including Scott’s Discovery expedition and other Royal Geographical Society ventures.