Autograph note signed by artist Mortimer Luddington Menpes c1880s

MENPES Mortimer Luddington (1855-1938). Hastily written note asking for Australian riflemen at Wimbledon to be recognised from the theatre stage. c1880s.
 
Autograph note signed "M. L. Menpes", undated, written in pencil on one side of a roughly torn piece of paper, 130 x 100 mm. Folded vertically, with irregular edges, light creasing and mounting remnants to the otherwise blank reverse; a good example.
 
A rare signed note from the Australian-born artist Mortimer Menpes, apparently written during a theatrical or public performance and passed to an unidentified person connected with the stage or production. Menpes asks that a party of visiting Australian riflemen seated in box number 8 should receive some acknowledgement:
 
"I have brought with me tonight the Australian riflemen from Wimbledon. Do give them one little sign of recognition, we are in No. 8 box - you will at once see them, they are in uniform."
 
The Australian riflemen were evidently attending the Wimbledon rifle meeting, the major annual competition which attracted teams from across Britain and the Empire. Menpes, himself born in Australia, appears here acting as their host and requesting that their presence be recognised publicly.
 
The roughly torn paper, pencil inscription and central fold suggest that the message was improvised at the venue, folded and sent behind the scenes while the party waited in their box. A rare piece of signed ephemera.