Autographs of the peers that opposed the Reform Bill in 1832 Duke of Wellington
[WELLESLEY, Arthur, 1st Duke of Wellington]; REFORM BILL, 1832. Autographs of the Illustrious Peers who Opposed the Second Reading of the Reform Bill, April 14, 1832.
4to (c. 260 x 180 mm). Album of 83 leaves including manuscript title-page and contents leaf at rear, containing 175 free franks mounted, generally two or three to a page. Contemporary manuscript list of peers in a neat hand, signed at conclusion by antiquary Isaac P. Cory. Later blind-stamped pigskin, gilt-titled spine with raised bands. A little rubbed, some light toning and occasional spotting, overall a very good copy.
A complete assemblage of the free franks of the 175 peers forming the opposition in the House of Lords division on the second reading of the Reform Bill, 14 April 1832 (carried 184 to 175). The collection includes a substantial representation of the leading anti-reform interest, among them the Duke of Wellington, Lord Eldon, Viscount Sidmouth, the Duke of Newcastle, the Marquess of Bathurst, and other prominent Tory peers.
The manuscript contents list, signed by Isaac P. Cory (1802–1842), suggests compilation by Cory, a Cambridge scholar and antiquary, and indicates a contemporary attempt to document the opposition to the Bill through autograph material. The franks, each representing the parliamentary privilege of free postage, are here assembled of this highly charged political moment.
The Reform Bill of 1832, extending parliamentary representation and abolishing many rotten boroughs, provoked sustained opposition in the Lords and contributed to a period of acute political tension. The division of 14 April marked a decisive stage in the Bill’s progress, and the present volume preserves, in autograph form, the body of peers who resisted its passage, including the Iron Duke who led the opposition.
Provenance: Sotheby’s, 3 April 1922 (pencilled note to slip); Michael Tomkinson; Ken Tomkinson, High Habberley House (booklabels).