Original ink Sketch 'The United Empire Ball' The Graphic by A.S. Boyd in 1902

[The Graphic] BOYD, A.S. – Original ink sketch for The Graphic: “The Representatives of Greater Britain. The United Empire and Victoria Leaguers’ Ball.”
 
Pen and ink on card, signed lower right, image c. 280 × 340 mm; verso with pencilled inscriptions including “Empire League Dinner, July 12/02”. Light edge toning, small handling marks, otherwise very good.
 
Drawn for The Graphic in 1902, this ballroom scene by A.S. Boyd (1854–1930) depicts the United Empire and Victoria League ball, an event organised in the aftermath of the South African War to promote imperial solidarity and Anglo-colonial unity. The Victoria League, founded in 1901, was one of the key cultural instruments of Edwardian imperialism, hosting social events and charitable activities to bind together Britain and the dominions. 
 
Boyd’s composition captures officers in dress uniform dancing with elegantly dressed women, while others converse along the periphery. Boyd, a regular illustrator for The Graphic, specialised in such reportage scenes of social and civic life. An evocative Edwardian imperial image, reflecting both the glamour and the politics of London society in 1902.