Signed presentation photograph of David Lloyd George Paris peace conference 1919
GEORGE, David Lloyd (1863-1945). Signed Photographic Portrait of the British Delegation at the Paris Peace Conference, with Related Correspondence. Paris, 1919.
Large photographic group portrait mounted within the original grey presentation folder, signed "D. Lloyd George" in ink beneath the image. Folder 290 x 310 mm when closed. Together with two typed letters signed by F. L. Stevenson, Lloyd George's private secretary, dated 4 February and 8 April 1919, the first on embossed British War Cabinet Offices stationery and the second on British Delegation, Paris headed paper; two contemporary carbon copies of letters from the recipient, Yosaku Minami of New York; and the original typed and postmarked envelope. Photograph lightly faded with some surface marking; presentation folder extensively mottled and rubbed, with wear to the folds and extremities. Correspondence with old folds, light handling marks and some rust staining from former paperclips. Overall very good.
A complete signed presentation grouping relating to David Lloyd George's attendance at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. The photograph was produced by Underwood & Underwood of New York. Lloyd George has signed prominently beneath the image.
The accompanying correspondence records the complete story behind the acquisition of the autograph. On 11 January 1919, the New York collector Yosaku Minami wrote directly to Lloyd George in Paris, describing him as "the greatest hero in the present world" and requesting his signature upon a photograph. In a letter dated 4 February, F. L. Stevenson replied from the British War Cabinet Offices at the Villa Majestic, Paris, confirming that the Prime Minister would be pleased to sign the photograph if it were forwarded. After receiving no further news, Minami wrote again on 8 April. Stevenson replied the same day from the headquarters of the British Delegation. The letters, carbon copies and original envelope preserve the complete chain of correspondence surrounding its dispatch from New York, signing in Paris and return to the collector.
The exchange took place while Lloyd George was representing Britain at the Paris Peace Conference, where the Allied powers negotiated the settlement following the First World War and drafted the treaties that reshaped Europe and much of the wider world. Frances Stevenson accompanied Lloyd George to Paris as his private secretary and became closely involved in the daily administration surrounding the British delegation.