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Auction: 17020 - Autographs, Historical Documents, Ephemera and Postal History
Lot: 906

Autographs
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
1850 (c.) folio A.L.S. to Lord John Russell agreeing to put a suggested name down on the list of candidates for a consul and is signed "Palmerston". Also 1841 (28 January) part printed letter to the Consul in Damascus requesting protection for Mr and Mrs Holt, signed "Palmerston". (2)

Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784 – 1865) was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century. For most of 1830 to 1865 he dominated British foreign policy when Britain was at the height of her power. Popularly nicknamed "Pam" and "The Mongoose", he was in government office almost continuously from 1807 until his death in 1865,



John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (1792 – 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was a leading Whig and Liberal politician who served as Prime Minister on two occasions during the mid-19th century.



Damascus, at this time was still recovering from the Damascus affair of 1840. Thirteen notable members of the Jewish community of Damascus who were accused of murdering a Christian monk for ritual purposes and arrested. The anti-semitic blood libel resulted in the accused being imprisoned and tortured by the Ottoman authorities and the populace attacking and pillaging a local synagogue. The affair drew widespread international attention which resulted in negotiations conducted in Alexandria from August 4 till August 28. The aftermath secured the unconditional release and recognition of innocence for the nine prisoners remaining alive and the issuing of a firman (edict) intended to halt the spread of blood libel accusations in the Ottoman Empire.

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Estimate
£180 to £220