Write honourable: Collection of signatures of all 55 PMs to go under the hammer

A collection of the signatures of all 55 prime ministers is anticipated to sell for a five-figure sum when it goes under the hammer at auction.

It took eight years to compile the collection, which is housed in a set of 10 frames.

Each signature is positioned next to a portrait of the respective PM.

They will be auctioned off by Dominic Winter Auctioneers, based in Cirencester, with an estimated price of of £10,000 to £15,000.

The auction will take place next Thursday (16 December).

‘A real piece of history’

Spanning more than 300 years of history, from Sir Robert Walpole to Downing Street incumbent Boris Johnson, the signatures featured in rare manuscripts, letters, and deeds.

Under-fire Dominic Raab denies whistleblower’s claim dogs were prioritised over humans in Afghan evacuation

Labour Party veteran Harriet Harman to stand down as an MP at next election after 40 years in Commons

COVID-19: Community transmission of Omicron variant across multiple regions of England, says Sajid Javid

They were collated by collector and dealer Hamilton Bland, and will be available for public viewing three days before being sold at the auction.

“I really enjoyed building the collection over the years – although some signatures were harder to acquire than others,” Mr Bland said. “The signatures of the more recent prime ministers were pretty easy to get hold of as there are quite a few on the market.

“But some of the earlier prime ministers, especially those that did not serve for long, were very difficult to find.

“For example, it took me five years to get an original signature of William Cavendish, the fourth Duke of Devonshire.

“Authenticity is everything. All of the signatures in the collection have been independently verified and authenticated, so it’s a real piece of history.

“None of them are prints – they were all signed properly by hand.”

Mr Bland said the collection was one-of-a-kind, adding: “Boris Johnson himself described it as ‘remarkable’ in a letter to me. I’m really excited to see how it does when it goes under the hammer.”

Chris Albury, auctioneer and autographs specialists at Dominic Winter Auctioneers, said: “This is such a comprehensive collection of British political history, which is beautifully displayed in these 10 frames.

“It perfectly distils the political journey our country has been on since 1721, with political parties coming and going over the years, and through major events such as the American Declaration of Independence, the French Revolution, and two World Wars.

“We are expecting plenty of interest in this collection from private collectors from across the globe and we are very much looking forward to the auction in December.”

Read Entire Article