Autograph Letter Signed de CURZON, George (1859-1925)

Lord Curzon -- technically, Lord Curzon of Kedleston (1898-1911) then Earl Curzon of Kedleston (1911-21) -- was an influential but quarrelsome British statesman who served as Viceroy and Governor-General of India (1899-1905) and Prime Minister David Lloyd George's Foreign Minister (1919-24), along with many other top government posts. ALS, 4pp (lettersheet), 4½" X 7", Basingstoke, Great Britain, 30 October 1909. Addressed to "Sir Henry" (Henry Bemrose, 1827-1911, partner in printing/publishing firm William Bemrose & Sons, member of Parliament, mayor of Derby). Near fine. On imprinted letterhead of his "Hackwood" estate, Curzon lives up to his curmudgeonly reputation and takes Bemrose to task for errors in a book he published, ""All Saints Middlesbrough: A History of the Church and Its Parish" by Barry Jewitt. In his large, flowing, semi-legible script, Curzon begins curtly with "Jewitt was all wrong," then itemizes four detailed factual errors he found. Boldly penned and attractive -- and quite interesting, if challenging to decipher.