[King William IV as Duke of Clarence.] Signature on [attempted] frank addressed to Mrs Skelton of St Albans.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. On 11 x 7 cm panel cut from the cover of the envelope. In good condition, lightly aged, laid down on brown paper cut from album. The intial ‘C’ of the Duke’s name curls under the rest of the signature with a loop, and with end of flourish possibly trimmed in cutting the panel. (Comparison with other examples of the future king’s signature as Duke of Clarence indicate that whatever loss there may be would be minimal.) Laid out in the customary fashion. Reads: ‘Bushy. December twenty third 1827 / Mrs: Skelton / Sandridge Lodge / St: Alban’s / Street’. Signature ‘Clarence’ at bottom left. Not stamped with the customary red-ink frank, but with two black-ink postmarks: one giving the amount ‘TO PAY’ and the other reading ‘[Teddington?]’. See Image.