Author:
Earl of Shaftesbury [Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury] (1801-1885), Conservative politician, philanthropist and reformer [R. G. Laker of Trevarrick, St Austell, Cornwall]
Publication details:
14 January 1863; on letterhead of St Giles's House, Cranbourne, Salisbury.
See his entry in the Oxford DNB. With regard to the subject of the letter, the 'penny banks' that were established in mid-Victorian England to encourage thrift among the working classes, see J. W. Dirring's thesis 'The Organization and Practice of Banking in Cornwall, 1771-1922', which states that ' the Penryn Penny Bank (founded in 1861), [...] was forced to stop payment in February [1879] with its funds inaccessible in the failed Cornish Bank'. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged and creased, with postage folds, one of which has as short closed tear at edge.
