[Sir William Wilson Hunter, author of the monumental ‘Imperial Gazetteer of India’.] Autograph Letter Signed to A. M. Broadley, with signed portrait photograph, giving his reason for ‘resigning the Committee’ of the Welcome Club.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. The recipient (‘Broadley Pasha’), who does not have the entry he deserves in the same work, had been involved in homosexual scandals in India, in 1872, and in England (‘The Cleveland Street Affair’), in 1889. LETTER: 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of tape from mount adhering to the blank reverse of the second leaf. Folded once. Addressed to ‘A. M. Broadley Esq.’ (‘Dear Broadley’) and signed ‘W W Hunter.’ He begins by thanking him for his ‘kind inquiries’, and with praise of ‘Keene’s article on Sir Auckland Colvin’s book’: ‘Whatever Keene touches he adorns.’ Regarding the Welcome Club, he explains that he has ‘no special information’, and that his ‘only reason for resigning the Committee was that I found I was unable to attend the meetings, & I made it a point (as all men of letters should) not to stand forth as responsible for business arrangments to which I have not the opportunity of giving personal attention.’ He ends with ‘kind regards to Keene & Mrs. Keene’. PHOTOGRAPH: Not present in the National Portrait Gallery. Glossy 8.5 x 12.5 cm albumen print. In good condition, lightly aged, laid down on paper mount. Head and shoulders shot of a formally-dressed Hunter, looking three-quarters to his left, clear-eyed and with magnificent moustache bristling. Signed at foot: ‘W W Hunter. 1890.’