A large silver frame with autographed photograph of Winston Churchill, Cartier, London, 1941
Lot Closed
January 17, 02:55 PM GMT
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
the Art Deco rectangular frame containing an autographed photograph of Sir Winston Churchill, and in the reverse a letter and envelope to the 11th Marquess of Queensbury signed by senior members of the RAF, the front of the frame with engraved inscriptions and signatures, in original red leather Cartier travelling case,
height of frame 47cm., 18½in.
This lot will be on view in our New Bond Street galleries on 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 15th, 16th and 17th January 2024.
Francis Douglas, 11th Marquess of Queensberry (1896-1954),
by descent to the present owner
The engraving on the front of the frame reads:
The Marquess of Queensbury's Boxing Tournament in aid of The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, 20th February 1941.
President: HM The King. Vice President: HRH The Duke of Gloucester
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few"
Secretary of State for Air and President of the Air Council [signed] Archibald Sinclair
Chief of Air Staff [signed] Charles Portal
Deputy Chief of Air Staff [signed] Sholto Douglas
Air Officer in Chief Command Bomber Command [signed] Richard Peirse
Air Officer in Chief Command Coastal Command [signed] Frederick Bowhill
Francis Douglas, 11th Marquess of Queensberry (1896–1954) served on the Western Front during World War I as a second lieutenant, relinquishing his commission after receiving a gun shot wound in the leg. With the advent of World War II the Marquess supported sports clubs for servicemen and women and continued his family's association with boxing begun by his grandfather the 9th Marquess who endorsed a code of conduct for the sport, later named Queensbury Rules.
An autographed photo of Winston Churchill was sold at a charity auction during the above-mentioned boxing tournament in 1941, the prizes of which had been supplied by the Marquess. The auctioneer in charge of the proceedings was the British comedian Will Hay who hammered down the photo to the Canadian speedboat racer Jack Biddle for £1000, over £40,000 today. Another lot of interest during the sale was a group of English maps found on captured German airmen which sold for £150.1 Mr Biddle, after buying the lot immediately presented the photograph to the Marquess so that it could be sold again at a future sale.2 If this is the same photograph, it is not certain how it came to be framed and in the possession of the Marquess. Various newspapers report that the sum of £1000 was added to the sale total by Simon Marks (founder of the RAF Cadets and the British supermarket M&S). This figure matches that paid by Jack Biddle, and so it is possible that this was in payment for the photo which was later presented to the Marquess.
It is interesting to note that the letter from the Air Ministry enclosed in the reverse of the frame, dated 30 April 1941 and addressed to the Marquess, contains the five signatures engraved identically on the base of the frame. Since the frame is hallmarked with the London date letter used from 29 May 1941 to 28 May 1942, it seems the Marquess must have organised the framing and engraving himself, presumably in 1942, given that the backing for the photograph is dated as such.
It has been suggested that the 1942 date (which is in Churchill's hand) could be contemporaneous with the signature which would suggest that the photograph is a replacement.
Notes
1. News Chronicle, 21 February 1941
2. Newcastle Journal & North Mail, 21 February 1941