A collection of more than a 1,000 signatures from historical figures from from Charles Dickens to the Duke of Wellington to the First Men on the Moon to Buffalo Bill and Harry Houdini will be offered by the Sussex auctioneers Campbells on January 24 in Worthing. Amassed by the late John Evans, who was passionate about politics and was one of the first Anti-Vivisection campaigners, the signatures are either framed or in albums.
Auctioneer Paul Campbell said: “It’s been such a privilege to turn the pages of one man’s life and passion and to see and consider the history he brought together. The Dalai Lama is next to Spencer Perceval, the Prime Minister who was murdered inside the House of Commons in 1812.” Estimates range from £50 to £1,000, with the earliest signature dating from 1697 from the 1st Duke of Marlborough. Literary names include J.M Barrie; Rudyard Kipling; William Wordsworth; Arthur Conan Doyle and John Ruskin. Most Prime Ministers from Robert Walpole to Winston Churchill through to Tony Blair are featured along with explorer Sir Edmund Hillary and Lord Hunt – who led the successful 1953 expedition to Mount Everest; photographs taken on the moon that were later signed by the first men on the moon including Neil Armstrong; Buzz Aldrin and Charlie Duke as well as artists including Pablo Picasso; Dante Gabriel Rosetti and Dame Laura Knight.