1800s Manuscript Note by Richard Monckton Milnes, First Baron of Houghton, British Parliamentarian and Writer

On offer is an autographed note signed by Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton (1809- 1885).  Measures 4-1/4 x 7 inches. Oblong. Undated. An invitation to lunch. Signed simply Houghton.

Richard Monckton Milnes (1809-1885) was a writer, parliamentarian. He was involved in many of the issues of his day. In the DCB it is noted that “his chief distinctions were his keen sense of literary merit in others, and the judgment and magnanimity with which he fostered it. He was surrounded by the most brilliant men of his time, many of whom he had been the first to acclaim. His chief title to remembrance rests on the part he played, as a man of influence in society and in moulding public opinion on literary matters, in connection with his large circle of talented friends. He secured a pension for Tennyson, helped to make Ralph Waldo Emerson known in Great Britain, and was one of the earliest champions of Algernon Charles Swinburne. He helped David Gray and wrote a preface for The Luggie.”