Letter Subscribed and Signed ("I am, Sir, your most Obedient and most Humble Servant J. Addison"), as Secretary of State under George I, to an unnamed correspondent, most probably the English... etc.

ADDISON, Joseph (1672-1719). Essayist and Politician.

Letter Subscribed and Signed ("I am, Sir, your most Obedient and most Humble Servant J. Addison"), as Secretary of State under George I, to an unnamed correspondent, most probably the English Ambassador to Portugal.

1 page 4to, Whitehall, 26 November 1717.

Saying that he is enclosing "the King's Letters to the King and Queen of Portugal, wherein His Majesty is pleased to notify to them the birth of the young Prince, which you will please to take the proper opportunity of delivering . . ."

The Prince referred to is George William, the fifth child of George I's heir the Prince of Wales, later George II. The boy, born on 2 November 1717, did not long survive. Addison, a committed and partisan Whig, was a rather unlikely Secretary of State in 1717/18. Towards the end of the 17th century the Secretariat of State had been divided into two departments, northern and southern, with the northern department generally having responsibility for foreign affairs and the southern department for home affairs. However the division was not rigid; Addison was Secretary for the southern department, yet he is here dealing with what is really a foreign department matter.

A little worn at the edges, but in clear and acceptable condition.