Civil Servants

There is a category of free fronts that is often overlooked, with most being associated with MPs, peers or bishops and that is civil servants, so I have presented here a few examples just to show that this category of free fronts is actually more common than might be supposed.

Robert William Hay (1786 - 1861) - From 1812 to 1824 Private Secretary to Viscount Melville and from 1825 to 1836 the first Permanent Secretary of the Colonial Office.

Sir William Knighton (1776 - 1836) - Private Secretary to the King (George IV) and keeper of the Privy Purse from 1822 to 1830 (saved the king from bankrupcy).

Sir John Barrow FRS, FRGS (1764 - 1848) - Second Secretary to the Admiralty for from 1804 to 1806 and from 1807 to 1845 (promoter of Arctic voyages of discovery).

By George!

It's difficult enough identifying signatures on free fronts, but when there are two army officers of the same name, who are MP's at the same time it's doubly so. Often wishful thinking seems to take precedence over accuracy, as in the case of this example where the original collector has got it wrong, annotating the front with the name of the more famous Sir George Anson, MP for Lichfield at the time, when in point of fact and after much research I can confirm that the signature is in fact that of Major-General George Anson, MP for South Staffordshire, who despite being less well known, at a young age fought at Waterloo with the 3rd (Scots) Guards and went on to become in 1856 Commander-in-Chief in India.

Major-General George Anson - MP for South Staffordshire 1837 -1853

Back to front

Sometimes a wrapper will be re-used as paper was an expensive commodity back then and when it is it can be very useful in helping to decipher the signature. The name and address of the recipient will be on one side and the signature will be on the other as with this example here:

Rear Admiral, later Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Parker then Second Naval Lord, later First Naval Lord.

Similar Signatures

There are a number of free fronts which are commonly mistaken for one another, none more so than the following two examples. When viewed in isolation it can be seen how they could be confused but when seen together as below there are a number of marked differences.

General Sir James Willoughby Gordon, Quarter-Master General to the Forces 1811 - 1851 - MP for Launceston 1829 - 1831

Vice-Admiral William Gordon - MP for Aberdeenshire 1820 -1854

On close inspection the 'J' which precedes the 'W' on  Sir James Willoughby Gordon's signature (top) makes a third vertical line preceding the 'Gordon' part of the signature whereas in the case of William Gordon (bottom) there are only two such vertical lines. Other giveaways include the heavy underlining of  Sir James Willoughby Gordon's signature as well as elsewhere on the envelope front (top). Another giveaway is if William Gordon's front is sent from Aberdeen, although this example is sent from London a great many examples that I've seen are addressed from Aberdeen. Usually the dates of course are another key clue in correctly identifying the signature, however in this case the two men were in office at the same time as one another for a very long time, from 1820 to 1851 in fact. Clearly though an example prior to 1820 is likely to be that of Sir James Willoughby Gordon and similarly one dated after 1851 couldn't be his.