A mounted presentation studio portrait photograph of Margot Asquith Countess of Oxford and Asquith, wife of Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith, inscribed, signed, and dated by Asquith in May 1911.
London: John Thomson & John Newlands Thomson, 1911. Photograph. This is an inscribed, signed, and dated 1911 presentation photographic portrait of Margot Asquith, wife of then-Prime Minister H. H. Asquith. The 9.25 x 5.5 inch photograph is mounted on an 11.125 x 8 inch studio card. Asquith inscribed the card on the inset mount. At the upper left she wrote “For Miss Taylor” and at the lower left she signed and dated “Margot Asquith May 1911”. The mount is embossed at the lower left corner “ROYAL WARRANT | PHOTOGRAPHER TO” above and below the Royal Arms. It is ink-stamped at the lower right with the address “141, NEW BOND ST, W.” and the signature of the photographer, “J. Thomson”. The otherwise blank verso of the mount features the photographer’s reference notation “20016".
Condition of this photograph is very good minus overall. The matte finish photographic portrait, featuring Margot Asquith nearly full length in profile in a striped dress with her hand on a writing desk, is substantially clear and clean, with only minor superficial blemishes. Her inscription and signature remain distinct. The card mount has worn edges, as well as minor soiling and a few small moisture stains.
The image is credited to photographer and travel writer John Thomson (1837-1921). “For ten years between 1862 and 1872 Thomson travelled in the Far East, establishing portrait studios in Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as recording the topography and ethnography of Cambodia and China, which earned him the nickname 'China Thomson'. Thomson is now best known for his pioneering work of social documentation, published in monthly parts, with texts by Adolphe Smith, of portraits of London tradespeople, Street Life in London (1877). Thomson subsequently operated fashionable portrait studios in London, the last being operated in partnership with his son, John Newlands Thomson.”
Apropos, this photographic portrait does not hide the broken nose and misshapen upper lip of Margaret Emma Alice “Margot” Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith (1864-1945), which she earned during one of the many accidents of her youth, much of it spent riding and hunting. Margot was observed as “agile and energetic” as well as “nervous and irascible” in her youth, and stayed true to form into adulthood. She first met Herbert Henry Asquith (1852-1928) in 1890, whom she wed in May 1894.
Asquith succeeded Campbell-Bannerman as prime minister in April 1908. During his more than eight and a half years as prime minister, Margot’s “poor health frequently made her difficult” and “she was capable of making terrible scenes.” Moreover, her “impetuous and high-handed ways” and “her extravagance” caused criticism. Nonetheless, she was “fiercely loyal to him, and seldom complained of her husband’s close friendships with other women.”
A prolific diarist, in 1920 and 1922 she published the two volumes of her autobiography, based on her diaries. Rather predictably, “excessive candour and the egotism of the author were severely commented on by critics”. Not surprisingly, the same aspects that brought criticism also attracted readers, and her autobiography sold well, bringing Margot both money and fame. After her husband’s death in 1928, Margot “continued to occupy herself with her books and journalism.” She would live long enough to see Winston Churchill, “for whom in 1915 she could foresee ‘no political future’,” become Britain’s wartime prime minister, succeeding as wartime leader of his nation in a way that her husband had not. Item #008905
Price: $250.00