Significant Signatures: Autograph Letters from the Waddesdon Archive

In 2024, a routine cataloguing project in the Waddesdon Archive uncovered something quite extraordinary. An ordinary archive box was revealed to contain a collection of 229 letters and papers written or signed by some of the greatest and most influential figures of the last 500 years. And now a curated selection of these arterfacts, many of which have never been seen by the public before, will be displayed in the Family Room at Waddesdon Manor.

There are letters from the pen or direction of historical giants such as Elizabeth I (1533-1603), Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) and Lord Byron (1788-1824), on a variety of subject matter, and even a musical manuscript by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Some were written in the knowledge they would be made public, while others were clearly intended to be private. They offer a fascinating insight into some of the greatest minds of their time and the lives of people that continue to intrigue us hundreds of years later.

The letters illuminate the nature of letter collecting, and the display will explore this popular pursuit that has endured for centuries. It will also highlight how Waddesdon’s archive cares for its collections, and how archival material provides the foundations for an understanding of history and the history of collecting.