Description
Inscribed to his private secretary George Wyndham, the first edition of The Foundations of Belief by British Prime Minister Arthur James Balfour.
Octavo, viii, 356pp. Blue cloth, title in gilt on spine. No additional printings listed. Solid text block, bumped corners, wear to spine and covers, foxing along edges of leaves. Cloth splitting along top edge of rear cover. Signed on the half title “George Wyndham / from his friend / The Author.”
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (1848-1930) served as British Prime Minister from 1902 to 1905. He later served as British Foreign Secretary during World War I, where he issued the Balfour Declaration, supporting the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.” The recipient of this copy, George Wyndham (1863-1913) began his political career as Balfour’s private secretary, and was a Member of Parliament from 1889 until his passing in 1913. The two were close and collaborated on issues relating to Irish land reform, since both men served as Chief Secretary for Ireland during their political careers.
