Lot
2417 
Great Britain, 1903-14, The Mather correspondence, group of about 40 covers and cards, much of which pertains to Edwardian politics and in particular to the early days of the Labour Party; the correspondence is mainly from Albert E. Allen, secretary of the Leeds & County Fabian Society to Frederick M. Mather of the National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen & Clerks; Allen was apparently a very talented cartoonist and his illustrations, as well as his letters are full of political satire on such topics as the Boer War, Women's suffrage and the importation of Chinese labor; in all there are 11 illustrated covers (9 of which contain letters) and 4 illustrated postcards from the 1903-1914 period, as well as numerous "decorated" postcards, a few Allen letters without envelopes (including two written on the back of Independent Labour Party broadsides) and miscellaneous materials from this friendly correspondence; also includes a 1935 typed letter signed by Philip Snowden, later Viscount Snowden, a friend of the Mather family, who was national chairman of the I.L.P. between 1903 and 1906 and was later Chancellor of the Exchequer; condition of some of the covers is a bit rough around the edges due to the rather thick contents, but all-in-all an intriguing and entertaining look into British political issues at the turn of the 19th century. Estimate $2,000 - 3,000.