Autographs of Arthur Balfour
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (/ˈbælfər, -fɔːr/; 25 July 1848 – 19 March 1930), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the Lloyd George ministry, he issued the Balfour Declaration of 1917 on behalf of the cabinet, which supported a "home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, and later issued the Balfour Declaration of 1926 as Lord of the Privy Council, which announced a co-equal relationship between the United Kingdom and its Dominions, laying the groundwork for the Statute of Westminster 1931 which granted full independence to the former colonies.
Entering Parliament in 1874, Balfour achieved prominence as Chief Secretary for Ireland, in which position he suppressed agrarian unrest whilst taking measures against absentee landlords. He opposed Irish Home Rule, saying there could be no half-way house between Ireland remaining within the United Kingdom or becoming independent. From 1891 he led the Conservative Party in the House of Commons, serving under his uncle, Lord Salisbury, whose government won large majorities in 1895 and 1900. An esteemed debater, he was bored by the mundane tasks of party management.
In July 1902, he succeeded his uncle as prime minister. In domestic policy he passed the Land Purchase (Ireland) Act 1903, which bought out most of the Anglo-Irish landowners. The Education Act 1902 had a major long-term impact in modernising the school system in England and Wales and provided financial support for schools operated by the Church of England and by the Catholic Church. Nonconformists were outraged and mobilised their voters, but were unable to reverse it. In foreign and defence policy, he oversaw reform of British defence policy and supported Jackie Fisher's naval innovations. He secured the Entente Cordiale with France, an agreement that paved the way for improved relations between the two states. He cautiously embraced imperial preference as championed by Joseph Chamberlain, but resignations from the Cabinet over the abandonment of free trade left his party divided. He also suffered from public anger at the later stages of the Boer War (counter-insurgency warfare characterised as "methods of barbarism") and the importation of Chinese labour to South Africa ("Chinese slavery"). He resigned as prime minister in December 1905 and the following month the Conservatives suffered a landslide defeat at the 1906 election, in which he lost his own seat. He soon re-entered Parliament and continued to serve as Leader of the Opposition throughout the crisis over Lloyd George's 1909 budget, the narrow loss of two further General Elections in 1910, and the passage of the Parliament Act 1911. He resigned as party leader in 1911.
More about Arthur Balfour Wikipedia
Affiliate disclosure: When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Traded items with a signature of Arthur Balfour
The most expensive item with a signature of Arthur Balfour (Prime Minister Arthur Balfour Signed Letter 1916 - Royal Navy - WW1) was sold in October 2014 for £242.77 while the cheapest item (Prime Minister Arthur Balfour Autograph) found a new owner for £10.00 in February 2022. The month with the most items sold (2) was May 2014 with an average selling price of £65.00 for an autographed item of Arthur Balfour. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in April 2017 with £195.00 and the month that saw the lowest prices with £10.00 was November 2015. In average, an autographed item from Arthur Balfour is worth £41.00.
Most recently, these items with a signature of Arthur Balfour were sold on eBay - click here for more items.
| Picture | Item Title | Price | Store |
![]() | 1st Earl Balfour, Arthur Balfour, Prime Minister, Signed Letter 1890 | £36.99 | ![]() |
![]() | Arthur Balfour Prime Minister 4p PART ALS Autograph Letter 1903 re Macedonia | £32.99 | ![]() |
![]() | Prime Minister Arthur Balfour Autograph | £35.00 | ![]() |
![]() | Prime Minister Arthur Balfour Autograph | £14.50 | ![]() |
![]() | Prime Minister Arthur Balfour Autograph | £23.00 | ![]() |
![]() | Prime Minister Arthur Balfour Signed Envelope | £26.99 | ![]() |
![]() | Prime Minister Arthur Balfour Signed House Of Commons Pass | £31.55 | ![]() |
![]() | Prime Minister Arthur Balfour Signed Letter | £46.00 | ![]() |
![]() | Prime Minister Arthur Balfour Signed Letter | £35.00 | ![]() |
![]() | Prime Minister Arthur Balfour Signed Letter | £34.00 | ![]() |
![]() | Prime Minister Arthur Balfour Signed Letter | £65.58 | ![]() |
![]() | Prime Minister Arthur Balfour Signed Letter | £56.88 | ![]() |
![]() | Prime Minister Arthur Balfour Signed Letter | £98.00 | ![]() |
![]() | Prime Minister Arthur Balfour Signed Letter On Religion | £36.00 | ![]() |
![]() | Prime Minister Arthur Balfour Signed Letter On The Boer War, 1901 | £37.00 | ![]() |




