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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Richard Brooks

Letters from Lord Byron, Elizabeth I and Benjamin Franklin among collection discovered in British stately home

An ornate signature, 'Elizabeth I' with a flamboyant 'z' on an old manuscript
Queen Elizabeth I’s signature on one of two letters by her in the collection. Photograph: The Waddesdon Archive

Baron Edmond de Rothschild was one of Europe’s richest and best connected men. But his lifelong hobby – hunting the autographs of the famous – was more akin to that of an idolising youngster.

Nine decades after his death, more than 220 letters he collected over 60 years have just been discovered at Waddesdon Manor, the former Rothschild home, now owned by the National Trust.

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