On the theme of leadership, both in theory and practice, this catalogue presents five centuries of print history, alongside significant manuscript and striking visual material. Revolutionaries and radicals, premiers and presidents, royalty and military commanders, founders of religions and leaders of expeditions, are joined by those who appraised leadership and opined on the leaders’ proper actions. For millennia, theorists who prescribed how decision-makers should act have informed and irritated in equal measure. The long tradition of “mirrors for princes” is well represented here, from Xenophon in antiquity (item 144), through John of Salisbury in the Middle Ages (57), up to, in the Renaissance, the dark prince of the genre, Machiavelli (74). After Machiavelli, all theorists had to debate the basic tenet that “the ends justify the means”. Anti-Machiavellian writings range from the counterblasts of Botero, Campanella, Ribadeneyra, and Saavedra Fajardo (8, 14, 112, 119) through to the treatise of the young Frederick the Great (45). It is as easy for us, as for the Renaissance theoretician, to forget that those who take the decisions which shape our lives are themselves just people, with the same feelings and frustrations as anyone else. In part, this is because leaders and their followers carefully crafted a heroic image. Napoleon and Stalin are here presented in imposing iconography (96, 126), an art perfected by Mao Zedong and other 20th-century Chinese state leaders. Included are both the prototype and the first edition of the “Little
Red Book” (84, 85), and one of the earliest Mao signatures ever to be offered for sale (83). As a corrective to the image of the leader as superman, material signed or handwritten by such figures reminds us of their humanity. Ronald Reagan writes a warm letter to his former co- star (110). Napoleon jots down his thoughts on first reading the Wealth of Nations (95). The only person ever to launch nuclear war inscribes volumes and photographs for his friends (135, 136). Karl Marx presents his magnum opus to a banker (88). FDR inscribes a volume to his wife, Eleanor (116). Perhaps unequalled in this field is an album once described as “the world’s most notable collection of autographs” (9). Manuscripts offer a crucial historical insight into the character and thought process of the decision maker. Churchill broods on the prospect of the Russian threat to peace in Europe (20). The archive of the speechwriter for John F. Kennedy – the most important in private hands – illustrates the creation of a political icon (58). Tony Blair tells Glenda Jackson that Iraq has Weapons of Mass Destruction and therefore military intervention is justified (5). If one theme resonates through the catalogue, it is the burden of leadership, the certainty of criticism, and the isolation of the decision maker. It is much easier to be Machiavelli than the prince. John Ryan john@peterharrington.co.uk
Design: Nigel Bents & Abbie Ingleby Photography: Ruth Segarra
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Cover image: adapted from the broadsheet lithograph of Napoléon, sa famille, son empire, ses institutions , item 96 Rear cover image of John Ryan, Politics Specialist: Abbie Ingleby
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