Autograph Document Signed ("Francis Colman"), being the request of a British diplomat in Italy for funds for "Secret Service" activity

Florence, Tuscany, 1727. Countersigned in the lower margin by Thomas Pelham-Holles and docketed on verso. 1 p, bifolium. 4to. Some toning and light soiling to margins, tiny chip to one corner, old folding creases. Countersigned in the lower margin by Thomas Pelham-Holles and docketed on verso. 1 p, bifolium. 4to. An early reference to "secret service" in a British document, this being a request for funds by Francis Colman, His Majesty's Resident at the Court of Florence, for reimbursement for "some Extraordinary disbursments he was obliged to make upon some particular secret occasions." Colman requests £120 for funds dispersed, "To different Persons at Several times for Secret Service from the month of October 1726, to June the 10th following," in addition to £100 for his "Servant Oliver whom I sent express to His Excellency Mr. Walpole in ye Month of Oct 1726, for his Journey to Fontainebleau & return to Florence." The task of intelligence gathering in the 18th century fell upon diplomats like Colman, who frequently made use of local sources in the process. The Oxford English Dictionary cites as the earliest published usage of the phrase "secret service" a Gentleman's Magazine article of 1737, ten years after this example, though the phrase began appearing in British treasury books in the 17th century. Colman (1691-1733) held the post at Florence from 1724 to his death nine years later; he was the father of the celebrated 18th-century dramatist George Colman the Elder.

The document is countersigned by Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle: "Whitehall June 24th, 1728. I allow this Bill by His Maj.ty's Special Command, Holles Newcastle." Newcastle was one of the most powerful members of the Whig goverment for much of the 18th century. Here he signs as Secretary of State for the Southern Department (later the Foreign Office), a position he held for thrity years-- first under Prime Minister Robert Walpole and later under his brother Henry Pelham. Newcastle himself later served two terms as Prime Minister, 1754-1756 and 1757-1762.