Possibly Unique 1887 Countess of Dufferin Fund Raiser

Here is a very interesting antique item of ephemera dating from 1887 the year of Queen Victorias jubilee and concerns a unique fund raising event in India ‘for supplying female medical aid to the women of India’ it was organised by the Countess of Dufferin and below I include a brief biography for the Countess however her life was incredibly interesting and worth a further read. The item is a two page card booklet and to the front has an explanation in both Urdu and Hindi, inside the cover it opens to a hand written list of benefactors who donated a minimum of one pound up to ten pounds, quite a sum in 1887 and 66 pounds was raised, this was then credited to the Punjab branch and personally signed off by the Countess and this signature is over a large size Victorian Indian one Anna pink postage stamp. Considering this item is over 140 years old it is in remarkable condition, there is a small tear along the opening edge where someone has opened it clumsily and a strip of paper added to the back margin is a bit ragged, just over A5 size this item really belongs in a museum.
Hariot Georgina Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, VA, CI, DBE (née Rowan-Hamilton; 5 February 1843 – 25 October 1936) was a British aristocrat and Vicereine of India, known for her success in the role of "diplomatic wife," and for leading an initiative to improve medical care for women in British India. Lady Dufferin went with her husband to India in 1884 when he was appointed as the country's viceroy. Prior to her departure, she was asked by Queen Victoria to initiate a plan to improve the situation for women in India in illness and in child-bearing. In 1885, having successfully canvassed for substantial donations from Indian princes such as the Maharajahs of Kashmir and Durbungha, Lady Dufferin, established a fund – the National Association for supplying Female Medical Aid to the Women of India (known as the Countess of Dufferin Fund).

Code: 31335