3-078-120 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Staircase, Carlton Club, 1890. 'During a General Election, when every hour brings its announcement of the result of a hard-fought contest; or during a Ministerial crisis, when Governments are unmade and re-created, the Carlton becomes a busy hive. Men who have not been seen within its walls for years turn up, and the bustle in hall, on staircase, and in all the rooms is incessant. Everyone knows that everyone else will be there, and here will be found the latest rumour of who is to go to the Admiralty, who is to have the portfolio of the War Minister, who will be Chancellor of the Exchequer, and to whose lot will fall the crumbs of the Under-Secretaryships'. Private members' club in the St James's area of London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Historically and by tradition, only men could become full members after being proposed and seconded by two current members who have known the applicant and been members themselves for at least two years. From the 1970s onwards, there were female associate members, but they were unable to vote. The club finally allowed women to become full members in 2008, 176 years after it was founded'. From "Illustrated London News", 1890.