As explained by Queen Alexandra in a note which remains in the original fan box, the fan was given to Queen Victoria by the Prince and Princess of Wales in the year of the Queen's Golden Jubilee. It was clearly intended to be written on. Between 1891 and 1900 numerous relations and friends signed their names on the fan leaf, presumably at the Queen's specific request. These commence at the left with the signatures of the donors; between the signatures of 'Alexandra' and 'Albert Edward' is that of 'Willy', Queen Alexandra's brother Prince William of Denmark, who had become King George I of Greece in 1863. The signatures continue with the children of the Prince and Princess of Wales: Eddie (the Duke of Clarence), George (later King George V), Louise and her husband (the Duchess and Duke of Fife), Victoria, and Maud; then Queen Victoria's eldest child, Vicky (the Empress Frederick), and her children Victoria, Mossy (Margaret) and Henry with his wife Irene. Also there are Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and his wife Marie; Princess Helena and her husband (Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein) and their daughter Helena Victoria; Prince Arthur and his wife Louise Margaret (the Duke and Duchess of Connaught); and Princess Louise and her husband (the Marquess of Lorne). Other family signatures include those of Alix (of Hesse, later Tsarina of Russia) and Nicky (later Tsar Nicholas II of Russia); also 'Dolly' (Adolphus) of Teck and his sister May (later Queen Mary), before her marriage in 1893 to the Duke of York. Members of the Royal Household who signed included the Queen's ladies-in-waiting, and her doctor James Reid. The fan was also signed by the Marquess of Salisbury (Prime Minister 1886-92 and 1895-1902) and by the statesman and Colonial Secretary (1895-1902) Joseph Chamberlain.

The practice of adding autographs to fan leaves originated in China. In September 1870 a wooden brisé fan was signed by members of the family of the infant Princess Alexandra of Greece, born in the previous month. The signatures were gathered by the baby's aunt, the Tsarina Marie Feodorovna. In England the fashion was encouraged when, in the late 1870s, Lady Alma-Tadema (wife of the artist, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema) invited famous artists and musicians to sign and decorate the plain wooden sticks of a brisé fan. It was also popular in France where signature fans were known as Livres d'Or; and in Germany. Three continental examples of autograph fans were exhibited at the Karlsruhe exhibition in 1891. The Royal Collection also contains the autograph fan given to the future Queen Alexandra in the 1890s by her sister, the Tsarina Marie Feodorovna.

Both the recto and verso leaves are signed by Francis Houghton, who was responsible for adding the decoration of roses on one side, and roses and forget-me-nots on the other. The latter join centrally to form the letter V surmounted by a crown. Houghton was the best-known English fan-painter of the last decades of the nineteenth century and was also active as a miniaturist. He received an Honorary Mention for an unmounted leaf at the Fan Makers first Competitive Exhibition, in 1878; at their third Competitive Exhibition, in 1890, where prizes were awarded for 'the exclusive work of British subjects', he was awarded first prize and a gold medal for a fan painted with Les Forges de Vulcan after Boucher. A number of other fans with his signature (or initials) are known, the majority of which include leaves combining paper, leather or silk edged with Brussels needle lace. A second Houghton fan in the Royal Collection, probably from the collection of Queen Alexandra, is painted on lace-edged silk gauze. Fans painted by Houghton were available in North America at an early date.

Signed F. Houghton

Text adapted from Unfolding Pictures: Fans in the Royal Collection, 2005