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Lot Essay
Harriot Mellon, Duchess of St. Albans (?1777-1837)
Harriot Mellon, described as "A remarkably handsome brunette with a very tall, fine figure, raven locks, ivory teeth, a cheek like a peach and coral lips," was the daughter of Sarah Mellon, an Irish strolling player, and an impecunious lieutenant in the Madras Cavalry. Harriot made her first appearance on the stage at the age of eleven in a farce called The Spoiled Child at Ulverstone in 1788. Her career as an actress however came to an abrupt end on her marriage in 1815 to her long-time admirer, the 83 year-old banker Thomas Coutts. On his death shortly thereafter he left her his sole legatee. The Morning Post recorded that 'some time previous to his death he settled upon Mrs. C. the sum of £600,000 with the house in Stratton-street, all the plate, linen, &c. - the service of plate is said to be the most valuable in any of the country - together with the house in Highgate'.
Within three years of Coutts' death, reports of an impending marriage between his widow and the 21 year-old heir to the Dukedom of St. Albans were rife. When William Beauclerk succeeded to the Dukedom in 1825 and almost immediately proposed marriage to Mrs. Coutts. It was said that she refused him, telling him to ask her again in a year's time. Sir Walter Scott wrote in his journal 'If the Duke marries her, he ensures an immense fortune; if she marries him she has the first rank. If he marries a woman older than himself by twenty years, she married a man younger in wit by twenty degrees. I do not think he will dilapidate her fortune; he seems good and gentle. I do not think she will abuse his softness of disposition - shall I say or of - head' (Lockart, Life of Sir Walter Scott, vol. VIII, pp. 116-117). The Duke's second proposal was accepted by Mrs. Coutts and they were married on 16 June 1827. 'Before the ceremony, Harriot's servants wore the Coutts livery. Immediately afterwards they appeared in the St. Albans yellow and black stockings' (Brian Masters, The Dukes, 1975, p. 119). It appears to have been a happy marriage, despite the fact that the Duchess kept the pillow upon which Mr. Coutts had expired with her at all times, encased in a wooden box. The Duchess was renowned both for the extravagance of her hospitality and her generosity to those in need.
During an age of extravagant parties and excessive food and drink, Harriot entertained on a regal scale. She regularly hosted up to 700 guests at her London residence at Stratton Street, Holly Lodge, her villa in Highgate, and St. Albans House in Brighton. Guests might snicker at her extravagance, but gladly attended her parties. Sir Walter Scott wrote 'it is the fashion to attend Mrs. Coutts's parties and to abuse her. Indeed, Harriot's humble origins, her public persona and her profuse spending made her a constant target of the press, who lost no opportunity in attacking her, and she appears to have been either wildly hated or greatly loved by all in society. The Royal Dukes, with the exception of the Duke of Clarence, later William IV, were all regular visitors. Prince Puckler-Muskau, a German visitor to London and indefatigable snob, records in his journal a visit to the Duchess: 'yesterday, the wedding day of the Duchess of St. A[lbans], was celebrated by a very pleasant rural fete at her villa... perhaps there never was a woman who had the art of appearing more innocent and child-like; certainly this captivating type of coquetry is the greatest charm, though not perhaps the greatest merit, of women' (Austin, trans., A Regency Visitor, 1958, p. 306).
The Duchess died in 1837, leaving the bulk of her estate to Angela Burdett-Coutts, her step-daughter. Contemporary newspaper accounts gleefully pointed out that her fortune was the equivalent to thirteen tons of gold, or if in sovereigns it would stretch over twenty-four miles and take ten weeks to count. Angela Burdett-Coutts used her wealth to amass a large art collection and to fund numerous philanthropic schemes for which she was created a Baroness by Queen Victoria in 1871. She resisted numerous suitors until her marriage in 1881 to an American, William Bartlett, of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Bartlett took the name of Burdett-Coutts in lieu of his own and sat as M.P. for Westminster from 1885, also giving his wife considerable assistance in her charitable activities. When she died on 30 December 1906, Baroness Burdett-Coutts' body lay in state for two days, during which time 30,000 people, both rich and poor, paid their last respects. She was buried in Westminster Abbey on January 5, 1906. After her death, the bulk of the Duchess's silver, including the present tureens, remained in storage until 1914 when it was sold by Christie's in a number of sales held up until 1920.
Edward Hodges Baily (1788-1867)
E. H . Baily joined the leading London sculptor and designer, John Flaxman from his home town of Bristol in 1807. He appears to have worked mainly as a modeller and carver of Flaxman's designs and left him in 1815 to work as a designer himself and a modeller for Rundells. He stayed with Rundells until 1833 and subsequently worked for Storr and Mortimer and for its successor firms, Mortimer and Hunt (1839-1843) and Hunt and Roskell (1843-1897), (C. Oman, 'A Problem of Artistic Responsbility: The Firm of Rundell, Bridge & Rundell', Apollo, January, 1966, p. 180).
Although known in the silver world as an important 19th century designer it is Edward Hodges Baily's work as a sculptor for which he is best remembered. Indeed, his greatest work is still surely the best known sculpture in England today, the figure of Nelson on the column in Trafalgar Square. Among a large number of important surviving works are half the sculptures on Marble Arch, some of the exterior work of Buckingham Palace, the figure of the Duke of York in Waterloo Place and various monuments in St. Pauls and Westminster Abbey.
The design drawing, attributed to Edward Hodges Baily, who worked for Rundell, Bridge and Rundell from 1815 to 1833, is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and is discussed in Charles Oman's "A Problem of Artistic Responsibility: The Firm of Rundell, Bridge and Rundell," Apollo, March 1966, pp. 174-83.
Harriot Mellon, described as "A remarkably handsome brunette with a very tall, fine figure, raven locks, ivory teeth, a cheek like a peach and coral lips," was the daughter of Sarah Mellon, an Irish strolling player, and an impecunious lieutenant in the Madras Cavalry. Harriot made her first appearance on the stage at the age of eleven in a farce called The Spoiled Child at Ulverstone in 1788. Her career as an actress however came to an abrupt end on her marriage in 1815 to her long-time admirer, the 83 year-old banker Thomas Coutts. On his death shortly thereafter he left her his sole legatee. The Morning Post recorded that 'some time previous to his death he settled upon Mrs. C. the sum of £600,000 with the house in Stratton-street, all the plate, linen, &c. - the service of plate is said to be the most valuable in any of the country - together with the house in Highgate'.
Within three years of Coutts' death, reports of an impending marriage between his widow and the 21 year-old heir to the Dukedom of St. Albans were rife. When William Beauclerk succeeded to the Dukedom in 1825 and almost immediately proposed marriage to Mrs. Coutts. It was said that she refused him, telling him to ask her again in a year's time. Sir Walter Scott wrote in his journal 'If the Duke marries her, he ensures an immense fortune; if she marries him she has the first rank. If he marries a woman older than himself by twenty years, she married a man younger in wit by twenty degrees. I do not think he will dilapidate her fortune; he seems good and gentle. I do not think she will abuse his softness of disposition - shall I say or of - head' (Lockart, Life of Sir Walter Scott, vol. VIII, pp. 116-117). The Duke's second proposal was accepted by Mrs. Coutts and they were married on 16 June 1827. 'Before the ceremony, Harriot's servants wore the Coutts livery. Immediately afterwards they appeared in the St. Albans yellow and black stockings' (Brian Masters, The Dukes, 1975, p. 119). It appears to have been a happy marriage, despite the fact that the Duchess kept the pillow upon which Mr. Coutts had expired with her at all times, encased in a wooden box. The Duchess was renowned both for the extravagance of her hospitality and her generosity to those in need.
During an age of extravagant parties and excessive food and drink, Harriot entertained on a regal scale. She regularly hosted up to 700 guests at her London residence at Stratton Street, Holly Lodge, her villa in Highgate, and St. Albans House in Brighton. Guests might snicker at her extravagance, but gladly attended her parties. Sir Walter Scott wrote 'it is the fashion to attend Mrs. Coutts's parties and to abuse her. Indeed, Harriot's humble origins, her public persona and her profuse spending made her a constant target of the press, who lost no opportunity in attacking her, and she appears to have been either wildly hated or greatly loved by all in society. The Royal Dukes, with the exception of the Duke of Clarence, later William IV, were all regular visitors. Prince Puckler-Muskau, a German visitor to London and indefatigable snob, records in his journal a visit to the Duchess: 'yesterday, the wedding day of the Duchess of St. A[lbans], was celebrated by a very pleasant rural fete at her villa... perhaps there never was a woman who had the art of appearing more innocent and child-like; certainly this captivating type of coquetry is the greatest charm, though not perhaps the greatest merit, of women' (Austin, trans., A Regency Visitor, 1958, p. 306).
The Duchess died in 1837, leaving the bulk of her estate to Angela Burdett-Coutts, her step-daughter. Contemporary newspaper accounts gleefully pointed out that her fortune was the equivalent to thirteen tons of gold, or if in sovereigns it would stretch over twenty-four miles and take ten weeks to count. Angela Burdett-Coutts used her wealth to amass a large art collection and to fund numerous philanthropic schemes for which she was created a Baroness by Queen Victoria in 1871. She resisted numerous suitors until her marriage in 1881 to an American, William Bartlett, of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Bartlett took the name of Burdett-Coutts in lieu of his own and sat as M.P. for Westminster from 1885, also giving his wife considerable assistance in her charitable activities. When she died on 30 December 1906, Baroness Burdett-Coutts' body lay in state for two days, during which time 30,000 people, both rich and poor, paid their last respects. She was buried in Westminster Abbey on January 5, 1906. After her death, the bulk of the Duchess's silver, including the present tureens, remained in storage until 1914 when it was sold by Christie's in a number of sales held up until 1920.
Edward Hodges Baily (1788-1867)
E. H . Baily joined the leading London sculptor and designer, John Flaxman from his home town of Bristol in 1807. He appears to have worked mainly as a modeller and carver of Flaxman's designs and left him in 1815 to work as a designer himself and a modeller for Rundells. He stayed with Rundells until 1833 and subsequently worked for Storr and Mortimer and for its successor firms, Mortimer and Hunt (1839-1843) and Hunt and Roskell (1843-1897), (C. Oman, 'A Problem of Artistic Responsbility: The Firm of Rundell, Bridge & Rundell', Apollo, January, 1966, p. 180).
Although known in the silver world as an important 19th century designer it is Edward Hodges Baily's work as a sculptor for which he is best remembered. Indeed, his greatest work is still surely the best known sculpture in England today, the figure of Nelson on the column in Trafalgar Square. Among a large number of important surviving works are half the sculptures on Marble Arch, some of the exterior work of Buckingham Palace, the figure of the Duke of York in Waterloo Place and various monuments in St. Pauls and Westminster Abbey.
The design drawing, attributed to Edward Hodges Baily, who worked for Rundell, Bridge and Rundell from 1815 to 1833, is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and is discussed in Charles Oman's "A Problem of Artistic Responsibility: The Firm of Rundell, Bridge and Rundell," Apollo, March 1966, pp. 174-83.