- 122
Henry Matthews, Birmingham
Estimate
100 - 120 GBP
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Description
- 'George to Willy' box
- maker's mark, Birmingham standard and date letter
- silver, plush lining, cardboard, papier mache imitating leather
- 6.5cm., 2 1/2 in. diameter
the lid with facsimile inscription : ' Willy from George / July 1915'
Condition
one foot broken, hinge broken and section of rim of lid missing. dents and scratches commensurate with use.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
In May 1911 Georgie met William Butler Yeats, recalling vividly: ‘one morning when [my] mother thought [I] was at art school, [I] went to the British Museum, where [I] saw Yeats rush past [me] like a meteor ; and that afternoon, taking tea with mother at Olivia Shakespear’s, [I] was formally introduced.’ (Ann Saddlemeyer, Becoming George, 2002, p. 41).
The following years, Georgie and W.B.Yeats built their friendship around their shared passion for occultism, Spiritism and astrology. They attended together many séances with mediums, where she would give her name as ‘Mrs Hyde’ and W.B.Yeats his as ‘Mr Smith’. Their close collaboration on astrology, and Georgie’s incredible skills at this practice, led Yeats to sponsor her introduction , on 24 July 1914, into the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the occult society he had joined twenty-four years earlier. On Georgie’s Golden Dawn notebook is inscribed an horary ‘Sunday 2.15pm’. Although George and Willy had difficulty recalling the specific date (17,22 or Sunday 21st November 1915), they both agreed that the occasion was profoundly significant. Clearly by then, they had considerably more mutual interest and so did Nelly and George thought. The 23 years-old sometimes after mid-November 1915, confided her cousin Grace that she ‘was engaged to marry the well-known poet’ and made her promise not to tell Nelly. (Ann Saddlemeyer, op. cit., 2002, p. 80)
The following years, Georgie and W.B.Yeats built their friendship around their shared passion for occultism, Spiritism and astrology. They attended together many séances with mediums, where she would give her name as ‘Mrs Hyde’ and W.B.Yeats his as ‘Mr Smith’. Their close collaboration on astrology, and Georgie’s incredible skills at this practice, led Yeats to sponsor her introduction , on 24 July 1914, into the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the occult society he had joined twenty-four years earlier. On Georgie’s Golden Dawn notebook is inscribed an horary ‘Sunday 2.15pm’. Although George and Willy had difficulty recalling the specific date (17,22 or Sunday 21st November 1915), they both agreed that the occasion was profoundly significant. Clearly by then, they had considerably more mutual interest and so did Nelly and George thought. The 23 years-old sometimes after mid-November 1915, confided her cousin Grace that she ‘was engaged to marry the well-known poet’ and made her promise not to tell Nelly. (Ann Saddlemeyer, op. cit., 2002, p. 80)