British Royal family / monarchy / early photographic interes...

Hammer

£700

British Royal family / monarchy / early photographic interest: A collection of ephemera, photographs and medals from the life and career of Mr. Thomas Copperwheat, Master Gilder of Buckingham Palace during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837 - 1901) to George V (1910 - 1936)

Principally contained within a large tooled and gilt bordered vellum folio, the inside cover mounted with a watercolour painted frontispiece ‘Buckingham Palace, with late photographs of State Apartments’, interleaved with 12 candid late 19th photographs taken by Mr. Copperwheat during his tenure within the palace, all featuring room settings / interior scenes to include ‘Royal Chapel’, (prepared by W & D Downey, Ebury St, London) ‘The Queen’s Bedroom’, ‘Grand Stairs (upper and lower portions)’, ‘Blue Drawing Room’, ‘East Gallery’, ‘White Drawing Room’, ‘Ball and Concert Room’, ‘State Dining Room’, ‘Queen’s Luncheon Room’ ‘Royal Closet’(left and right), ‘Picture Gallery’, ‘Throne Room’, all with contemporaneous hand written titles (12) also containing a group of a eight applied samples of wall coverings / furniture upholstery textile samples, before the central page titled ‘Queen’s Letters’, accommodating two facsimile letters written by Queen Victoria in thanks to her ‘good and faithful servants’ for their conduct around her jubilee, alongside four photographic prints taken of fine jewellery, believed to be that from the collection of Queen Mary (1867 - 1953) alongside a fine timepiece (likely recently re-gilded). The folio also containing two evening programmes from Buckingham Palace, Friday Evening, 28th June 1889 and Monday Evening, June 20th 1898, labelled ‘Old Style Programme’ and ‘New Pattern Programme’, a typed week’s programme commencing 6th June 1904 for Buckingham Palace, two invitation cards ‘to view some of the wedding presents’ from the Marriage of H.R.H The Duke of York with Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, on Tuesday, 24th April, 1923.

Sold alongside three small additional photographic albums containing early photographs of fine objects and works of art, likely also from Royal collections, others detailing fine gilding, domestic settings, family portrait photography etc and a small book containing a gilt page marked ‘Happy Xmas and Best Wishes, from Dad’ and a further glazed famed gilded panel, also with further loose candid photographs of country house facades, a portrait of Mr. Copperwheat, etc.

Together with a page from ‘The Borough News’ newspaper, Friday, JUNE 25TH, 1937, ‘Wandsworth Man’s Fatal Accident, Fell In His Garden’ detailing the passing of the pensioned gilder of the royal household, going on to note his 56 year tenure at Buckingham Palace, outlining the commencement of his career as apprentice in 1868, working at that time on the gilding of Blackfriars Bridge (using 3,275 books of gold) continuing to list the honours awarded to Mr Copperwheat.

Alongside the ephemera and photographic material listed here, the collection includes a small glazed mahogany display case accommodating Mr. Copperwheat’s medals / honours to include:

1. Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee (1897)
2. King Edward VII Coronation Medal (1902)
3. King Carlos I of Portugal (1909)
4. King George V Coronation Medal (1911)
5. Royal Long Service Medal (Mr. Copperwheat having served 20 years under George V)

The principal album also containing written dedications from Carlos I Portugal (1909) and a note from The Privy Purse Office of Buckingham Palace regarding the receipt of the 1911 Coronation medal. (Collection).

(Group)