Elizabeth Huntly, seal and copper-plate engraver

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book trade, seal engraver

Street View: 9
Address: 74 New Bond Street

Thomas Day Huntly and his sister Mary, two of the five children of William Huntly and Elizabeth Lockyer, were baptised in Bath Abbey on the 21st of December 1783, the feast day of St. Thomas, hence young Thomas’s name.⁽¹⁾ In 1796, he was apprenticed to a well-known engraver of Bath, William Hibbart (also spelled Hibbert) and his son John. Hibbart was a printmaker, engraver, and copper-plate printer, who advertised as a teacher of the trade. William paid Hibbart the premium of £26 6s for the privilege, which was quite a substantial sum of money to lay out on the vocational education of a younger son (Thomas was the 5th child and the 3rd son). If Thomas served the regular 7 years’ apprenticeship, he would have been ready to set up on his own in 1803, but there is no evidence that he had his own business that early in his career. He may have worked for his elder brother John Lockyer Huntly who worked as an engraver in Bath from Pulteney Street and later from Sydney Buildings. The first we hear of Thomas Day in London is on 15 October 1811 when he married Elizabeth Allen at St. James’s Piccadilly. The marriage record does not give Thomas’s profession or address, so it is unclear what he was doing and where he was living at that time.

The first record of him in the land tax records for 74 New Bond Street is in 1816. In 1815, the property appears to be empty as no name has been filled in, and in 1814 the name of the previous occupant, Michael Visterin, a corset or truss-maker, has been crossed out. Visterin’s name had been listed at number 74 from 1809. The tax records for New Bond Street are slightly confusing, as two numbering systems have been used. Sometimes the house number is given, sometimes some sort of administrative number, sometimes both, and sometimes neither, as for instance in 1816. Number 74 was administrative number 62, and therefore number 74 is in reality house number 86. The administrative numbers do not correspond – as I first thought – with the house numbers before the renumbering in c.1805 as number 74 was then number 69 (see Horwood’s map of 1799). Fortunately, the record for 1814 gives both house and administrative numbers and although Huntly is not yet listed, it clearly shows his later neighbours: Harry Phillips, the auctioneer, at number 73 (admin nos 59-61) and William Tarner at 75 (admin no 63). At the time Tallis produced his booklets, Phillips was still working from number 73 and number 75 was occupied by Thomas Tarner, bookseller and stationer. Huntly probably moved into number 74 earlier than the tax records suggest, as the Westminster Rate Books already have him paying for the property in 1813.

1814 Land Tax record with number 74 no longer occupied by Michael Visterin (click to enlarge)

Horwood 1799

Thomas Day probably shared the building with others as, for instance, an insurance record and advertisements show one John Ewer Poole, tobacconist, working from number 74 at the same time as when Huntly is paying the tax. Poole had rather an eclectic career. In the 1811 London Directory he is listed as a jeweller in Gough Square, he then became a tobacconist in Bond Street and when he went bankrupt in 1821 he was said to be an auctioneer and appraiser.⁽²⁾ Below two advertisements for the gentlemen:

Morning Chronicle, 21 February 1818

Morning Chronicle, 16 October 1819

After Poole left, number 74 was also used by Wallis and Co, who sold The Recreative Review from the premises. But despite these other occupants, Thomas Day Huntly continued his engravers business and his name is listed for number 74 in all the relevant directories. He engraved seals, but also bookplates (ex-libris), and he supplemented his income by organising exhibitions of paintings and/or drawings (see for instance the 1818 advertisement above); the admission price for these events was 1s.

seal and box from c.1830 (Source: Puckering’s via rubylane.com)

In 1830, Thomas expanded the business to include 167 Regent Street, but he was not to reap the rewards of the expansion for very long as he died in late 1832 and was buried at St. George’s on the 13th of December. He left all his property, including the business, to his widow “for her personal use” and if she was to remarry, her new husband “shall not have it in his power to dispose of the aforementioned business or trade or any other property” that was part of the estate. After Elizabeth’s death, the estate was to be sold for the benefit of the children.⁽³⁾ If either of the sons wanted to have the business, they were allowed to purchase it at a price determined by “persons competent to judge the same”. No new husband was in the picture and neither did the sons take over 74 Bond Street, so it was Elizabeth whom Tallis found on the premises when he compiled his Street Views.

advertisement in Street View booklet 9

The 1841 census found Elizabeth at number 74 with sons George and Samuel; daughter Selina used the address in 1843 when she dissolved a partnership with Amelia Liberty as milliners and dress makers.⁽⁴⁾ In 1851, the census lists Elizabeth with her sons Thomas and Samuel at number 74, and in 1861 with her daughter Ann. She died in 1868 in Marylebone; probate was only granted in 1885 to daughter Ann as the residuary legatee.⁽⁵⁾ Elizabeth must have relinquished the business sometime after the census of 1861, where she is still listed as engraver and printer, and before the end of 1865 as from then onwards, advertisements appear for Henry Turner and Co., homoeopathic chemists and medical publishers. The tax records still list Elizabeth in 1864, but no longer in 1865, so she probably left in 1863 or 1864 – tax records tended to be a bit slow in updating the names of property owners. In 1869, John Keene took over the shop in New Bond Street after his partnership with the Turners was dissolved. See for the rest of the story on the chemist’s here. It is not entirely clear what happened to 167 Regent Street. Pigot’s Directory of 1839, and the 1843 and 1851 Post Office Directories just show Elizabeth Huntly at 74 New Bond Street, although she apparently still paid tax and rates on the Regent Street property, at least until 1843. The Post Office Directories (and Tallis, by the way) give William Eyre, hosier, as the occupant of number 167, but he may just have rented (part of?) the shop. I will try to find out the exact circumstances when I write the post on Eyre.

1876 publication by Keene and his partner Ashwell

Source: thesaleroom.com

74 New Bond Street as the Huntleys knew it no longer exists. In c.1900, a new building, designed by Henry John Treadwell (1861-1910) replaced the old one. The Treadwell building is now Grade II listed; you can read the listing text here and see the building in Google Street View here.

(1) I am most grateful to Debra Lyons, a Huntly descendent, who sent me a lot of information on the family, which has been incorporated into my text.
(2) The London Gazette, 16 January 1821.
(3) PROB 11/1809/120. Children mentioned in his will: Thomas Johnson, William, Elizabeth, Mary Anne, Selina, John Lockyer (named after his uncle), George, Samuel Hazard, Anne, Elizabeth Selina.
(4) The London Gazette, 2 October 1846.
(5) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1885. Estate valued at £150.

Neighbours:

<– 75 New Bond Street

73 New Bond Street –>

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George Halfhide, seal engraver

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seal engraver

Street View: 66
Address: 7 Coventry Street

From 1784 to 1796, one John Barnes had his seal engraving business in Leicester Fields, and from 1796 to 1799 at that address together with George Halfhide, but in 1800, they relocated the business to 7 Coventry Street. Not long after that, Halfhide continued on his own, often referring to himself as the successor to John Barnes. What happened to John Barnes is unclear; he may have retired, moved away, or died. Nor is it clear what exactly the relationship was between the two men. Was Halfhide an apprentice to Barnes who stayed on at the end of his apprenticeship to become a partner, or was Barnes at some point in need of money and looking for a partner? Whatever the reason for their partnership, it certainly made Halfhide into a well-established seal engraver with official appointments. At one time or another in the first twenty years of his career, he was the official seal engraver to the Prince of Wales and the Dukes of York, Cumberland and Sussex. Later in his career he was also the official engraver to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; appointments he proudly announced on his trade cards.

trade card c.1801 ©British Museum

[UPDATE: a kind reader sent me a picture of a screw-top seal box with a Barnes & Halfhide label. As Barnes and Coventry Street are mentioned, it must date from the early 19th century]

Treen box. With grateful thanks to Edward Marrian

But engraving seals was not all Halfhide did. On two of his cards, he also advertises visiting cards, bookplates and livery buttons. Of the latter, I have not found examples [UPDATE: another kind reader sent me pictures of a button], but of the visiting cards and bookplates we can find evidence in the correspondence of two men.

Livery button. With grateful thanks to Steve and Joseph Faulkner

In 1822, George Halfhide writes to George Harry Grey (1765-1845), the 6th Earl of Stamford, that he encloses a proof copy of a bookplate engraved with the Earl’s crest.⁽¹⁾ And in 1827, William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877), photography pioneer, receives a letter from his mother, Elisabeth Theresa Feilding, née Fox-Strangways (d.1846), in which she asks him to go round to Halfhide’s to collect “100 engraved bits of paper to stick in books” for Mr. F. She says that Halfhide “has the plate & knows what he sent before with the Hapsburg Eagle”.⁽²⁾ And three years later William Henry is once again commissioned by his mother to look after some cards for her; this time Halfhide is supposed to have delivered 200 of mother’s cards to the Feilding residence in London and could William Henry please send one to Madame de Lieven’s straightaway, or it will be too late.⁽³⁾

trade card c. 1840 ©Fitzwilliam Museum

And although these bookplates and cards no doubt brought in welcome monetary resources, Halfhide was first and foremost a seal engraver and several of his seals still exist. The National Trust owns one in their collection at Smallhythe Place, Kent (photo here) and one for George Murray, Bishop of Sodor and Mann came up recently in an auction (photo here). A nice example is the one for St. David’s College at Lampeter which was founded in 1822 and is now part of the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David.

Great seal of St. David’s College, Lampeter (Source: http://www.peoplescollectionwales.co.uk)

Not an awful lot is know about Halfhide himself. At some point, his son, another George, became part of the business, from then on referred to as Halfhide & Son. George senior’s will has been transcribed in full (see here) and in it he mentioned that he is formerly of Coventry Street and now of Southend Lewisham. This is also born out by the 1841 census when both George senior and George junior are listed at Clear Lodge, Perry Hill, Lewisham. Also living there, besides a number of servants, is Mary, junior’s wife. Mary was the daughter of William Clowes, the printer.⁽⁴⁾ There do not seem to have been any children for George and Mary, at least, none are mentioned in the censuses of 1841 and 1851. George junior died 10 June 1860⁽⁵⁾ and his first probate record on 6 July 1860 lists William Nash, seedsman, and Edward Clowes, Esq. (brother-in-law) as two of the executors. The third executor, Samuel Snell, wine merchant, gave his oath to the proceedings on 16 May 1861. Why the delay is unclear. A hand-written addition to the first record of 1860 changes the original estimate of £12,000 to £14,000 with a date of March 1866. The 1861 census gives the widow as “proprietor of houses, fund holder”, still living at 7 Coventry Street. The Gentleman’s Magazine of 1865 gives Mary’s death on 19 April, but her probate record correctly gives a date of 3 January.⁽⁶⁾ The executors of her estate are George and Edward Clowes, her brothers. The original value estimate for her estate of £5,000 is changed to £3,000 when the case is resworn at the Stamp Office in January 1866.⁽⁷⁾ But even as late as 1870, the finances of the deceased couple had not been finally arranged as a notice appeared in The London Gazette of 25 October of that year that “all creditors and other persons having any claims or demands upon or against the estate” are required to make themselves known to the solicitor for the executors.

trade card c. 1812 ©British Museum

What became of the shop and the seal engraving business is unclear, but near the end of his life, Halfhide must have entered into a partnership with one Standish as in early 1865, the University of Mumbai placed an order with “Messrs Halfhide and Standish, Seal Engravers, London, for engraving a common seal for the University with the arms granted by the Earl Marshal. The seal was to be of silver with an ivory handle, and the engravers were asked to take instructions from the University’s agents in England”.⁽⁸⁾ But that is as far as my information on Standish goes, although a trip to the Bodleian may be useful as they have “an album with samples, mainly printed by Halfhide and Standish”.

Postscript: As you can see from the comment on this post, Sam Pisano found a wonderful piece of evidence to supplement the information we have on George Halfhide. Hidden behind a fire escape is a stone plaque showing that the building “was erected at the suggestion & unceasing beneficial exertions of George Halfhide”. The plaque is situated on a piece of wall, apparently all that’s left of the building it once graced, in a courtyard between Poland Street and Marshall Street.

Thanks go to Sam Pisano for allowing me to use her photos

In 1725, the parish of St. James, Piccadilly, erected a workhouse in Poland Street, eventually covering the area between Poland Street, Marshall Street and Great Marlborough Street. The workhouse was extended and modified several times, extensively so in 1821. Whether the date on Halfhide’s stone memorial, 1826, points towards another extension or whether the building had been erected earlier and the year just dates the erection of the plaque is uncertain. Nor have I found out which part of the workhouse Halfhide helped to build, but if further research leads to more details, I will let you know.

The workhouse itself became an important part of John Snow’s investigation into the cause of cholera as he noticed that, although the workhouse was situated quite close to the Broad Street pump, which he had thought to be contaminated, only a few of the inmates contracted the disease. The workhouse had its own well, however, so had no need to get its water from the pump, providing Snow with another piece of evidence to point to the water from the pump as the problem. As we now know, he was quite correct, but many did not believe him at first, causing a delay that led to many more unnecessary deaths.

1893-96 Ordnance Survey map showing the location of the workhouse

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(1) John Rylands University Library, Manchester: GB 113 EGR4/2/12/8. Letter dated 23 October 1822.
(2) The Correspondence of William Henry Fox Talbot: Letter dated 17 September 1827 (transcription from http://foxtalbot.dmu.ac.uk/ Original letter in the British Library). Mr. F. is Rear Admiral Charles Feilding (1780-1837) of the Royal Navy and Talbot’s step-father.
(3) The Correspondence of William Henry Fox Talbot: Letter dated 8 February 1830 (transcription from http://foxtalbot.dmu.ac.uk/ Original letter in the British Library).
(4) They were married on the 9th of July, 1829 at St. Margaret’s, Westminster.
(5) He was buried at Norwood Cemetery on 16 June 1860.
(6) She was buried at Norwood Cemetery on 10 January 1865.
(7) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1860, 1861 and 1865.
(8) Aroon Tikekar, The Cloister’s Pale: A Biography of the University of Mumbai
(1984, 2nd. ed. 2006), p. 153-154.