Beschreibung:

[Annie Horniman interest] The Order of the Companions of Honour, G.V.R., breast badge, silver-gilt and enamel, in a case from John Pinches, London; a leather and chromium plated wallet, early 20th century, gilt embossed 'A.E.F.H.' with an occult symbol, 15cm (6in) long; an opal mounted oxidised silver rectangular cigarette case by Horace Woodward & Co. Ltd, Birmingham 1910, later pave set with an eight-pointed star to the cover, 13cm (5in) long, 228g (7.35 oz) gross; a Victorian tortoiseshell card case, containing Ann Horniman's calling cards, in an embroidered black silk cover; and a silver and enamel oblong small cigarette case by Cornelius Desormeaux Saunders & James Francis Hollings (Frank) Shepherd, Birmingham 1902, enamelled with an armorial, 9cm (3 1/2in) long, 97g (3.1 oz) gross (5) The armorial of King's College, Cambridge. Henry VI founded King's College in 1441 and Letters Patent granting the college this shield were dated 1st January 1448. Provenance: Annie Elizabeth Fredericka Horniman (1860-1937) was the eldest child of the famous tea merchant Frederick Horniman, who founded the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill, South London. Having gone to the Slade School of Fine Art in 1882, Annie Horniman developed her interests in the theatre. In 1894, with the proceeds of a legacy from her grandfather, she financed a season of plays at the Avenue Theatre in London, bringing the plays of W. B. Yeats and George Bernard Shaw to the stage for the first time. Through her friendship with Yeats, Annie agreed to fund the opening in 1904 of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, as a base for the Irish National Theatre. In 1907 she purchased the Gaiety Theatre in Manchester, and it was her involvement with the Gaiety Theatre that saw the establishment of repertory theatre outside London, whereby the theatre employed a resident company of actors. Annie Horniman was famous for her eccentric life style, causing a mild sensation by openly smoking cigarettes and wearing flamboyant clothes. She was renowned for wearing the opal dragon pendant (sold these rooms 21st March 2012) and was frequently photographed with it. The opal mounted cigarette case in the present lot was evidently embellished to complement the dragon pendant. Annie Horniman`s letters, papers and photographs were purchased by The John Rylands Library of the University of Manchester in 1984. Horniman was a member of the occult group the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn along with William Butler Yeats, Arthur Machen and Aleister Crowley. She was awarded the Companion of Honour (CH) on 3rd June 1933. Condition report disclaimer