A George II silver-gilt salver, David Willaume, London, 1743

George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington (1675-1758), thence by descent to

Catherine, Lady Grey and Sir John Foley Grey Bart., sold

Christie's, London, 20 April 1921, lot 63 (part)

For silver collectors, George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington (1675-1754) is a legendary figure and the story of his life and his silver has often been told.¹ Not a silver collector himself in the true sense of the word, the Earl did however amass a significant group of plate for his own use, patronizing some of the leading silversmiths of the day. As an 18th century nobleman's 'laying down' of plate the collection is fairly extensive, and the consistent factor is its uniform superb quality. The contemporary manuscript inventory of it, made in 1750, is by no means unique, but what makes the Warrington plate so important for collectors and scholars is the fact that the inventory is in the Earl's own handwriting and the silver was clearly of great importance to him. The 'Particular of my Plate and its Weight,' which lists the bulk of his silver, opens a window revealing not only the role of plate in the household of an 18th century nobleman but also something of the character of this intriguing man.

The Booths were a family of staunchly protestant Cheshire landowners. George Booth's father had been one of leading figures in the events of 1688 which brought William of Orange to the throne. In recognition of his support, William had created him Earl of Warrington in 1690. But when George inherited his father's title and estates in 1693 he found that his father's support of the Glorious Revolution had all but bankrupted him. The 2nd Earl's marriage to Mary Oldbury, daughter of a rich London merchant, brought him some £40,000 and this, combined with careful retrenchment, in time restored the Earl's Dunham Massey estate to solvency and by the end of the 1720s the Earl felt secure enough to begin the refurbishment of the house and the acquisition of plate. The 'Particular' lists some 26,000 ounces of silver, most of which stayed in the possession his descendants, the Earls of Stamford, until dispersed in two sales in the early 20th Century. The current salver is one of the '13 Desert Dishes gilt' recorded in the list. These consisted of three sizes, and the present lot is one of the six smaller examples.²

¹ See J.F. Hayward; The Earl of Warrington's Silver; Apollo; July 1978;

² J. Lomax & J. Rothwell; Country House Silver from Dunham Massey; 2006; pp.80-81