Queen Victoria’s clothing and boots have been saved for the nation and are set to join a world-famous collection of royal dress.
The historical treasures – found in a Norfolk wardrobe – went under the hammer at Derbyshire’s Hansons Auctioneers (Jan 21) and sold for a total of more than £17,000.
Bids came flooding in from around the globe for Queen Victoria’s boots, bodices, skirt, chemise, stockings, parasol and bloomers. Though some international buyers were successful in obtaining items, two pairs of leather boots by J Sparks-Hall of London, a black taffeta skirt and two bodices were secured for a total of £14,000 by Historic Royal Palaces, an independent charity which looks after London’s Kensington Palace, Victoria’s place of birth, alongside five other former royal residences.
Claudia Williams, Collections Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, said: “These acquisitions are an incredibly exciting addition to the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, an internationally significant collection of over 10,000 items of royal and court dress cared for by Historic Royal Palaces.
“As the definitive collection of clothing relating to Queen Victoria’s long widowhood, these objects will make an important contribution to our understanding of both the public image and private life of one of Britain’s most instantly recognisable monarchs.
“As well as being included in future displays, these items reveal that, contrary to popular belief, Queen Victoria did not abandon all interest in her appearance after the death of her beloved Prince Albert, and highlight how – in an era of black and white photography – she exploited clothing’s capacity to communicate, using it as a potent visual symbol of her undying love for her husband.”
Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons, said: “I’m delighted Hansons has been able to play its part in helping these important historical treasures find a new home. In fact, some of them are going home. Queen Victoria was born in Kensington Palace in 1819. Her clothing and boots have been saved for posterity for all to see and enjoy for years to come.”
The remarkable collection, treasured through generations of the same family for more than 100 years, belonged to 63-year-old electrical engineer Roderick Williams from Coltishall, near Norwich, Norfolk.
And he was in the saleroom at Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire to watch lot after lot sell to both international and UK bidders via telephone and internet bids.
The highest individual prices achieved were for a pair of brown kid leather boots, two Victorian bodices, circa 1880/90, and, from the same period, a black taffeta skirt embellished in lace and jet. Each of these three lots sold for £4,000.
A second pair of Queen Victoria’s leather boots, circa 1880, sold for £2,000 and a pair of large silk bloomers bearing a crown stitched into the fabric made £650.
Mr Williams said: “I was pleased with the result. Some items sold for more than I expected, others for less. I thought Queen Victoria’s bloomers may have sold for more but most of the items did very well.
“They are all family heirlooms which were originally given to my great-great grandfather, Alexander Lamont Henderson. He worked as a royal photographer for Queen Victoria up to her death in 1901. We think the clothes were probably given to him by servants in the royal household, perhaps in return for taking photographs of them.”
“We think Alexander caught Queen Victoria’s attention thanks to his experimental colour work with glass plate lantern slides and enamels.
“She commissioned several coloured enamel pictures. These included portraits of her husband Prince Albert and her Scottish attendant John Brown plus views of the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore. It’s also thought some tiny miniatures were donated for display in Queen Mary’s dolls house at Windsor.
“In 1884 Alexander received a Royal Warrant and moved to London. The warrant allowed him to capture everyday royal life and he was also responsible for processing royal portraits on to enamel for use in jewellery.
“He took photos of Queen Victoria and also worked with glass plate negatives taken by other photographers but, sadly, much of his work has been lost or destroyed.
“When my great-great grandfather died in 1907, the clothing was passed down through the generations. It’s been kept in a wardrobe. The time came for me to sell as I needed to make some space.”
Mr Hanson added: “As an auctioneer it’s always wonderful to handle living history. In a turbulent world, we can look back at one of our greatest monarchs. Victoria was queen from 1837 to 1901 and had a deep impact on her country.
“Famously, after the death of her beloved husband Prince Albert in 1861, she wore black for the rest of her life and the bodices and skirt we sold were black.
“Her leather ankle boots show how dainty and narrow her feet were. They are around a size four and the design paved the way to the Chelsea boot. The makers, J Sparks-Hall of London, claimed she wore their boots daily.
“Though she was only 4ft 11ins and petite when she became queen at 18, she liked her food and her waist expanded to 50 inches over the decades – a fact demonstrated by the ample size of the bloomers.
“Throughout her life she was a leader in every sense and swift to pick up on new ideas, so we shouldn’t be surprised that she spotted the talents of a ground-breaking photographer.”
Edinburgh-born Alexander Lamont Henderson, who lived from 1837-1907, created a stir thanks to his experimental photography, enamel and colour work. His aim was to produce a photographic equivalent to the hand-painted miniatures commonly used in jewellery.
His skills led to him being awarded medals for his photographic work, which is still winning plaudits today. In 2019, ground-breaking images he took in Greece in 1904 were exhibited in Athens. Instead of the usual shots of ancient monuments, he recorded everyday life.
After his death, his photographic work was donated to the London Guildhall Museum, which unfortunately was destroyed during the Second World War.
Queen Victoria’s clothing and boots were sold at Hansons, Heage Lane, Etwall, Derbyshire, DE65 6LS, on January 21. To find out more, email: [email protected].
