Lot 257
An early Victorian presentation tankard,
Auction: 23 May 2007 at 12:00 BST
Description
London 1848, maker Robert Hennel, of large size, decorated throughout with foliate scrolls and running hounds, with matching borders to the domed foot rim and hinged domed cover, with putti cast surmount and scroll thumb-piece to the beaded S-scroll handle with heart-shaped kick, with presentation inscription to one side AIRDRIE RACES MEMBERS CUP, PRESENTED BY JAMES BAIRD ESQ. MP. WON BY SWALEDALE 1851
Dimensions
38cm high, 67oz
Footnote
William and James Baird were the eldest and fourth of the eight sons (and two daughters) of Alexander Baird and Jean Moffat, from the Monklands area of Lanarkshire. The family moved from farming to coal mining and iron smelting, with the first Gartsherrie furnace opening on 4 May 1830.
William Baird took over the business after his father's death in 1833, and served as MP (Conservative) for the Falkirk Burghs 1841-46. He was a director of the Caledonian Railway Company and the Forth and Clyde Canal. He married Janet Johnston in 1840, and bought the Elie estate in 1853.
James Baird was MP (Conservative) for the Falkirk Burghs 1850-57. He was a deputy Lieutenant of Ayr and Inverness and bought the Knoydart estate in 1857. He was twice married: in 1852 to Charlotte Lockhart and in 1859 to Isabella Agnew. There were no children. James Baird died at Cambusdoon.
William and James Baird were perhaps the most remarkable members of a remarkable family - the Bairds of Gartsherrie. They were not proprietors of the estate of that name, which belongs to Mr Hamilton-Colt. The only property they possessed was the groundon which their great ironworks were erected.
Their father was also a remarkable man, and their mother - nee Jean Moffat - was a fine specimen of old Scottish matron which is seldom met with now. By her sagacity and indomitable energy she contributed largely to her husband's prosperity, and to form in her children those habits of diligence and integrity by which they became distinguished.
Extracted from Glasgow Digital Library, Memoirs and Portraits of One Hundred Glasgow Men.