BRILLIANT PARTY

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 21, 25 January 1934, Page 3

BRILLIANT PARTY

A MIDNIGHT AUCTION

ETON-HARROW DUEL

v roYal interest

(From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, December .20.

At Bridgcwatcr House, Lord Jlllesmere 's splendid, London home, ■ an: auction sale was held at midnight in aid of the Personal Service League. Valuable articles had been presented in aid of a good cause. The Queen was present for two hours, with the Duke and Duchess of York, the Duke of; Gloucester, Princo and Princess Alice of Connaught,' Princess' Marie Louise, Princess Helena Victoria, and members of the Corps Diplomatique.' (The attendance numbered nearly 2000. A sum of $6000 was raised'for the unemployed.

The Queen was received by the Marchioness of Reading, president' of the league, and'cdiiductod to a gallery overlooking the rostrum, which was occupied in turn by Mr. C. Vere Pilkingtptr, Earl Beatty, and Mr, Shane Leslie. ,■ Her fpllo'ved the bidding with the closest attention, smilingly leaning forward to watch the friendly rivalries below anfl often laughing outright at some incident. Once, in particular, she joined in'the general laughter, when the customary silent waving of catalogues to signify a■•"jbid was broken by a winning shout of "£6s!'-' from \ Sir Courtauld' Thompson, which secured him Queen Victoria's vinaigrette, presented jointly by Princesses Helena Victoria, and Marie-Louise..

Two Kashmir shawls presented by the King wore sold for> £63 and £50. A set of 'fifteen- lots presented by the Queen made a total of £400. The first, sl. Louis XVI clock, was bought byLady Reading for £155. Sir Robert Williams bought a shaped crystal box with gold mounts for £150, and. a bottle of eau de Cologne given to the Queen by' the' Uiiiou of- South 'Africa fetched £ 13. A Chinese -.snuff bottle brought £.16, a jaijo matchbox £14, and three soapstono carvings fetched £8, £7, and £5.. A set of 12 steel shaft golf clubs presented by the Prince of Wales, a\replica of the clubs he uses himself, was auctioned by Admiral of the Fleet Lord Bcatty to Mr. H. Lcbus for £60. Lord Bcatty also sold a blank canvas signed by David Jagger for -£270 to Miss Marks; a blank canvas by ,1. M. Cohen fetched £310, and a blank canvas signed and jrescnted by Mr. Oswald Birlcy was sold for 550 guineas to Mr. Simon Marks. SWISHIIfo BLOCK BATTLE. The Eton ".swishing-biock," whicli* was "pinched" in 1881, was borne with due ceremony by attendants, and saw Mr. Shane Leslie on the rostrum with an impassioned appeal to old Etonians "not to let the eueiny got this r^lic." , "Remember, ladies and gentlemen," ho continued dramatically, "bishops have knelt to that block, Britain 's greatest'warriors have l)lcd on it, our school may be wiid to have been reared on it. Now —rally roundl" The "other p]acc," however, was not disposed to let this trophy go without a struggle, and the excitemcJit mounted .with the bids between old . -Etonians and Harrovians. It was knoqked down to Mr. Wtnri, a nephew of the " donor, for £450. Bridgewater House, lout by the Earl and Countess of Ellesmcre, had. never' been open to the public previously. The great hall, with its green marble pillars, richly sculptured and painted ceilings, tfnd mirrors, made a beautiful and impressive frame ' for the bidding. Works from wha|t is tho finest private picture gallery in' England hang in thfe galleries, while' in' the ground-floor rooms off the hall are pictures by Reynolds, Velasquez, Cuyp, Tintoretto, Raphael, and other world-famous masters. '