What do Emily Hobhouse and Charlotte Newman have in common?
In July 2019 the National Museum in collaboration with the Leeds Becket University (England) hosted a satellite exhibition on Emily Hobhouse and the home industries as part of the War Without Glamour: the Life and Legacy of Emily Hobhouse exhibition presented at the Free State Arts Festival in Bloemfontein. During preparations and research for this display, the author got sidetracked by an enamel and gold pendant in our textile collection. The pendant belonged to Emily Hobhouse. The fitted case with its gold inscription sparked my curiosity: “Mrs. Newman Goldsmith & Court Jeweler”
Emily (9 April 1860 – 8 June 1926) was a British humanitarian, who is remembered for her efforts to change the horrific conditions in the concentration camps where Boer women and children were detained during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). After visiting the camps in 1901 she wrote a report which resulted in a formal investigation by the Fawcett Commission. She returned after the war and helped set up home industries in the Orange Free State and Transvaal to help alleviate the poverty Boer families experienced after the war. This included spinning and weaving schools (the first at Philippolis) and a lace school at Koppies in the Free State. Emily was asked to unveil the Women’s Monument in Bloemfontein on 16 December 1913 but could not attend due to ill health. She died on 8 June 1926 in London. Her ashes found a final resting place at the Women’s Memorial at Bloemfontein on 26 October 1926. She was a remarkable woman who dedicated her life to improving the lives of others and was also a champion of equality and women’s rights.
According to the acquisition register, G125, pendant, was bequeathed to the Museum in 1926. The history of the pendant is unknown. However, it appears that the diamond was donated to Hobhouse by grateful Kimberley campers, most likely following one of her visits to the Kimberley concentration camp. The brooch consists of gold, enamel, and a diamond and includes an orange branch with oranges. The words “GEDULD EN MOED” (Patience and Courage) appear on a pink enamel ribbon with the date “1901” also part of the design. Inscribed on the back is: “KIMBERLEY CAMP 1901”. In Emily’s testament dated 11th October 1908 (War Museum of the Boer Republics) the following is noted: ‘My “Geduld en Moed” pendant & chain to Mrs. M.T. Steyn of Onze Rust, Kaal Spruit, O.R.C.& at her death to be placed in the Bloemfontein Museum. The diamond was a rough (one) given me by a Free State Woman in Kimberley camp & [set] by my orders in London.’ The brooch was accessioned into the National Museum collection in 1926. A royal blue velvet case with “Mrs. Newman / Goldsmith & Court Jeweller / 10. Savile Row. / .W” printed in gold on the satin lining houses the pendant. Unfortunately, no mark was found on the brooch.
It appears that the will dated 1908 was later replaced with a new will, the pendant however still made its way to Bloemfontein after Emily’s passing in 1926 and was probably donated to the museum by Mrs. Tibbie Steyn. In the National Museum Report of the Director for November 1926 (Bloemfontein 30 Nov. 1926) the following note appears: “HISTORICAL COLLECTION:… The relics connected with the late Miss Hobhouse were arranged in a case by themselves, on a black velvet background with necessary labels. They were on view from the week of the funeral onwards.
Charlotte Isabella Newman (1836-1920) a contemporary of Hobhouse and kindred spirit was the first important female studio jeweller and the first woman jeweller to run a studio under her name. Both ladies championed equality, which was very progressive considering the conservative Victorian era they lived in.
Charlotte Gibbs studied design at the Government Art School, South Kensington in England, and married Philip H. Newman in 1860. She started her career as an apprentice to the renowned revivalist jeweller John Brogden. She had exhibited with Brogden in Paris in 1867 and 1878 when he was awarded the Legion d’Honneur, she received a Medaille d’honneur as a collaborator, a unique distinction, and a first for a woman. After Brogden died in 1884, she established her own business, retaining many of the craftsmen who had worked for him. Her business card read: “Mrs. Newman, Goldsmith and Court Jeweller, 10 Savile Row, London.” A woman running a shop and with men working under her was pretty unusual for the time according to Elyse Zorn Karlin, who co-curated Maker & Muse.
Often listed as “Mrs. Philip Newman,” Charlotte Newman was known simply as “Mrs. Newman.” Signing her work “N” or “Mrs. N” may seem anti-feminist by today’s standards, but Diane Lewis-Batista believes that the “Mrs.” in her mark “let people know immediately that it was designed by a woman.” Mrs. Newman specialized in jewellery of the “archaeological” or neo-Renaissance, working in gold and enamel and she rarely produced two pieces alike. Today you will find many of her pieces in museum collections including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Newark Museum.
Schofield in her article refers to a paper entitled Goldsmiths’ Work Past and Present which Charlotte presented at the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacture & Commerce in 1894. According to Schofield the chairman Mr. I Hunter thanked Mrs. Newman, noting to members that whatever their views might be with regard to ladies taking part in politics, they could have no doubt of the propriety and advantage of ladies engaging in so interesting and highly intellectual a subject. Two years later in 1896 the New Zealand publication, The Woman’s World noted: ‘there is only one woman in England who is qualified to call herself a goldsmith. Her name is Mrs. P. Newman…’
Charlotte trained her daughter Mary and her granddaughter May as her assistants and left the Saville Row shop to them on her retirement in 1910. Mary and May continued to operate the shop until 1940.
Some nagging questions remain: Did Charlotte Newman design Emily’s pendant? Although the case would suggest this, no mark is visible on the pendant. Did Emily and Charlotte know one another is another question I was unable to answer. The pendant in the National Museum collection may be evidence of a connection between two remarkable women.
Sources:
Brits, E. 2016. Emily Hobhouse Geliefde Verrraaier. Tafelberg.
Karlin, E.Z. 1993. Jewelry and Metalwork in the Arts and Crafts Tradition. Schiffer Publishing.
McCarthy, C. Women who paved the way: the divine Mrs. N, Charlotte Newman. https://thejewelryloupe.com/women-who-paved-the-way-the-divine-mrs-n-charlotte-newman/
Schofield, A. Mrs Charlotte Newman: pioneer woman jeweller and the first female goldsmith to open her own shop in London in Jewellery History Today. Spring 2014.
Maker & Muse: Women and Early Twentieth Century Art Jewelry. January 29 – May 26, 2019. https://www.flaglermuseum.us/maker-muse.
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