A WAX SEALING KIT, featuring a collection of wax sticks in varying shades of red and brown, together with two 19th-century agate seals, one with a faceted handle, and a silver seal,including its original wooden storage box and two refill boxes marked "Georgian Sealing Set, C.W. Wille, London.
This collection originates from the estate of Sir Francis Whitmore, 1st Baronet KCB CMG DSO TD JP (1872-1962) of Orsett Hall, Essex, with most items tracing back to Apley Hall, the ancestral Whitmore home in Shropshire, sold in 1867.
Sir Francis Whitmore was a distinguished military officer who commanded the 10th Royal Hussars and served as the long-standing Commanding Officer of the Essex Yeomanry. He also held the position of Lord Lieutenant of Essex from 1936 to 1958.
The Whitmore lineage begins with Sir William Whitmore (1573-1648), a prominent landowner, successful lawyer, and member of both the Haberdashers' Company and the Merchant Adventurers. He represented Bridgnorth as an MP in 1621, 1624, and 1625.
Sir Francis’s grandmother, Lady Louisa Anne Whitmore, was the daughter of Sir Charles Douglas, 6th Marquess of Queensberry, and Lady Caroline Montagu-Scott. The latter was the daughter of Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch, and Lady Elizabeth Montagu, daughter of George, 1st Duke of Montagu.
The family traces its direct lineage to the House of Stuart through James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, the illegitimate son of Charles II.