Social Victorians/People/Paget Family

Overview

Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget

• “Possessed of considerable wealth, Paget won renown less as a soldier than as a bon vivant; his close friendship from boyhood with the prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) — the two were regular social companions — was an incalculable asset throughout his career. Pompous and verbose in speech, headstrong when aroused, though gallant in the field, Paget was neither cool nor clear-headed; intellectually shallow, he boasted to have ‘lived history rather than read it’ (Times obit.).”
• ”After retiring in 1918 he spent most of his time in Cannes, prominent in yachting circles on the Riviera. His other recreations included racing, hunting, fishing, and golf; an avid gardener, he had a wide amateur knowledge of botany.”
• ”Paget died in Cannes on 9 December 1928, leaving an unsettled estate of £22,708.”

Minnie Paget (Mrs. Arthur Paget)

• “… of New York, USA; strong-minded and vivacious, she became a prominent London hostess” after her wedding to Arthur Paget.
• Minnie Paget attended the Duchess of Devonshire's 1897 fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House. She was one of 2 women dressed as Cleopatra.
• Fiske

Almeric Fitzroy

• Almeric Fitzroy doesn't really belong on this page. The very big generation of Pagets has men with the names Almeric and Fitzroy, so he ended up here for now.
• The 7th son of a landed general, a subsequent son of a subsequent son, Almeric Fitzroy was a civil servant. David Cannadine describes him as an example of "landed-establishment life" and one of the "genteel mandarins":

  He was a great grandson of the third Duke of Grafton, and his mother was a daughter of Lord Feversham. He began his official life as an Inspector of Schools in the Education Department of the Privy Council. The appointment was arranged by family influence, and it gave Fitzroy time to hunt three days in every fortnight.... In 1884, Lord Carlingford transferred him to the Privy Council Office itself; in 1895 the Duke of Devonshire (who had just become Lord President) made him his private secretary; and three years later, the combination of family influence and the Duke's patronage brought him the Clerkship of the Privy Council, which he held until his retirement in 1923. Throughout this period, he was on the closest terms with the leading politicians of the day, he moved easily in royal and patrician society, he was a well-known figure in the clubs of London, and he spent many a weekend at Chatsworth, Lissadell, Osterley, Longleat, and Euston.

• Also, according to Cannadine, "Almeric Fitzroy wrote books about his ancestors, and was a trustee of the Duke of Grafton's settlement."

Also Known As

• Family name: Paget
• Sir Arthur Fitzroy and Mrs. Minnie (Mary Stevens) Paget
  • General Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget
• Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Paget
• Mr. and Mrs. George Ernest Paget
  • and Miss Hylda Paget
• Mr. Gerald and Mrs. Lucy Paget
• Almeric Fitzroy
  • Mr. Fitzroy (nom de plume)

Timeline

1877 January 2, Gerald Cecil Stewart Paget and Lucy Annie Emily Gardner married.

1878 July 27, Mary Stevens and Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget married.

1889 June 17, Alexandra Harriet Paget and Edward Arthur Colebrooke married. (They attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House and are treated on the Colbrooke page.)

1897 July 2, Mr. Arthur and Mrs. Minnie Paget attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House, as did his brother Gerald Cecil Stewart Paget.

1902, Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget was promoted to the rank of General.

1914 March, Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget “precipitated the so-called Curragh ‘mutiny’ [in Ireland] by grossly and melodramatically misrepresenting orders regarding precautionary troop movements intended to safeguard against possible seizures of arms depots by the Ulster Volunteers.”

Costume at the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 Fancy-dress Ball

Black basalt Egyptian statue of Cleopatra as an Egyptian goddess or Arsinoe II

Minnie Paget

"Minnie," Lady Paget as Cleopatra. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.

At the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball, Minnie Paget, Mrs. Arthur Paget, walked in the "Oriental" procession as Cleopatra.

John Thomson's portrait (left) of "Mary ('Minnie', née Stevens), Lady Paget as Cleopatra" in costume is photogravure #145 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire, one copy of which is in the National Portrait Gallery. The printing on the portrait says, "Mrs. Arthur Paget as Cleopatra."

The Lafayette Negative Archive has Minnie Paget in another pose in this same costume:

• http://lafayette.org.uk/pag1400a.html

The photograph in the album was taken by John Thomson, but the one in the Lafayette Negative Archive has to have been taken by Lafayette, probably in its studio.

The headdress looks better in the portrait published in the album, which also shows the large plume fan behind her that was, presumably, carried by an attendant as she processed.

The Egyptian statue (right) of Cleopatra as an Egyptian goddess (or of Arsinoe II) is made of black basalt and dates from the second half of the 1st century B.C.E. It is now in the collection at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Newspaper Reports

Minnie Paget apparently had a Black attendant, which the Morning Post described using the n-word, quoted below; offensive language appears in other reports as well, like the description of her appearance in the report of the American Providence [Rhode Island] Evening Telegram.

• She was dressed in an "Egyptian costume, the train of black crepe de chine embroidered with gold scarabaeus and lined with cloth of gold; skirt of black gauze with lotus flowers worked in gold, and sash of gauze tissue wrought with stones and scarabaeus. The bodice, glittering with gold and diamonds, was held up on the shoulders with straps of large emeralds and diamonds. The square head-dress was of Egyptian cloth of gold, the sphinx-like side pieces being striped black and gold encrusted with diamonds, and in the middle of the forehead hung a large pearl from a ruby; above was the ibis with outstretched wings of diamonds and sapphires, and beyond were peacock feathers standing out, and the back was all looped with pearls and amber. The remainder of the head-dress was of uncut rubies and emeralds, all real stones, surmounted by the jewelled crown of Egypt; round the neck were row upon row of necklaces of various gems, reaching to the waist, and a jewelled girdle fell to the hem; a nigger [sic] held a fan of ostrich feathers over her head."
• "Mrs. Arthur Paget appeared in an Egyptian costume, the train being of black crepe de chine embroidered with gold scarabæns [sic], and lined with cloth of gold; skirt of black gauze with lotus flowers worked in gold, and sash of gauze tissue wrought with stones and scarabæns. The bodice, glittering with gold and diamonds, was held up on the shoulders with straps of large emeralds and diamonds."
• "Another Cleopatra was Mrs. Arthur Paget, who really looked the character, as she is so dark and Oriental in appearance. Mrs. Paget had a black attendant."
• "There were also two Cleopatras ..., and Mrs. Arthur Paget looked her character to the life, and her jewels were quite the most magnificent in the room. Mr. Gerald Paget walked beside her, attired very effectively as Mark Antony."

Queen Victoria wearing the Coronation Necklace and Earrings, small-Diamond Crown and Koh-i-Noor brooch.

Commentary on Her Costume

Sphinx Headdress with Horizontal Stripes, Musée du Louvre Antiquités Égyptiennes

This complex costume has some Egyptian-looking elements, but it is mostly Victorian in style and line. The Victorian line is present in the corseted waist, the crown part of the headdress and the train. The frou-frou and much of the jewelry reflect a Victorian sense of style. Minnie Paget's waist in this portrait is strikingly small and has an improbably smooth curve, and the photograph looks like it has been retouched.

• The Morning Post says that Paget's headdress is "surmounted by the jewelled crown of Egypt," but the little crown on top of her head looks more like Queen Victoria's small diamond mourning crown (right) than any of the historical crowns of Egypt. The design is different, but the size is about the same. Paget's headdress has so many jewels on it, it looks more like a European helmet than anything worn by Egyptian royalty. The pearl dangling between her eyes from the filet or crown would have been very distracting to wear.
• The striped lappets, which stick out from the sides of that helmet, evoke the headdress of the sphinx, several versions of which exist in good condition in museums in Europe (Sphinx in the Louvre, below right).
• Like the lappets, the decorations on Paget's costume hint at Egypt, but the costume is essentially Victorian.
• Paget's foundation garments are clearly Victorian, which explains the tiny waist (even in the image that is not retouched) and the emphasis on bosom and hips. And they explain why this costume looks so very Victorian and so not Egyptian.
• This visually busy costume is covered in Victorian frou-frou: elaborate and varied decorations with jewels, layers, repeated motifs and different fabrics and trim. The fabric worn by the historical Egyptians would have been light, sometimes almost transparent. These Victorians were wearing silk. which was used to make the velvets and satins. Made of synthetic fibers, our velvets and silks would be too warm for a July party, but silk fabrics breathe, drape better and are much lighter and richer. What was supposed to make the costume Egyptian are the stereotypical motifs associated with Egypt like ibis wings on the bodice and train, the horizontal stripes motif, the arm bands and multiple bracelets, the sphinxy headdress and so on.
• This costume must have been heavy, with all its layers, metal and jewels.
• The bodice — "glittering with gold and diamonds" — is breast-plate- or cuirass-like with rounded "scales." The shoulder straps of the bodice, decorated with diamonds and very large emeralds, are mentioned in the newspaper reports. The "scales" are thick, stiffened, framed or outlined with something possibly metallic like a textured braid or cord, attached at the top and free at the bottom. Besides the "scales" the bodice is heavily ornamented with huge jeweled pieces at the top and bottom. The top piece is a complex mixture of ibis wings made of jewels and precious-metal sequins with a large brooch-like flower and a pendant diamond-encircled cabochon. The bottom piece nearest the bodice is on top of the girdle
• Like the busyness, the layers are typical of Victorian design. Distinguishing among the layers is very difficult because of the way the costume was constructed and because the photograph is in black and white. In particular, we can't tell how many layers there are or what's under what.

  

  Sarah Bernhardt as Cleopatra, 1890, 1891?, Sarony, NY

  • Although we can't see them, the foundation garments are essential to the layering of this costume.
  • Jeweled or beaded elements are on top, but what they are mounted on is not clear.
  • One layer is the distinctive overskirt that is not solid fabric — it might be strings with beads or jewels attached, or open-weave netting or ribbons, hinting perhaps that Cleopatra would not have been wearing as much clothing as Paget is.
  • Draped around her hips and falling down the front is a striped girdle or sash. The girdle is stitched in folds at the hips and falls straight down with what would be the ends of a tied girdle gradually widening. Stitching the girdle down — rather than tying it — controls the bulkiness around the waist and hips and keeps the "ends" stiff and in place.
  • The girdle acts as a frame to the vertically striped ornament decorating the front of the skirt.
  • The portrait of Sarah Bernhardt (right) shows her costumed as Cleopatra but very differently from Paget. She does not seem to be wearing Victorian corseting, which is why she looks so much less restricted. Her tied girdle is looser, freer and bulky, unlike Paget's highly controlled and shaped one. The looseness of her garment and her flexible pose suggest a sensuality that Paget's portraits do not.
  • A skirt must be under the netting, but which fabric it is, where it stops and starts at the waist and how long it is are not clear.
  • What we can see at the bottom of the skirt does not make sense: some elements appear to be disconnected or hanging unsupported in the air, and both portraits show fabric that does not seem to be a part of the other structures nearby.
  • A long dark piece of fabric in the front, which is probably part of the skirt, is behind the heavy jeweled, vertically striped ornament that contributes to the stripe theme (discussed below as a striped element).
  • In the album portrait her train is pulled to the front around her left side and in the portrait from the Lafayette Negative Archive around her right side, covering her feet and further confusing any attempts to understand the bottom of the skirt.
• A striped motif dominates this costume. The stripes in the headdress lappets are repeated in the girdle, in the netted skirt, in the ornament down the front and in other elements that reinforce this theme more indirectly.
  • The many striped elements are not antithetical to Egyptian design, although in Egyptian images the stripes are provided by folds and pleats.
  • The ornament that hangs down the center front of the skirt dominates the stripe theme. This rigid metal framework is made of vertical and horizontal stripes of metal bars and stones. The vertical stripes are strands of what looks like large diamonds or other clear stones. The horizontal stripes are made mostly of dark stones, some of which are quite large. The last set of strands is not attached at the bottom, so they appear to dangle freely. The framework is rigid both vertically and horizontally, keeping the many large jewels in place.
• The Gentlewoman says that Minnie's "jewels were quite the most magnificent in the room." Between the jewelry and the trim on her costume, she is virtually covered in precious stones.
  • She is heavily accessorized, carrying a fan and wearing a headdress, train and a lot of jewelry, likely disassembled from other jewelry. The attendants and the long-handled fan they carried were also accessories, actually.
    • The jewelry includes the massive and ornate brooch-like or pendant pieces at the center front as well as bracelets, brooches, rings and possibly 9 necklaces.
    • Most of the stones are faceted, but the many cabochons in a diamond setting also make a repeated motif.
    • Arm bands are connected to the bracelets on her wrists by chains long enough for her to straighten her arms. Coin-like discs are attached to the armbands, bracelets and chains.
    • Some of the jewelry even looks stereotypically Egyptian, like the snake head dangling on Paget's right shoulder and the snake encircling her left upper arm.
  • Her jewels, some of them strikingly large dark stones, appear both as accessories and as trim on the costume itself. Functioning both as accessories and trim, the ostentatious decorations on the center front of her costume would have been so expensive, they can only be an indicator of wealth and status. The complex netted overskirt that partially covers a solid underskirt could be analyzed as costume, accessory or trim.
    • The trim on this elaborate costume includes the shoulder straps, the striped ibis wings at the top center of the bodice, the "scales" on her bodice, the jeweled stripes on her headdress, the embroidered ibis wings on the train and the disconnected jewelled strands at the bottom of the skirt.
  • Her hair is down and shows behind the chains behind and under her right elbow.

The Historical Cleopatra

Cleopatra lived from 70/69 B.C.E. to 10 or 12 August 30 B.C.E., the last of the Hellenistic pharaohs. But nonscholarly late 19th-century Britons, Europeans and Americans would have known her less as a historical figure than a cultural one, by her presence in the arts and in popular culture. Sarah Bernhardt's performance as Cleopatra was very important, and the general discussion of the character and the popular-culture figure appears on Bernhardt's page.

Col. Arthur Paget

Sir Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget as Edward, the Black Prince. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.

Effigy of Edward, the Black Prince, Canterbury Cathedral

Coat of Arms of Edward, the Black Prince, showing fleurs de lys and lions

Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget, Col. Arthur Paget, also attended, as Prince Edward of Woodstock, the "Black Prince." He was married to Minnie Paget.

John Thomson's portrait (left) of "Sir Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget as Edward, the Black Prince" in costume is photogravure #146 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery. The printing on the portrait says, "Colonel Arthur Paget as Edward the Black Prince."

Newspaper Reports

• He was dressed as "Edward the Black Prince, in a chain mail, with black velvet coat embroidered in gold, and fur coat worked with lions and fleur-de-lis in gold; black helmet and Prince of Wales's plume."

• "Colonel Arthur Paget assumed the character of Edward the Black Prince in a chain-mail, with black velvet coat embroidered in gold."

Commentary on His Costume

• Paget's costume looks appropriately 14th century, although of course contemporary methods would have been used to construct it. Also his mustache is very Victorian, not 14th century.
• The Morning Post says he is wearing a coat "embroidered in gold" and a coat "worked with lions and fleur-de-lis," but he is not wearing a coat. His tabard has the lions and fleurs de lys, and his cloak is edged with embroidery. He appears to be wearing velvet rather than fur.
• The chain mail looks very realistic except for its sheer quantity. It is surprising to see his arms, hands, legs and feet covered in chain mail. The effigy of Edward, the Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral shows him clad in armor articulated at the knees and elbows rather than in chain mail covering his limbs.
• Paget's costume looks uncomfortable. The chain mail and helmet would have been heavy. Surely he would have taken off at least the cloak, helmet, hood and gloves after the procession.
• He appears to be wearing a chain mail shirt under the tabard that is decorated with the fleurs de lys and lions, the bottom of which has the jagged points.
• The scabbard is on the sword he is holding rather than attached to the sword belt around his waist.

Edward, the Black Prince

Edward, the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), son of King Edward III, was a successful military leader. If he had not died before his father, he would have been king of England. His tomb is in Canterbury Cathedral with his surcoat, helmet, shield, and gauntlets. A closeup of his effigy in Canterbury Cathedral is above, right, along with his coat of arms, which shows the design on the surcoat or tabard Arthur Paget is wearing.

Gerald Paget

Gerald Paget was dressed as Marc Antony in the Oriental procession (both the Morning Post and the Times call him Gerald Paget Paget). No obvious candidate for Gerald Paget Paget can be found except for Gerald Cecil Stewart Paget (15 October 1854 – 25 October 1913), Sir Arthur Paget's brother, who seems quite likely, in part because he came as Antony to Minnie Paget's Cleopatra. The Gentlewoman, which calls him Mr. Gerald Paget, says they walked together in the procession.

Demographics

• Nationality: Minnie (Mary) Stevens Paget was American, but Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget was British.

Family

• General Lord Alfred Henry Paget (26 June 1816 – 24 August 1888)
• Cecilia Wyndham (baptised 1 November 1829 – 3 May 1914)
  1. Victoria Alexandrina Paget (1848 – 2 February 1859)
  2. Hon. Evelyn Cecilia Paget (c. 1850 – 17 May 1904)
  3. General Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget (1 March 1851 – 8 December 1928)
  4. Admiral Rt. Hon. Sir Alfred Wyndham Paget (26 March 1852 – 17 June 1918)
  5. Major George Thomas Cavendish Paget (24 May 1853 – 28 January 1939)
  6. Captain Gerald Cecil Stewart Paget (15 October 1854 – 25 October 1913)
  7. Violet Mary Paget (1856 – 13 June 1908)
  8. Lt. Sydney Augustus Paget (19 April 1857 – 16 September 1916)
  9. Amy Olivia Paget (3 June 1858 – 14 February 1948)
  10. Alberta Victoria Paget (1860 – 28 July 1945)
  11. Almeric Hugh Paget, 1st and last Baron Queenborough (14 March 1861 – 22 September 1949)
  12. Alice Maud Paget (1863 – 24 December 1925)
  13. Alexandra Harriet Paget (1865 – 19 October 1944)
  14. Guinevere Eva Paget (1869 – 26 February 1894)

• Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget (1 March 1851 – 8 December 1928)
• Minnie (Mary) Stevens (1853 – May 1919)

1. Louise Margaret Leila Wemyss Paget ( – 24 September 1958)
2. Albert Edward Sydney Louis Paget (23 May 1879 – 2 August 1917)
3. Arthur Wyndham Louis Paget (6 March 1888 – 28 February 1966)
4. Reginald Scudamore George Paget (6 March 1888 – 11 June 1931)

• Captain Gerald Cecil Stewart Paget (15 October 1854 – 25 October 1913)
• Lucy Annie Emily Gardner ( – 15 April 1927)
  1. Dorothy Cecilia Paget (30 November 1878 – 10 February 1936)
  2. Lettice Mina Paget (25 July 1880 – 6 December 1969)

Stevens Family

• Paran Stevens (11 September 1802 – 25 April 1872)
• Eliza Jewett (1 April 1801 – 4 March 1850)
  1. Ellen Stevens Melcher (September 1826 – 11 September 1908)
• Marietta Reed (1827 – 3 April 1895)
  1. Minnie (Mary) Fiske Stevens (13 August 1853 – 20 May 1919)

Questions and Notes

1. Arthur Fitzroy Paget was a colonel in 1897, a general in 1902.
2. Mrs. Arthur Paget is #90 and Mr. Arthur Paget is #91 in the list of people present at the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball. Gerald Paget is #237.

Bibliography

1. Fitzroy, Sir Almeric. Memoirs. 2 vols. 1925.