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Social Victorians/People/William James

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Also Known As

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  • Family name: James
  • William Dodge James
  • Evelyn Elizabeth Brinton Forbes James
  • William Dodge James, who married Evelyn Elizabeth Forbes, is on this page. The newspapers are likely to call him Mr. James (as opposed to Mr. A. James for Arthur James.)
  • Arthur (John Arthur) James (24 February 1853 – 30 April 1917) is on the Cavendish-Bentinck page.
  • Henry James, Baron of Hereford is on the Baron James of Hereford page.
  • Not the American William James, brother of the writer Henry James

Acquaintances, Friends and Enemies

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Timeline

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1889 March 5, Evelyn Elizabeth Forbes and William Dodge James married.[1]

1897 July 2, Friday, Evelyn Forbes James (at #364 in the list of attendees) and William Dodge James (at #686 in the list of people who attended) attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House.

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

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Black-and-white photograph of a seated woman leaning on the arm of a settee and richly dressed in an historical costume decorated with flowers and holding a fan
Mrs. Evelyn James in costume as the Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.

Evelyn Forbes James

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Old portrait of a seated woman with her arm resting on a red velvet pillow and very big hair
Elisabeth Wilhelmine von Württemberg, by Johann Baptist von Lampi the Elder, 1785

At the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball, Mrs. Evelyn Elizabeth Forbes James was dressed as Archduchess Elizabeth in the Austrian Court of Maria Theresa Quadrille.[2][3]

Alice Hughes's portrait (right) of "Evelyn Elizabeth Brinton (née Forbes) as the Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria" in costume is photogravure #267 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery.[4] The printing on the portrait says, "Mrs William James as the Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria," with a Long S in Archduchess."[5]

It is not obvious who Evelyn James meant by the Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria. No extremely notable Elisabeths of Austria lived between 1592 and 1831.[6] Her dress looks like a late-Victorian interpretation of an 18th century dress, and the Morning Post and her portrait in the commemorative album say she was in the Austrian Court of Maria Theresa.[2] Maria Theresa had a daughter named Elisabeth of Austria, but her beauty was so damaged by small pox that she did not marry and lived much of her adult life in a convent, although, like many unmarried aristocratic women in convents at the time, she did "not live a monastic life."[7]

Elisabeth of Württemberg (21 April 1767 – 18 February 1790), was Archduchess of Austria for 2 years before her death in childbirth by virtue of her marriage to Archduke Francis of Austria.[8]

The portrait (above left) of Elisabeth of Württemberg — painted in 1785 by Johann Baptist von Lampi the Elder and in the collection at the Museum of Art History in Vienna — is not the original for Evelyn James's dress.[9]

Black-and-white photograph of a standing man richly dressed in a historical military costume with over-the-knee boots, a sword, and a tricorner hat
William Dodge James in costume as Monsieur d'Artagnan. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.

William Dodge James

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William Dodge James was dressed as "an officer of the Mousquetaires du Roi, time of Louis XV.," wearing a "regimental scarlet coat with very wide skirts and turned-down collar; vest, scarlet; breeches, scarlet; cuirass, leather, blue enamelled and bordered with silver, covered black velvet embroidery."[10]:p. 42, Col. 1b

Le Conteur's portrait of "William Dodge James as Monsieur d'Artagnan" in costume is photogravure #268 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery.[4] The printing on the portrait says, "Mr William James as Monsieur d'Artagnan."[11]

D'Artagnan, of course, is one of the Musketeers, or Mousquetaires. Alexander Dumas père based his portrayal of D'Artagnan on a novel, Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras' Les mémoires de M. d'Artagnan, which was based on the life of Charles de Batz de Castelmore, Count D'Artagnan (c. 1611 – 25 June 1673).[12]

Demographics

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  • Nationality: British

Residences

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  • West Dean Park, Chichester, Sussex[13]

Family

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  • Evelyn Elizabeth Forbes ( – 13 May 1929)[1]
  • William Dodge James (7 December 1854 – 22 March 1912)[13]
  1. Helen Milicent James ( – 15 Aug 1967)
  2. Silvia Helena Sophia James ()
  3. Edward James James ()
  4. Alexandra Maud Venetia James (26 December 1896 – 4 February 1981)
  5. Audrey Evelyn James (21 April 1902 – 14 February 1968)

Notes and Questions

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Footnotes

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Evelyn Elizabeth Forbes." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-06-06. https://www.thepeerage.com/p41396.htm#i413951.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Fancy Dress Ball at Devonshire House." Morning Post Saturday 3 July 1897: 7 [of 12], Col. 4a–8 Col. 2b. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000174/18970703/054/0007.
  3. ↑ "Ball at Devonshire House." The Times Saturday 3 July 1897: 12, Cols. 1a–4c The Times Digital Archive. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Devonshire House Fancy Dress Ball (1897): photogravures by Walker & Boutall after various photographers." 1899. National Portrait Gallery https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait-list.php?set=515.
  5. ↑ "Mrs William James as the Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria." Diamond Jubilee Fancy Dress Ball. National Portrait Gallery https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw158630/Evelyn-Elizabeth-Brinton-ne-Forbes-as-the-Archduchess-Elisabeth-of-Austria.
  6. ↑ "Elisabeth of Austria". Wikipedia. 2020-03-17. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elisabeth_of_Austria&oldid=946071735.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_of_Austria.
  7. ↑ "Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria (born 1743)". Wikipedia. 2023-05-21. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Archduchess_Maria_Elisabeth_of_Austria_(born_1743)&oldid=1156172271.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduchess_Maria_Elisabeth_of_Austria_(born_1743).
  8. ↑ "Duchess Elisabeth of Württemberg". Wikipedia. 2021-11-30. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Duchess_Elisabeth_of_W%C3%BCrttemberg&oldid=1057888921.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchess_Elisabeth_of_Württemberg.
  9. ↑ Elder, Johann Baptist von Lampi the (1785), German: Elisabeth Wilhelmine von Württemberg (1767-1790), 1. Gemahlin von Franz II. (I.), an einem Tisch sitzend, Kniestück title QS:P1476,de:"Elisabeth Wilhelmine von Württemberg (1767-1790), 1. Gemahlin von Franz II. (I.), an einem Tisch sitzend, Kniestück", retrieved 2022-01-12. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elisabeth_Wilhelmine_von_Württemberg.jpg.
  10. ↑ “The Duchess of Devonshire’s Ball.” The Gentlewoman 10 July 1897 Saturday: 32–42 [of 76], Cols. 1a–3c [of 3]. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003340/18970710/155/0032.
  11. ↑ "William James as Monsieur d'Artagnan." Diamond Jubilee Fancy Dress Ball. National Portrait Gallery https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw158631/William-Dodge-James-as-Monsieur-dArtagnan.
  12. ↑ "Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan". Wikipedia. 2022-01-09. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_de_Batz_de_Castelmore_d%27Artagnan&oldid=1064566392.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_de_Batz_de_Castelmore_d%27Artagnan.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "William Dodge James." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-06-06. https://www.thepeerage.com/p3435.htm#i34342.
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