Provenance: Gift of royal mistress Lillie Langtry to jockey Jack Watts.
Presentation cufflinks in gold, each panel with scallop shaped sectioned border set alternately with pale blue ruby red guilloché enamel border, encircling diamond set JW monogram of royal jockey Jack Watts. Contained in the suede covered case of Henry Lewis, Jeweller & Goldsmith to Queen Victoria, New Bond Street, London, with hinged lid inscribed with facsimile autograph presentation inscription ‘J. Watts / from / Lillie Langtry’. Accompanied by a related autograph signed letter in ink on 21 Pont Street monogramed paper: ‘Dear Mr Watts, I hope you will accept these links as a souvenir of the first time you steered Milford to victory - I hope you will ride him many times & that it will always be thus. With kindness, yours truly, Lillie Langtry.’
Read more
The present cufflinks were given by the socialite, stage actress and royal mistress, Lillie Langtry (1853-1929) to jockey Jack Watts for riding her 2 year-old colt Milford to victory in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot in 1892. Milford was given to Langtry by 30 year-old George Alexander Baird, a millionaire, amateur jockey and pugilist, who rode his own horses under the name of ‘Squire Abingdon’. Milford was raced under Langtry's nom-de-course, ‘Mr. Jersey,’ as women were not allowed to register horses at the time, with Watts wearing the Langtry colours of turquoise and fawn.
The Langtry-Baird affair was a fiery one and ended after a fit of jealousy in which he battered her so badly that she ended up with multiple injuries and two black eyes. Moreover he had form but was always forgiven by giving her large sums of money and expensive gifts. On this final occasion he gave her the 200ft steam yacht ‘White Ladye’. As a result she dropped the threat of criminal charges against him and the yacht became known as the ‘Black Eye’. Langtry remained close with Baird until his death in March 1893. Langtry’s vivacious nature stood in stark contrast to that of Jack Watts who was noted for his 'quiet and unspectacular style and undemonstrative personality’.
Lillie Langtry was born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, and was latterly known as Lady de Bathe. Born and raised on Jersey, Channel Islands and moved to London in 1876, two years after marrying. Her looks and personality attracted interest and invitations from artists and society hostesses. Her affair with the Prince of Wales (afterwards Edward VII) took place between 1877 and 1880. In 1879 the royal affair ended after it was exposed in a magazine article. Nevertheless, the protagonists remained in close contact, with Lillie attending the 1902 Coronation alongside actress Sarah Bernhardt and Lady Randolph Churchill. In 1882, Lillie became the face of Pears soap, thus becoming first celebrity to endorse a commercial product. When short of money in the early 1880s she was persuaded by Oscar Wilde to make her West End debut as an actress. She went on to star in plays in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Eventually she ran her own production company. From the mid-1890s until 1919, she lived at Regal Lodge at Newmarket where she maintained her successful racing stable.
Royal jockey Jack Watts (1861-1902) was born in Stockbridge, Hampshire. He rode his first winner in 1876 and two years later moved to Newmarket to join the yard of trainer Richard ‘Dick’ Marsh. His association with Marsh lasted throughout his 20 year career. In 1893, on the recommendation of Lord Marcus Beresford, Marsh was appointed trainer to the Prince of Wales, providing Watts with a string of top class rides. His major win for the Prince of Wales was with Persimmon in the Epsom Derby of 1896. In all, Watts won 19 classics. He was caricatured in Vanity Fair in 1887.
