Found Art

This is a story of family treasures that belonged to the nobility of England and Scotland's privileged society. This fascinating book recounts their eccentric personalities, patriotic lives, and unprecedented successes. Thomas Erskine, England's most famous and highest paid lawyer, saved the Queen of England from prison, but kept two pet leeches in a jar-and swore they recognized him when he entered the room. Thomas Agar Holland, although he was minister of a small parish church in...
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This is a story of family treasures that belonged to the nobility of England and Scotland's privileged society. This fascinating book recounts their eccentric personalities, patriotic lives, and unprecedented successes. Thomas Erskine, England's most famous and highest paid lawyer, saved the Queen of England from prison, but kept two pet leeches in a jar-and swore they recognized him when he entered the room. Thomas Agar Holland, although he was minister of a small parish church in Sussex, was able to employ six servants: a nursemaid, a housemaid, a cook, two domestic servants and a footman. In 2010, Nancy J. Hughes inherited the Erskine and Holland family's heirlooms, dating from 1710 to 1965. The worth of the collection is yet to be determined, but their history and provenance makes them invaluable.The Erskine and Holland clans date to the thirteenth century. The author begins with Henry David Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, 5th Lord Cardross. He was born in 1710, into an aristocratic family of titled nobility. But by the time the 10th Earl was born, there was little left of this family's former wealth and glory-but he married well. His marriage to Agnes Stuart produced a genetic lineage of brilliant descendants. Found Art tells the story of eight generations of the Erskines' and Hollands' astonishing successes as they became Lord Advocate of Scotland, Lord High Chancellor of the United Kingdom, judicial advisor to the King of Siam, writers, judges, politicians, diplomats in British India, and ministers who held high positions in the Church of England. Their loyalty and trustworthiness earned them a seat alongside kings, queens, emperors, and prime ministers. Their friendships with the scientific, literary, and political elite of the day included David Hume, Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Walter Scott, Mahatma Gandhi, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Rudyard Kipling.