Description
Freemasonry: Scotland, The Lodge of St. Clair of Dysart, No 520, an important presentation gold jewel to the Earl of Rosslyn, 1893, 10-pointed star inset with Masonic emblems and lodge name, rev. PRESENTED TO THE RIGHT HONBLE THE EARL OF ROSSLYN BY THE BRETHEREN OF LODGE ST CLAIR OF DYSART, NO 520 27TH DEC. 1893, decorative clasp and suspender and arms and supporters of Rosslyn attached to ribband, star 47mm., 18ct., total wt. including ribband, suspender and clasp, 47.81gms., Edinburgh hallmark, maker Hamilton & Inches, extremely fine.
James Francis Harry St Clair-Erskine, 5th Earl of Rosslyn (1869–1939) was a colourful character who probably had little time for Masonic Lodges. He grew up as a close friend of the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII. Ever a gambler, he was declared bankrupt in 1897. He served with Thorneycroft’s Horse at the relief of Ladysmith, later becoming a war correspondent for the Daily Mail. He next became the first hereditary peer to take to the stage to make his living. He met (in Monte Carlo) and married in 1905, Georgianna ‘Anna’ Robinson, an American actress; there also had been a brief engagement to a British ingénue Beatrice Irwin, whom he had met on stage. The unfortunate Anna Robinson was to die young in the Manhattan State Hospital for the Insane. His final marriage in 1908, was to the much younger Vera Bayley and they had two sons and a daughter. As a declared bankrupt he was prohibited from taking his seat in the House of Lords
