Earl and Countess of Derby

Summary

An early twentieth-century book has been cut up to display two oval portraits, of the Earl and Countess of Derby, side by side in an uneven, hand-cut mount. This is James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby (1607-1651), Royalist soldier and politician and his Countess, Charlotte de Tremouille (1599-1664). Both sitters are shown as they were painted by Sir Anthony van Dyck, but bust-length, facing to the right, with the Earl in half-profile and the Countess with a slighter turn to her shoulders. The Earl's hair reaches to his shoulder, and he wears a narrow moustache. His clothing is adorned with a sash, a star and a medallion. His lady's hair curls about her face, and she wears pearls at her ears, neck and décolletage. These photomechanical reproductions of engravings formed part of the Horsfall Museum, and educational museum for the working people of Ancoats, Manchester (extant 1886-1953).