The Mark Birley Private Collection
Words: Gentleman's Journal
Mark Birley was known for his string of nightclubs which included Mark’s Club, George’s Bar, Harry’s Bar, The Bath & Racquets Club and most famously Annabel’s, named after his wife at the time, who later became known as Lady Annabel Goldsmith.
The name ‘Mark Birley’ still very much lives on today. His son Robin has opened 5 Hertford Street, which has already cemented itself as Mayfair’s number one club. Robin it seems has inherited his fathers forensic eye for detail and relentless aim for total perfection.
Mark Birley had very particular ideas on how things should be done, he famously invented the muslin over the lemon, which is not only used all around London today, but all around the world. His eye for detail was not only evident throughout his clubs but also in the manner that he furnished his London home, Thurloe Lodge. It was here where Birley did a large amount of his entertaining and as his friend, Nina Campbell recalls, “being asked to Thurloe Lodge for Kitchen supper on Sunday night, summer lunch on the covered verandah, or a dinner party in the dining room was an invitation not to be refused. The food was never fussy, just perfectly delicious, the wines very spoiling, but the table was always laid in the most quietly luxurious way. Huge starched damask napkins, oversized ivory pepper mills, apple green opaline finger bowls to name but a few”.
Now some years after he left this life, the contents of his private home are up for auction with Sotheby’s. His private collection includes works by Rossetti, Landseer and Munnings. Objects include Hermes backgammon boards and cigarette cases to monogramed silver and imperial porcelain. Alongside the vast collection of art and furniture, his wine cellar is also being sold, which includes various vintages of Haut Brion, Petrus and Chateaux Cheval Blanc.
Thurloe lodge’s contents is the ultimate testimony to Mark’s incredible taste. The auction which takes place on the 21st March in London will no doubt include friends wanting to have a little piece to remember him by, and those wanting to buy into this true visionary’s style and the man who is universally known as the most tasteful man in Britain.
LOT 207, HERMÈS, A CIGARETTE BOX, Paris, designed circa 1928, shagreen, silvered and gilt metal, 9.5 by 9.2 by 9.4cm., 3¾ by 3½ by 3¾in. – ESTIMATE 600-800 GBP
LOT 228, DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI, WOMAN HOLDING A DOG, pencil and wash, 30.5 by 25.5cm – ESTIMATE: 15,000 – 20,000 GBP
LOT 261, HENRY HERBERT LA THANGUE, A STUDY (RESTING AFTER THE GAME), oil on canvas, 86.5 by 58.5cm., 34 by 23in. Executed in 1889. – ESTIMATE 250,000-350,000 GBP
LOT 485, ART DECO, A SET OF BATH TAPS, American, circa 1925-35, 10 by 15cm., 4 by 5¾in. – ESTIMATE 300-500 GBP
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