Portrait Miniature of William Henry Betty by G. Engelheart

George Engelheart (1750-1829) Attrib. A portrait miniature of…
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George Engelheart (1750-1829) Attrib. A portrait miniature of William Henry Betty (1792-1874), wearing a black coat with a white waistcoat and ruffle collar, in a gilded metal frame, inscribed in ink verso with a newspaper cutting William Betty 7.3 cm high note Betty, William Henry West (1791-1874) English actor, known as 'The young Roscius' was born on the 13th of September 1791 at Shrewsbury. He first appeared on the stage at Belfast before he was twelve years old, as Osman in Aaron Hill's Zara, and English version of Voltaire's Zaire. His success was immediate, and he shortly thereafter appeared in Dublin, where it is said that in three hours of study he committed the part of Hamlet to memory. His precocious talents aroused great enthusiasm in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and he was favourably compared with some of the greatest tragedians. In 1804 he first appeared at Covent garden, when the troops had to be called out to preserve order, so great was the crush to obtain admittance. At Drury Lane the house was similarly packed, and he played for the then unprecedented salary of over 75 guineas a night. He was a great success socially, George III himself presenting him to the Queen, and Pitt upon one occasion adjourning the house of Commons that members might be in time for his performance. But this enthusiasm gradually subsided, and in 1808 he made his final appearance as a boy actor, and entered Christ's College, Cambridge.

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  • Verso - Verso is the "back" side of a sheet of paper, art work, coin or medal. The front side is "recto".
  • George Iii - George III (1738 - 1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760 to 1820.
  • Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.

    For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.

    Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today.

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