STANCHION WALLET FERRERO

Sale price Price £78.00 Regular price Unit price  per 

“I’M PROUD TO BE THE SON OF A BASTARD!”

Alongside that of Peter the Great, and less questionably, Oliver Reed descended from the line of Victorian actor-manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree. Beatrice May Pinney — who in a heartbroken moment changed her name by deed poll to Reed, declaring “I am but a broken reed at the foot of the mighty Tree” — was the man’s mistress for some twenty years, bearing him six illegitimate children, including Ollie’s father. Some members of the family, such as film director Sir Carol Reed, took a very Victorian view of their heritage and were very strict about it not being referred to. Some even did their best to erase the secret. But Ollie was proud.

Indeed, there were startling similarities between the two men. Besides being known to behave like schoolboys in their private hours, they were pictures of professionalism when it came to their art, to which they contributed greatly. To give just a few examples: Tree performed all the great Shakespearean roles to critical acclaim and popular success, founded the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art — which, ironically, Sir Carol was a proud patron of, but Oliver always rejected — and put on and directed several of his friend Oscar Wilde’s plays in Her Majesty’s Theatre, which he built on Haymarket in 1897, and whose ropes and stanchions inspired this wallet.

Specifics

Faux leather wallet with velvet twisted rope with a clip and ring to each end.

Width 10.5cm

Height 7cm