Lot 113 , Attributed to Thomas Hargreaves (1774-1846), Portrait miniatures of Thomas Tobin and Esther Watson, married 1806, watercolour on ivory, 6.75 x 5cm. CITES Submission reference 3S54ANUV

Y Attributed to Thomas Hargreaves (1774-1846)
Portrait miniatures of Thomas Tobin and Esther Watson, married 1806
watercolour on ivory
Thomas wearing a blue coat and white stock, Esther a white dress.
6.75 x 5cm. CITES Submission reference 3S54ANUV
£300-500
Provenance: Lot 361 Hannam's Auctioneers, Lot 361, November 15, 2017.

Esther Watson (1779-1857) married Thomas Tobin on 5 Jun 1806 at St Thomas, Liverpool. Esther's parents were Richard Watson and Jane Robinson. Thomas Tobin's father seems to have been Patrick Tobin (1723-1781) and his mother is recorded with various spellings from Helen Breckle to Eleanor Breakhill, with their marriage 7 Dec 1758 at Braddan, Isle of Man. (As a guess, she may have been Ellen Breakel, daughter of John Breakel and Jane Oard, and christened at St Nicholas, Liverpool on 29 Jun 1733.) Patrick and Ellen Tobin seem to have had around 12 children, with Thomas Tobin himself born on the Isle of Man on 18 Sep 1775 and died in 1862. Mary Tobin, who was one of Patrick's daughters on 28 Sep 1813 married Sir William Hillary, the founder of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute.

Research by Don Shelton (for a later miniature of Esther) indicates that Thomas Hargreaves was working in Liverpool where the sitter worked and according to Daphne Foskett his wife's maiden name was Quaile. A sister of the sitter's husband, Ellen Tobin (also Elinore Tobin), married Basil Quayle and hence it seems likely Hargreaves would be asked to paint this miniature.
The Tobin family, and particularly Esther's husband Thomas Tobin, are mentioned in several reference books including "The Slave Trade" by Hugh Thomas and "Commerce and Economic Change in West Africa" by Martin Lynn.
http://british-miniatures2.blogspot.com/2007/03/portrait-of-esther-watson-tobin.html

CITES is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals.

Condition:
Light loose surface dirt specks, colours look strong. Later red morocco leather twin case with names of the sitters and marriage date. Catch fails to close properly.

Sold for £200