Historical and Art Medals, Numismatic Books

Dublin, Royal Dublin Society, a uniface oval silver award medal by G. Brown, Minerva seated left, back named (To Hugh Barton Esqr, for the best Devon Heifer giving milk or in calf, Spring Cattle Show, 1840), 57 x 46mm (Went 4). Very fine, rare (£120-150)

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Irish Medals in Gold and Silver from the Collection of James Spencer.

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Collection

Provenance:
Barton Family Collection, Spink Auction 16, 9-10 July 1981, lot 433 (part)
bt Seaby.

Plate 1. Hugh Barton (1766-1854), from Limerick, was a notable figure in the Bordeaux wine trade before the French Revolution, having in 1786 taken over the interests of his grandfather, Thomas Barton, who had first arrived in Bordeaux in 1725. In 1794 Barton was one of the foreign merchants arrested in Bordeaux. Confined to the Fort du Ha prison, he contrived to make his escape to Ireland with the help of his wife Anne, herself the naturalized daughter of a French subject of Scottish descent. With his partner, Daniel Guestier, he founded Barton & Guestier, one of the region’s best known merchants, in 1802. Fleeing to Ireland during the Napoleonic era and leaving Guestier in charge, Barton returned and purchased Château Pontet-Langlois in 1821, renaming it Château Langoa-Barton. He subsequently bought a third portion of the great Léoville estate, renaming that Château Léoville-Barton. The châteaus and vineyards have been in the hands of the family ever since. Hugh Barton had Straffan House in co Kildare built as the Barton family Irish seat between 1828 and 1831