Worn by donor's grandfather, George Eugene Magnus (1801-73), 'proprietor of the Pimlico Slate Works in Buckingham Palace Road backing onto the Grosvenor Canal, whree slate from quarries in Ireland and Wales was treated before redistribution. Magnus supplied slate for the re-fashioning of Buckingham Palace around 1840. He supplies an anamlled slate billiard table for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's Isle of Wight retreat, Osborne House; and for the Duke of Wellington's home on Stratfield Saye. Magnus also supplied slate for the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament, the National Archives shelving, and (at the other end of the social spectrum), for public washhouses including the one at Aldgate East that was later converted into The Women's Library at London Metropolitan University.' (information from July 2016 letter in file)
