An extremely rare du Maurier-related lot coming up for auction

From time to time, something really special, relating to Daphne du Maurier or her family, comes up for auction.  Some rare treasure, maybe a scarce du Maurier book, or a letter, or photograph, something that will mean a lot to a devotee of du Maurier's work, or add value to their collection of du Maurier books and ephemera.  

Currently, an incredibly rare Mary Anne Clarke mug dated c1809 is due to be auctioned on 2nd September 2025. 

Mary Anne Clarke (1776 - 1852) was the great, great, grandmother of Daphne du Maurier, most famous (or infamous) for her relationship with Frederick, Duke of York, second son of George III.  Their affair turned into a political scandal when the Duke was charged with corruption for promoting officers from whom Clarke had taken bribes.  Renouncing the Duke, Clarke wrote her own revealing memoir and extracted a huge pension from the government to suppress it.

In 1954, Daphne du Maurier wrote a fictionalised account of her great, great grandmother's life, simply entitled Mary Anne.  

The Duke of York will be familiar to you all, because it is about him that the nursery rhyme, The Grand Old Duke of York, was written.

Oh, the grand old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men;
He marched them up to the top of the hill,
And he marched them down again.

When they were up, they were up,
And when they were down, they were down,
And when they were only halfway up,
They were neither up nor down.

The auction lot is a 12cm tall, creamware commemorative mug dated c1809.  It has a cylindrical body printed in black and decorated in colours with a satirical cartoon depicting Mary Anne Clarke and the Duke of York and Albany, centred by an inverted Bishop's mitre, above the inscription:

He's wrong who Terms the Duke a lawless spark,
For every Bishop is allowed his Clark.

This remarkable item has an estimate of £300 - £500.  It is being auctioned on 2nd September 2025, by:

Woolley & Wallis
51 – 61 Castle Street
Salisbury
Wiltshire
SP1 3SU

Tel: +44 (0)1722 424500.    

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