Clubs and Societies, ST JAMES’S, Catch Club, Instituted 1762, silver, by T. Pingo, Apollo and Dionysos seated facing each other, tripod supporting oak wreath in centre, let’s drink and let’s sing together, rev. wreath, engraved (A Proof), 44mm, 31.01g (Eimer 28; W 1102, this piece illustrated; D & W 152/398). About extremely fine and toned, rare £200-£300

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Tickets and Passes of London from the David Young Collection.

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Provenance: Bt T. Millett May 2007.

The Catch Club, founded in 1761 (or 1762, depending on the source consulted), sought to bring together enthusiasts for musical compositions in which two or more voices repeatedly sing the same melody, beginning at different times. Prizes were awarded for songs performed in different languages. Eimer (p.53) alludes to Thomas Hollis’s visit from Pingo ‘to bring two proof-medals, one in silver for the D[uke of] Devonshire, & one in copper for me’. It is possible that this medal may be the specimen originally intended for the Duke