Page:Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham.djvu/190

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178
SHOWELL'S DICTIONARY OF BIRMINGHAM.

works—the earlier by Mr. Neal Solly, and the more recent one by the late Mr. William Hall; besides the memorial window put up by loving friends in the Parish Church of Harborne, where the latter part of the artist's life was passed, and in the churchyard of which his remains were laid. He bade his pictures and the world good-bye on the 9th of June, 1859. A sale of some of "dear old David's" works, in London, May, 1873, realised for the owners over £25,000, but what the artist himself originally had for them may be gathered from the instance of his "Lancaster Castle," otherwise known as "Peace and War," a harvest-field scene, with troops marching by, only 24in. by 18in. in size. This picture he gave to a friend at first, but bought it back for £20, at a time when his friend wanted cash; he sold it for the same amount, and it afterwards got into the possession of Joseph Gillott, the pen maker, at the sale of whose collection "Lancaster Castle" was knocked down for £3,601 10s. The highest price Cox ever received for a picture, and that on one single occasion only, was £100; in another case he had £95 ; his average prices for large pictures were rather under than over £50 a piece in his best days. "The Sea Shore at Rhyl," for which he received £100, has been since sold for £2,300; "The Vale of Clwyd," for which he accepted £95, brought £2,500. Two pictures for which he received £40 each in 1847, were sold in 1872 for £1,575 and £1,550 respectively. Two others at £40 each have sold since for £2,300 and £2,315 5s. respectively. His church at "Bettws- y-Coed " one of the finest of his paintings, fetched £2,500 at a sale in London, in March, 1884. In the hall of the Royal Oak Inn, Bettwsy-Coed (David's favourite place), there is fixed a famous signboard which Cox painted for the house in 1847, and which gave rise to considerable litigation as to its ownership being vested in the tenant or the owner, the decision being in the latter's favour.

Cox, William Sands, F.R.S. and F.R.C.S., the son of a local surgeon, was born in 1801. After "walking the hospitals" in London and Paris, he settled here in 1825, being appointed surgeon to the Dispensary, and in 1828, with the co-operation of the late Doctors Johnstone and Booth, and other influential friends, succeeded in organising the Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery, which proved eminently successful until, by the munificent aid of the Rev. Dr. Warneford, it was converted into Queen's College by a charter of incorporation, which was granted in 1843. The Queen's Hospital was also founded mainly through the exertions of Mr. Sands Cox, for the education of the medical students of the College. In 1863 Mr. Cox retired from practice, and went to reside near Tamworth, afterwards removing to Leamington and Kenilworth, at which latter place he died, December 23rd, 1875. He was buried in the family vault at Aston, the coffin being carried to the grave by six old students at the College, funeral scarfs, hatbands, and "other such pieces of mummery" being dispensed with, according to the deceased's wish. He left many charitable legacies, among them being £15,000, to be dealt with in the following manner:— £3,000 to be applied in building and endowing a church then in course of erection at Balsall Heath, and to be known as St. Thomas-in-the-Moors, and the remaining £12,000 to be devoted to the erection and endowment of three dispensaries—one at Balsall Heath, one at Aston, and the other at Hockley. Two sums of £3,000 were left to found dispensaries at Tamworth and Kenilworth, and a cottage hospital at Moreton-in-the-Marsh his medical library and a number cf other articles being also left for the last-named institution.

Davise, Dr. Birt.—By birth a Hamp-