Maverick had 67 kids. . no wonder he needed a seat

FOR a man who is said to have fathered 67 illegitimate children, he probably spent more time in bed, but a number of historic armchairs once owned by a maverick Edinburgh banker are set be sold.

The 12 chairs will be auctioned by Bonhams in London for as much as £250,000.

They are believed to have been built for Gilbert Innes, deputy governor of the Royal Bank of Scotland from 1794 to his death in 1832.

Born in 1751 in Stow, near Galashiels, Innes lived most of his life in Edinburgh. The son of the bank's cashier, equivalent to its modern chairman, he joined the bank in 1787, rising to become deputy governor.

He was nicknamed "the richest commoner in Scotland".

Described as a "maverick personality", he was responsible for convincing the bank to move into its landmark headquarters at 25 St Andrew Square in 1821, conveniently the building next door to his own townhouse at number 24.

Never married, he is still said to have fathered 67 children.

Innes was also on the boards of management of both the Royal Infirmary and the Assembly Rooms and is believed to have been a patron to artist Sir Henry Raeburn.

A Royal Bank of Scotland spokeswoman said: "Innes was extremely active in the management of the bank under him, Deputy Governor (unlike Governor) was very far from being merely an honorary role and he was in effect the highest authority in the day-to-day running of the bank."

She added: "Innes never married, but investigations arising after his death, because he left no will, indicate that he had 67 illegitimate offspring."

Bonhams have described the chairs, which go under the hammer on July 16, as "Scottish chairmaking at its best". Guy Saville, director of Bonhams' furniture department, believes they were probably designed for use in a library or lounge, though their most recent owners have been using them as kitchen table seats.

He said it was extremely rare to find a set of 12 similar chairs making the chairs extremely valuable.

He said: "In my working career I have never seen a set of 12 chairs and I've been working since 1994."

The chairs are believed to have been built by William Hamilton, a carpenter from the Canongate.

Mr Saville said the chairs had a number of distinctive features marking them out as being from the Capital.

The chairs have most recently been owned by the Hamilton-Stubber family from County Laois in Ireland and are estimated as being worth between £150,000 and £250,000.

Bonhams believe that the family bought the chairs were passed to Innes' sister in Stow after his death and then passed down through her descendants until 1921 when the Irish family obtained them.

Pig to bring home the bacon at sale

A POTTERY pig bought for just £2.10 at an auction 40 years ago is expected to fetch more than £5000 when it is auctioned again.

The 18in-long pig, decorated with painted golden apples and leaves, is thought to be a unique example of Wemyss Ware, made in Fife in the late 19th century. It goes under the hammer at Bonhams' annual Scottish Sale, in Edinburgh, on August 28.

The Wemyss pig was bought four decades ago by a woman who spotted it while searching an auction room for a bed.

She said today: "We had £70 to furnish our whole house, but I couldn't resist this pig. When I got home my husbands response was: 'Well, we're going to get a good night's sleep on that'."

• www.bonhams.com