The collection of Johanna Liseta Beumer, MBE. Born in Southgate, Middlesex, to an affluent family who owned a private school, from the age of eleven years old Johanna would accompany her parents to Walthamstow Greyhound Stadium to attend the races. For her 21st birthday, she announced that instead of a car, she would like a dog. She was gifted a fawn greyhound nicknamed ‘Sailor’, and the two became inseparable. Johanna’s second love – after her greyhound – was bijoux, and she was an avid collector throughout her lifetime. Her family loved to host events and Johanna’s birthday parties were always grand, joyous affairs (with pet greyhounds in attendance), held in London at places such as the Grosvenor and Park Lane Hotel. Family pet greyhounds were also in attendance. Family photos show her dressed for such occasions, always accessorising her outfit and signature bouffant hair with sparkling statement ‘jewels’. A life-changing moment occurred in 1965, soon after acquiring Sailor, when Johanna learned that once a greyhound’s racing career was over, they were routinely killed. Subsequently, she went on to dedicate her life to the rescue and re-homing of ex-racing greyhounds. Pioneering in her beliefs and animal welfare activism, Johanna was a founding member of the Greyhound Trust- a now nationwide charity which has rehomed an estimated 100,000 greyhounds since its establishment in 1975. By the early 1990s Johanna had established Whittingham Kennels (the Henlow & Waltham Abbey branch of the Greyhound Trust), where she remained a dearly loved figurehead by staff and volunteers alike. Disabled in her later life and aided by a wheelchair, Johanna remained undeterred and continued to supervise the kennels, a faithful greyhound always by her side. The Trust continues to rescue and re-home thousands of ex-racing greyhounds to this day. In 2007 Johanna was awarded an MBE for her lifelong service to the welfare of greyhounds. She chose to wear this brooch for the occasion, and when awarded the honour by Queen Elizabeth II, Johanna reciprocated by presenting Her Majesty with a gift of biscuits for her corgis. She is remembered fondly by those who knew her as the lady ‘with the big dog…big hair, big personality and big heart’.
Ok_team9884 on
This is beautiful! The details of the greyhounds are so intricate. The framing of the brooch is stunning.
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A finely-carved ivory [brooch](https://www.kerrytaylorauctions.com/auction/lot/lot-30—a-finely-carved-ivory-brooch-set-in-a-gilt-mount-probably-french-1860s-80s/?lot=29905&sd=1) set in a gilt mount, probably French, 1860s-80s with two greyhounds or whippets beneath leafy trees.
The collection of Johanna Liseta Beumer, MBE. Born in Southgate, Middlesex, to an affluent family who owned a private school, from the age of eleven years old Johanna would accompany her parents to Walthamstow Greyhound Stadium to attend the races. For her 21st birthday, she announced that instead of a car, she would like a dog. She was gifted a fawn greyhound nicknamed ‘Sailor’, and the two became inseparable. Johanna’s second love – after her greyhound – was bijoux, and she was an avid collector throughout her lifetime. Her family loved to host events and Johanna’s birthday parties were always grand, joyous affairs (with pet greyhounds in attendance), held in London at places such as the Grosvenor and Park Lane Hotel. Family pet greyhounds were also in attendance. Family photos show her dressed for such occasions, always accessorising her outfit and signature bouffant hair with sparkling statement ‘jewels’. A life-changing moment occurred in 1965, soon after acquiring Sailor, when Johanna learned that once a greyhound’s racing career was over, they were routinely killed. Subsequently, she went on to dedicate her life to the rescue and re-homing of ex-racing greyhounds. Pioneering in her beliefs and animal welfare activism, Johanna was a founding member of the Greyhound Trust- a now nationwide charity which has rehomed an estimated 100,000 greyhounds since its establishment in 1975. By the early 1990s Johanna had established Whittingham Kennels (the Henlow & Waltham Abbey branch of the Greyhound Trust), where she remained a dearly loved figurehead by staff and volunteers alike. Disabled in her later life and aided by a wheelchair, Johanna remained undeterred and continued to supervise the kennels, a faithful greyhound always by her side. The Trust continues to rescue and re-home thousands of ex-racing greyhounds to this day. In 2007 Johanna was awarded an MBE for her lifelong service to the welfare of greyhounds. She chose to wear this brooch for the occasion, and when awarded the honour by Queen Elizabeth II, Johanna reciprocated by presenting Her Majesty with a gift of biscuits for her corgis. She is remembered fondly by those who knew her as the lady ‘with the big dog…big hair, big personality and big heart’.
This is beautiful! The details of the greyhounds are so intricate. The framing of the brooch is stunning.