Paul de Lamerie

Paul de Lamerie (9 April 1688 – 1 August 1751) was a London-based silversmith. The Victoria and Albert Museum describes him as the "greatest silversmith working in England in the 18th century". Though his mark raises the market value of silver, his output was large and not all his pieces are outstanding. The volume of work bearing de Lamerie's mark makes it almost certain that he subcontracted orders to other London silversmiths before applying his own mark.

De Lamerie was born in 's-Hertogenbosch in the United Provinces (now the Netherlands). He was the son of a minor French nobleman, Paul Souchay de la Merie, a Huguenot who left France following the Edict of Fontainebleau in 1685. His father became an officer in the army of William III of Orange and moved to London in 1689 during the Glorious Revolution, but died a pauper in 1735.

He married Louisa Juliott on 11 February 1717. They had two sons and four daughters together; three daughters survived.

Paul de Lamerie died in London and was buried at St Anne's Church, Soho. There is a memorial plaque at the site of his workshop, 40 Gerrard Street, which was unveiled on 16 January 1992.

In August 1703, de Lamerie became the apprentice to a London goldsmith of Huguenot origin, Pierre Platel (1659–1739). De Lamerie opened his own workshop in 1713 and was appointed goldsmith to George I in 1716. He worked in partnership with Ellis Gamble - formerly apprentice to Master William Hogarth - between 1723 and 1728. His early work is in the simple Queen Anne-styles, following classical French models, but de Lamerie is noted for his elaborate Rococo style of the 1730s, particularly the richly-decorated works of an unidentified craftsman, the Maynard Master.

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