Talk:Edward James

Initial comments
This page looks like it has been copied from another document about Edward James and Las Pozas, isn't sufficiently wikified, and doesn't state its sources. Sfgreenwood 14:49, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Quite right. I've tried to wikify it / inspired by the V&A surrealist exhibition. Sources; too many to list.Red Hurley 13:08, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

Indeed, the current text is basically a copy-and-paste job from Surreal Eden: Edward James & Las Pozas, introduced on April 25, 2007 by 67.103.111.240; see Google Books page image. I'm going to revert back to the previous, hopefully non-copyvio version. Hqb 17:59, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Edward James entry
the link in the above article to Monkton house is incorrect.The Monkton house owned by James was built by Lutyens and refurbished by James and Dali in the Surrealist style. The house is located on the South Downs to the West of West Dean near Chillgrove in West Sussex —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.160.215.253 (talk) 15:38, 7 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Corrected, rather belatedly, Monkton House, West Dean. KJP1 (talk) 11:21, 15 October 2023 (UTC)

Removed text
I removed the following unsourced text; I have some doubts about its accuracy given that a New York Times article has a different date:


 * James moved to Xilitla in 1947,where he was proud to be considered a 'brujo' (Spanish for 'wizard'), mainly to grow orchids. After the orchids were destroyed by a freak snowstorm in 1962, he decided to switch to experiments in architecture, copying the plants in vast coloured concrete structures that could never die.

If someone can provide a source for this, by all means put it back into the article (and quote the source, of course). -- John Broughton (♫♫) 19:11, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Mysteries
Interesting that Edward is not mentioned in the peerage as son of William Dodge James and Evelyn Elisabeth Forbes; four daughters are mentioned. It would be good if the article could reconcile its assertions. This mysterious page does mention Edward as 'Edward Frank Willis James', which doesn't jive with the full name presently listed in this article. The often-repeated claim that WDJ (father Daniel James) was a 'railroad magnate' from America never mentions a position or a railroad name or a city; the few sources I've found say no more than 'businessman'. What was the source of WDJ's fortune? Twang (talk) 02:17, 30 August 2010 (UTC)
 * James senior owned copper mines - useful for all those telegraph systems. As for Edward, he is also in Swans Reflecting Elephants, which he owned and commissioned, in the white shirt on the left.86.42.193.113 (talk) 23:40, 10 August 2011 (UTC) Edward James is not in Dali's Swans Reflecting Elephants - that is supposedly Dali's dentist.(user: chesh263)

Edward's grandfather - Daniel James - married Elizabeth Phelps in America and came to UK in 1831. He was but a humble wholesale greengrocer from a farm in Pennsylvania; he had even walked barefoot to New York to save wear on his only pair of shoes. He took control of a metal merchants in Liverpool (exporting to USA and importing cotton) at the invitation of his father-in-law (Anson Phelps)and by a lot of hard work - and some luck - made good. He became a partner in Phelps James (UK) and Phelp Dodge (USA). Edward's father - William Dodge James - was one of three sons from Daniel James's second marriage. Daniel's partners in the USA made many investment and Daniel shared from the profit (or loss); these included property, railroads and lumber. However, Daniel stayed in UK for the rest of his life working in mercantile and died in 1876.

The three sons in the UK inherited the vast wealth that their father had made when William Dodge James - who was the youngest son - reached 25 years of age. They did not enter the business although the middle brother - Arthur - did help out for two years after his father died. William's oldest brother was the explorer Frank Linsly James. The three boy's half brother from Daniel's first marriage - Daniel Willis James - was involved with the business in the USA and was a principal partner in Phelps Dodge. It was he and his partner who moved into copper mining some years after Daniel had died and in doing so became one of the richest men in the USA and his son - Arthur Curtiss James - did even better. The sister of Daniel Willis James - Olivia - married the newspaper printing press developer Richard Hoe III.

Sidpickle (talk) 15:05, 19 March 2013 (UTC)

Las Pozas
Las Pozas is a true work of art and deserves an article of its own. I stayed there as Edward's guest in the 1970s; when he was in Europe Edward often stayed with us in Ireland. On his ancestry, I've checked Burke's Peerage (2007- vol 1, p.1458 col2) which adds nothing to the above comments.PatrickGuinness (talk) 10:59, 29 August 2014 (UTC)

Poet
The gravestone describes him as a poet, but this aspect of his life is buried away as essentially a footnote; there's just a list of (privately-published) books. Can we assume that he wasn't a very good poet? -Ashley Pomeroy (talk) 12:45, 16 December 2016 (UTC)

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