Molly Verney

Mary Verney (1675 – February 1696) known also as Molly, & Mall Klenyg was a British noblewoman best known for having the first instance of recorded use of the word Japan as a verb in English in 1683.

By 1690 she had become the heir of the estate due to the fact her mother suffered from Hysteria (most likely what we now refer to as Bipolar disorder or Postnatal depression) and as such became more active in English society as a suitable future marriage partner.

[6] Aghast by the unsuitability of the match, her grandfather Ralph proposed she be engaged to the Gentleman Robert Dormer, the son of a nearby lawyer and Quainton landowner in 1692.

[8] When Verney began learning to Jappan in 1683 when her father 'Mun' believed the craft made her more suitable to merit her being placed in 'the household of some lady of quality - [having Japanning help with] paying her board and wages'.

[11] 'Lac' as it was known in the period, was hard to come by, and the rarity drove up the cost of individual items of lacquerware, so that it became a side trade for some cabinetmakers and upholsterers to produce these pieces of Japanned furniture.

[11] The trend was bolstered by Mary II furing her reign due to her porcelain collection formed in 1689-1694 at Hampton Court Palace which drew from fashionable Netherlands interior designs.