# Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Price, Frederick George Hilton

​PRICE, FREDERICK GEORGE HILTON (1842–1909), antiquary, born in London on 20 Aug. 1842, was son of Frederick William Price (for many years partner and eventually chief acting partner in the banking firm of Child & Co.), who died on 31 Jan. 1888. Educated at Crawford College, Maidenhead, he entered Child's Bank in 1860, where he succeeded his father as chief acting partner. Much of his early leisure was devoted to the history of Child's Bank, and in 1875 he published 'Temple Bar, or some Account of Ye Marygold, No. 1 Fleet Street' (2nd edit. 1902), where Child's Bank had been established in the seventeenth century. In 1877 he brought out a useful 'Handbook of London Bankers' (enlarged edit. 1890–1). He was a member of the Council of the Bankers' Institute and of the Central Bankers' Association.
Price's life was mainly devoted to archæology. Always keenly interested in the prehistoric as well as historic annals of London, he formed a fine collection of antiquities of the stone and bronze ages, of the Roman period, of Samian ware vessels imported during the first and second centuries from the south of France, English pottery ranging from the Norman times down to the last century, tiles, pewter vessels and plates, medieval ink-horns, coins, tokens (many from the burial pits on the site of Christ's Hospital), and so forth; the whole of his collection was secured to form in 1911 the nucleus of the London Museum at Kensington Palace (The Times, 25 March 1911).
Excavations at home and abroad had a great fascination for Price. He took a leading part in the excavation of the Roman villa at Brading in the Isle of Wight, the remains of which were by his exertions kept open to the public for some time, and on which, in conjunction with Mr. J. E. Price, he read a paper before the Royal Institute of British Architects on 13 Dec. 1880 (printed in the Transactions of that society, 1880–1, pp. 125 seq.). On the excavations at Silchester or Calleva Attrebatum (of the research fund of which he was treasurer) he read a paper at the Society of Antiquaries on 11 Feb. 1886 (printed in Archæologia, 1. 263–280). At the same time he actively engaged in studying and collecting Egyptian antiquities. In 1886 he described a portion of his collection in the 'Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archæology' (of which he was elected member in 1884, vice-president in 1901); a large selection from his collection was exhibited at the Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1895, and two years later he published an elaborate Catalogue of his Egyptian antiquities, which was followed in 1908 by a supplement. In 1905 he was elected president of the Egypt Exploration Fund (which he joined in 1885).
Price was deeply interested in the Society of Antiquaries, of which he became a member on 19 Jan. 1882. He was elected director on 23 April 1894, retaining the post till his death. A keen numismatist, he joined the Royal Numismatic Society in 1897. He was also elected fellow of the Geological Society in 1872. He was a voluminous contributor to the Transactions and Proceedings of most of the societies and institutions to which he belonged (cf. G. L. Gomme's Index of Archæological Papers, 1663–1890, pp. 617–8 and Annual Indexes of Archæological Papers, 1891 et seq.). A valuable series of illustrated papers on 'Signs of Old London' appeared in the succeeding issues of the 'London Topographical Record' (ii.-v.).
He died at Cannes on 14 March 1909, after an operation, and was buried at Finchley (in the next grave to his father). He bequeathed 100l. to the Society of Antiquaries for the Research Fund. His books, coins, old spoons, and miscellaneous objects of art and vertu fetched at auction (1909–1911) the sum of 2606l. 10s. 6d. His Egyptian collection realised 12,040l. 8s. 6d. at Sotheby's on 12–21 July 1911 (see The Times, 6 June 1911). The same firm sold his coins on 17–19 May 1909 and 7–8 April 1910, 575 lots realising 2309l. 9s. He married in 1867 Christina, daughter of William Bailey of Oaken, Staffordshire, who survived him, and by whom he had one son and one daughter.
In addition to works already mentioned Hilton Price edited 'Sketches of Life and Sport in S.E. Africa' (1870) and wrote 'The Signs of Old Lombard Street' (1887; revised edit. 1902) and 'Old Base Metal Spoons' (1908).
[Who's Who, 1909; The Times, 18 March 1909; Athenæum, 20 March 1909; Proc. Soc. of Antiquaries, second series, xxii. 444, 471-2; London Topographical Record, vi. 1909, pp. 107-8.]
W. R.