Erection date: 1865
{On marble plaque on floor at his feet:}
James Wilson, manufacturer, economist, journalist and public servant. Born Hawick, 1805. Died Calcutta, 1860. Founder in 1843 of the Economist.
{Behind the statue, laid on the floor is another marble plaque:}
This statue formerly stood in the Dalhousie Institute where it was erected by the mercantile community of Calcutta as a tribute to the public services of the Right Honourable James Wilson, 1805 - 1860, founder of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China and subsequently First Finance Member of the Viceroy's Council.
{Base of statue is inscribed:}
Jn. Steell. R.S.A. Sculpt. Edinr. 1863
Marble and said to be 12-foot high but that must be including the pedestal, since in photographs it seems about the same size as anyone standing near. Erected at the Dalhousie Institute in Calcutta in 1865. In 1960, the Dalhousie Institute building made way for the Telephone House and the statue was sent to London.
Site: James Wilson at The Economist (1 memorial)
SW1, St James's Street, 25
The statue was inside the building but could be seen quite clearly through the window onto the pedestrian access to the building off Bury Street.
c.2017: The Economist Group relocated from this address to the Adelphi Building on the Victoria Embankment. This statue was, May 2019, reinstalled in Wilson's home town in Scotland, Hawick. It is there, outside the town’s heritage hub at Kirkstile.
When moved like this, our convention is to mark the memorial as 'lost', even though everyone knows where it is.
