Lady Elwyn-Jones née Pearl "Polly" Binder (1904 – 1990). Author, playwright, stained-glass

Stained glass

The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...

 artist, lithographer, sculptor and a champion of the Pearly Kings and Queens, she was a legendary character who had a lifelong fascination with the East End of London where she settled in the 1920s. She was born in Salford and studied art at evening classes.

In the early days of television she and the fashion historian James Laver

James Laver

James Laver CBE FRSA was an author, art historian, and museum curator who acted as Keeper of Prints, Drawings and Paintings for the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1938 and 1959...

 co-presented the first television programme on the history of fashion. Clothes-Line

Clothes-Line

Clothes-Line was an early BBC television programme broadcast live in six parts between 30 September and 3 December 1937. It is notable for being the first television programme dedicated to the history of fashion...

was first aired as a six-part live series in 1937. Pearl Binder could well have been the first heavily pregnant woman to appear on television. Her daughter, Josephine, was born 6 January 1938, almost a month after the last episode aired on 9 December 1937Taylor, Lou, Establishing Dress History, chapter 2 (Manchester 2002) ISBN 0719066395

In the course of her life she travelled extensively in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 and China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, wrote a musical, designed costumes for a theatre company, wrote stories for children, designed a Pearly mug and plate for Wedgwood

Wedgwood

Wedgwood, strictly speaking Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, is a pottery firm owned by KPS Capital Partners, a private equity company based in New York City, USA. Wedgwood was founded on May 1, 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood and in 1987 merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood, an...

 and instigated and executed 22 armorial windows at the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

. In 1937 she married Frederick Elwyn-Jones  and in 1964 he became Lord Chancellor

Lord Chancellor

The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...

. She took little part in politics but was always a keen supporter of women's rights.

She is the mother of the fashion historian Lou Taylor.