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Samuel Pemberton silver toothpick case, 1793.
Held at Birmingham Assay Office.
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There were at least three generations of Samuel Pemberton's working as jewellers, toymakers and silversmiths in Birmingham in the eighteenth- and early nineteenth-centuries, possibly fathers and sons, but if not, they were likely extended family.* The first lived from about 1704 to 1784, the second from 1738 to 1803, and the third from about 1771 to 1836. It is the two latter whose silver survives in museums and private collections (see more of their silver on Pinterest).
Pemberton was long established as a name in both precious and non-precious metal trades in Birmingham. A Thomas Pemberton was working as a goldsmith in the early 1600s (will dated 1640), and John Pemberton became a very wealthy iron founder from the late 1600s, and lived in a grand house on what is now Colmore Row. John's son, Thomas, further developed the site.
From the mid 1770s to at least the 1820s the Samuel Pemberton workshops were on Snow Hill, the heart of the jewellery and toy making district at that time, before, what is now, the Jewellery Quarter came into being. This (second) Samuel Pemberton was also one of the three main toymakers mounting Jasper intaglios for Josiah Wedgwood and Thomas Bentley. From about 1812 to 1821, the third Samuel and his son (possibly Thomas) partnered with Roger Mitchell. At this time they were described as 'jewellers, silversmiths, and watch and time-piece makers' at Snow Hill.
The second and third Pemberton's also produced a great deal of silver filigree, and you can find out more about Birmingham's filigree trade here.
