The Making of Gilt & Enamel Equipage (c. 1760s)

Equipage with egg-shaped containers and etui, c. 1760s.
Wolverhampton Museum Collection.

A previous post (here) explored eighteenth-century equipage (also called chatelaines) which were hung from women's dresses at the waist, holding and displaying objects such as watches as well as the etui shown in these examples, etui being containers of useful items such as scissors, needles and bodkins.

Lost Trades Nᵒ.15: John Wilkes' Beautiful Locks & 'keys so finely wrought'

Birmingham made 'detector' lock from c. 1680.
V&A Collections.

This brass lock was made in Birmingham in about 1680 by John Wilkes and is a fascinating piece in seventeenth-century technology in being able to record how may times it has been opened through the turning of the numbered dial. It would therefore ward off any potential thieves and would have been of great benefit to any business with employees. On the front are written the lines:

If I had ye gift of tongue 
I would declare and do no wrong 
Who ye are ye come by stealth 
To impare my Master's wealth.

Paper Remnants: James & Gibbs Advert

Held at Birmingham Archive.
Trade card collection, box 3, no. 174.

A coloured version of an advert for James & Gibbs, manufacturers of plated goods, which appeared in Wrightson's Triennial Directory in 1818. These were James James and Joseph Gibbs, who dissolved their partnership in 1820, with Gibbs carrying on at the Newhall Street address.*

See all Paper Remnants.

Lost Trades Nᵒ.10: Filigree, a Forgotten Birmingham Craft

Illustration by the author.

The Encyclopaedia of Geography (1834) highlighted the main trades of Birmingham as ‘pins, buttons, nails, paper trays [probably japanned papier-mâché tea trays], filigree, and toys’.*1* All of these are well-known Birmingham trades dating back to, at least, the eighteenth century, but filigree stands out because it does not have the same association with Birmingham as the other trades.

The manufacture of filigree used flattened, usually silver, wire soldered to form decorative and delicate patterns, usually in the making of jewellery and small boxes. These small filigree items were popular in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and many examples survive. Silver filigree, though, was not required to be marked so its place of production can be uncertain. Yet, there is evidence to support The Encyclopaedia of Geography that filigree was, indeed, a prominent Birmingham trade. 

Metal Things: Birmingham's Silver Fish & Possible Inspiration

At the Bowes Museum at Barnard Castle in County Durham is a magnificent swan automaton made in silver in 1773 by James Cox in conjunction with John Joseph Merlin.* Both were inventors, the latter keeping Merlin's Mechanical Museum (from 1783), and the former a jeweller, toymaker and producer of large and extravagant 'sing-songs' that were sent to the East. The Swan was formed of intricately shaped and layered silver to produce the feathers, hiding the mechanics that make the swan preen itself and then curl its neck to the stream below (made with twisted glass rods that turn and catch the light to mimic water) and catch a little silver fish, one of many that wiggle amongst the ripples (see below). The swan then lifts its head and gobbles down the little fish. It is a beautiful piece of mechanical art.

Equipage - Displaying Workmanship & Craftswomanship in the Eighteenth Century

A gilt metal equipage with enamel adornments and watch, made in Birmingham, c. 1770.
Sold at Bonhams in 2011 for £3,250.

These items are generally called chatelaines but the name 'chatelaine' was a Victorian invention; during the eighteenth century these articles were called equipage. Equipage was hung from women's dresses at the waist and were produced to both hold and display useful things that a lady may need to hand, such as watches, seals, thimbles, scissors, needle cases, other sewing tools such as button hooks, note cards, perfume bottles and bonbonnières.

The example, above, was almost certainly made in Birmingham, and possibly in a manufactory like John Taylor's.

Metal Things: Edward Villers Wilkes Pots and Pans

Copper kettle made in Birmingham, c. 1850.

Edward Villers Wilkes (1781-1835) was renowned in Birmingham's metal trade, with a large variety of metal goods bearing his mark 'EVW'. He died in 1835 but kitchenware produced after this date were still marked 'EVW'. His son, Alfred Salt Wilkes, took over the trade after the father passed away so it seems the company continued using Edward's name to mark their goods.

Metal Things: Charles Jones's "Love Tokens" (1830s)

The reverse side of the Love Tokens, with
the makers name, Charles Jones.

These ‘Love Tokens’ were made in Birmingham in bronze and gold gilt in the 1830s by Charles Jones of the Pantechnetheca (a grand toy-shop/repository). These are gold gilt examples of the whole set of six. Each token depicts two cupids rolling dice on the reverse [above], and a different scene (again, each with Cupid) on the obverse, as follows:

Metal Things: Personalised Steel Boxes (mid-1700s)

Steel snuff box of James Thornton, c. 1740-1765.
Held at Birmingham Museum.

The manufacture of steel boxes was a major part of Birmingham's artisan trades from at least the 1710s. Edwards' Birmingham toyshop (a shop selling small Birmingham wares such as buckles, watchchains etc) stocked, in 1733, one dozen steel toothpick cases and nineteen steel tobacco boxes, all certainly made locally if not in Birmingham then the wider West Midland towns. These boxes would have originally been highly polished, which was an important part of their appeal.

Metal Things: Gallery of Filigree Counter Boxes

 

Silver filigree counter box with painted enamel insert, c. 1790.
Private collection.

Several silver filigree counter boxes with enamel tops survive in museums and private collections, dating, probably, from the late 1700s. Counters were used in gaming so a decorative box was an eye-catching accessory on the gaming table.

Like much silver filigree of this period, these boxes aren't marked, but the combination of filigree and enamel makes it almost certain that these decorative objects were made in Birmingham and nearby. Birmingham was dominant in the manufacture of filigree (see post here) and, unlike other towns, contained within and nearby a diverse number of other artisans including skilled enamellers. Birmingham's famed Soho manufactory produced many filigree items including items for gaming such as quadrille pools and dice boxes. The 1782 inventory of the contents of the manufactory included 'Small Enamels Richards' and 'Enamels from Wednesbury' so, if they made boxes similar to the one above, they may bought the decorated enamel circles in from local makers in Birmingham (Richards was possibly Theophilus Richards, a local Birmingham filigree and toy maker) and Wednesbury.* There is no reason to believe that these boxes were made in Soho, but it is very likely that the filigree makers ordered in the enamel tops from other local makers.

Top with Knave of Clubs.

Base.

Gallery Below

Metal Things: Gallery of Filigree Caddy Spoons

Jockey cap design silver filigree caddy spoon.

The 'peak' handle is of the same design as a spoon by Pemberton, below.

To find out more about Birmingham's filigree trade, click here.

Caddy spoons were part of tea drinking paraphernalia, and were used to scoop out loose tea from the tea caddy. The examples below were all made in silver filigree in Birmingham.

Gallery Below

Metal Things: Silver Filigree Nutmeg Grater (probably) by Samuel Pemberton (c. 1800)

Silver filigree nutmeg grater, probably Samuel Pemberton, c. 1800.
Held at Birmingham Assay Office.

This delicate object was made to be carried on the person, and would have held a nutmeg in the larger compartment [see below], and had a surface for grating which opened the other side. It was fashionable over the eighteenth century to carry nutmegs which could be grated into coffee, chocolate, punch and other alcoholic drinks. Nutmeg was beautifully fragrant, and was relatively expensive. It was used to freshen breath and some believed it to have medicinal qualities too.

Showing the opening of the grater, with a section
to hold the nutmeg and another for the grater.

See my post on: Birmingham Filigree

Find more metal & Birmingham objects: Nutmeg Graters / Silver / Samuel Pemberton / Filigree 

Enamel Boxes: Les Fêtes Vénetiennes Bonbonnière (c. 1751)

Bonbonnière with enamel lid and gilt copper basket, c. 1748-1756.
Wolverhampton Museum (EM131).

Object Focus: This enamel bonbonnière (sweet box) is considered to be made in Birmingham in the very early stages of transfer-printing being developed in the town (more on transfer printing here). The transfer-print is in red and it has been over-painted in orange and purple, suggesting the transfer-print was of a poorer quality due to it still being in a period of development.

Metal Things: The Silver Work of Samuel Pemberton (c. 1704-1836)

Samuel Pemberton silver toothpick case, 1793.

Held at Birmingham Assay Office.

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).

Lost Trades: The Coins of John Gregory Hancock

Angelsey Druid coin, die engraved by Hancock, struck
in Wales.

John Gregory Hancock was a die-engraver and coin manufacturer and was thought one of the finest engravers, not just in Birmingham, but world-wide. The process of die-engraving involved incising the image in reverse (including dimensionally in reverse) in metal so that a coin could be struck from it. John engraved the die for the 1792 Washington cent, which is a very skilful example of the trade (see below, left), and made print engravings for Bisset’s Magnificent Directory. John was also the first to patent the process of paper embossing in 1796 (and may have invented it)* which is the method of raising a pattern or picture on paper by pressing it between two metal dies.

A lovely example of a coin is one produced by Hancock’s son (also called John Gregory Hancock, see above right) in 1800 when he was only seven years old. It shows a bust of Shakespeare, and was probably a product of Hancock senior handing down his skills to his young son. Coins were not just produced as part of general currency, but they were used by businesses to advertise, to commemorate people or events, as special currency such as workhouse tokens, as medals and to promote political messages (as with the medal below). The process of die-engraving is complex, dark must be engraved as light; raised sections as dropped ones, which requires a great deal of technical skill.


Medal cast in 1800, die by Hancock. The medal states
'THE UNCHARITABLE MONOPOLIZER WILL STARVE THE
POOR' and around the globe is written 'TAKE NOT WHAT
WAS MADE FOR ALL'. The band on the figures head states
'POSSESSION'. 

NOTES
A Thomas Hancock was an engraver (art) working at 14 Congreve Street. He worked on Bisset's directory as well, which suggests that he could have been related to John Gregory Hancock. Thomas was the son, or another relation of renowned Worcestershire engraver Robert Hancock, who was apprenticed to Birmingham's George Anderton in 1746.
A William Hancock produced and patented the first metal rope in Birmingham which made coal mining safer as metal was less likely to break.
* References on request.

A Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.13: James Bisset's 'Objects of Curiosity'

A promotional coin struck for James Bisset advertising his own museum and other 'objects of curiosity' in Birmingham. Circa 1800.

Side A.

OBJECTS OF CURIOSITY AND CONSEQUENCE, TO BE SEEN IN BIRMINGHAM.

---------

BISSET'S MUSEUM, AND GRAND PICTURE GALLERY.

---------

CLAY'S PATENT PAPER MANUFACTORY.

---------

RICHARDS'S GRAND MAGAZINE, AND TOYSHOP.

---------

THOMASON'S EXTENSIVE MANUFACTORIES, AND ELEGANT SHEW ROOMS.

---------

WHITMORE'S ENGINE WORKS.

---------

NELSON'S STATUE.

---------

PANORAMA.

---------

THEATRE ROYAL.

Side B.

BIRMINGHAM MANUFACTORIES.

ARMY

ACCOUTREMENT.

BUTTON, BUCKLE,

GLASS & CHINA.

JAPAN, AND PAPER MACHEE.

NEEDLE, AND FISH HOOK.

STEEL, GOLD, SILVER, AND GILT TOY.

SWORD, GUN, & PISTOL.

TEA URN, WHIP, PIN, & WIRE.

TYPE, CAST IRON, & BRASS FOUNDRY.

---------

PRINCIPAL INNS.

ROYAL HOTEL.

HEN & CHICKENS, STORK,

& SWAN HOTELS.

CASTLE, DOG, GEORGE,

SARACENS HEAD, & UNION

INNS.

SHAKESPEAR TAVERN.

Birmingham Swords: Officer's Sword by Samuel Harvey (1761)

 This is a Scottish officer's basket-hilted backsword, and was sold at Bonhams in 2016 for £2,500. It was made by Samuel Harvey in Birmingham, and is dated 1761 on the hilt.

Other Birmingham-made swords bear Harvey's running fox mark.

Made in 1751, from a private collection. 

Made in 1751, from a private collection.

http://calmview.birmingham.gov.uk/CalmView/Overview.aspx

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D742957