Hi,
This is a list of British Subjects working in the silversmithing and allied trades in Calcutta and Upper Provinces of Bengal and its Dependencies in 1838.
Some of the firms noted in the full list of British inhabitants are unknown to me, so the list will, most probably, be incomplete, but can be added to when more information comes to light.
Alladice Thomas……….Firm of Middleton & Co., Jewellers, Calcutta.
Alladice R…………… Firm of Middleton & Co., Jewellers, Calcutta.
Barrow H……………….Astronomical instrument maker.
Chaplin Joseph………….Watchmaker, Agra.
Chaunce J……………….Watchmaker, Pittar & Co.
Grant G………………….Watchmaker, Calcutta.
Gray Ernest……………...Watchmaker, 4, Hare Street, Calcutta.
Jacobi Henry…………….Clock and watchmaker, Cawnpore.
Lattey R.J…………………Firm of Pittar, Lattey & Co., Jewellers.
Lattey A.P………………..Assistant, Pittar,Lattey & Co., Jewellers.
Leebridge J……………….Assistant, Pittar & Co.
Meyer……………………..Engraver and biscuit maker!, Cossitollah.
Monty E…………………..Watchmaker, Kurnaul.
Pittar Chas. John…………..Jeweller, Old Court House Street, Calcutta.
Pittar Park…………………Assistant to above. Old Court Street, Calcutta.
Pote Charles……………….Engraver, Calcutta.
Price James………………...Assistant, E. Gray, Watchmaker, 16, Hare Street. Calcutta.
Remfrey G.F……………….Firm of Hamilton & Co., Calcutta.
Rondo Joseph………………Calcutta.
Twentyman Wm. Hy………Firm of Twentyman & Co., Jewellers Etc.
Woollaston Henry…………Firm of Hamilton & Co., Calcutta.
This list has been filtered from a full list of British inhabitants noted from ‘The Bengal Directory and Annual Register for the Year 1838’
I'm not sure what to make of Mr Meyer, 'Engraver and Biscuit maker', unless the term 'biscuit' refers to the plates that were made for engraving, and were then applied to trophys etc.
Trev.
.
British Silversmiths and Allied Trades--Calcutta--1838
Hi,
The Asiatic Annual Register for 1809 records the marriage of the silversmith Joseph Rondo to Miss B (sic) Augier in February 1809.
Joseph Rondo married Perrine Augier the daughter of the cutler, armourer and gunsmith Peter Augier, who had arrived in Calcutta from Savoie in France in 1787. In 1790, Augier purchased the business of Jon Marklew at 51, Cossitollah, Calcutta.
Marklew, who prior to his arrival in India had been Foreman to the gunsmiths Jover & Son, Oxford Street, London was returning home to England.
The will of Peter Augier who died 30th September 1833 states: “My daughter Perrine the wife of Mr. Joseph Rondo has already received from me the sum of Sicca Rupees Two Thousand in bar of her claims in my estate and has therefore nothing more to receive from the same.”
This was possibly the result of her having claimed her inheritance when Joseph Rondo set up in business.
The firm of Peter Augier is still in business today and still based at Cossitollah.
Trev.
.
The Asiatic Annual Register for 1809 records the marriage of the silversmith Joseph Rondo to Miss B (sic) Augier in February 1809.
Joseph Rondo married Perrine Augier the daughter of the cutler, armourer and gunsmith Peter Augier, who had arrived in Calcutta from Savoie in France in 1787. In 1790, Augier purchased the business of Jon Marklew at 51, Cossitollah, Calcutta.
Marklew, who prior to his arrival in India had been Foreman to the gunsmiths Jover & Son, Oxford Street, London was returning home to England.
The will of Peter Augier who died 30th September 1833 states: “My daughter Perrine the wife of Mr. Joseph Rondo has already received from me the sum of Sicca Rupees Two Thousand in bar of her claims in my estate and has therefore nothing more to receive from the same.”
This was possibly the result of her having claimed her inheritance when Joseph Rondo set up in business.
The firm of Peter Augier is still in business today and still based at Cossitollah.
Trev.
.
Hi,
An interesting insight, and perhaps an answer to the decline in the trade at Calcutta as from the mid-nineteenth century.
"The European jewellers' shops in Calcutta are large and handsome; they do not make any shew on the outside, but the interiors are splendid ; the pavement of one or two is of marble, and the glass-cases on the various counters display a tempting variety of glittering treasures–diamonds of the first water, pearls of price, with every precious stone than can be named, in rich profusion. The setting of these gems is exceedingly beautiful, and according to the most fashionable patterns of London or Paris, neither of those places boasting a more superb assortment; but the prices are so ruinous, that it is wonderful where sufficient custom can be obtained to support establishments of the kind, of which there are at least four, in addition to the vast number of native artisans, who are not only exclusively employed by their own countrymen, but do a great deal of work for Europeans. Nothing could be more unconscionable than the profits which English jewellers sought and obtained for their goods in those days in which wealth flowed into Calcutta from many sources now cut off. Hitherto the European shopkeepers of Calcutta have transacted business in the most arbitrary manner, according to their own devices, without any reference to the regulations of trade at home.* They have had no competition to dread excepting with the natives, whose retail business, though extensive, has been carried on in a silent, unostentatious manner.
Formerly, an idea was entertained that European goods could only be obtained in perfection from European dealers ; but this notion is now exploded, and it will be seen, in the course of these remarks, that the shopkeepers of both countries obtain their supplies from the self-same sources. It is the policy of Europeans to cast a stigma on their native competitors; for, living at an expensive rate, they are obliged to charge enormously for their commodities ; while the humbler-minded native, whose whole establishment is maintained at a very small cost, is enabled to sell at a fair profit. In their anxiety to secure the genuine productions of Hoffman, or some other noted London house, families have sent to the accredited agents of these traders in Calcutta, paying of course the highest price, and have afterwards discovered that the vender, being out of the article, has kept the messenger waiting, while he despatched one of his own people to the bazaar, where it was to be had for about a fifth part of the money put down to their account.
Fortunes, however, are not accumulated in the rapid manner which might be surmised from the immense profits thus obtained ; the goose is too often killed for the sake of its golden eggs, and customers are driven away in disgust by some piece of rapacity practised upon them. The princely style of living, also, affected by Calcutta shopkeepers, forms another drawback ; they spend nearly as much as they gain, there being little or no difference between the establishment of a first-rate tradesman and that of a civil servant. The modest few, who are content to occupy their houses of business, and who do not display close carriages and services of plate until they have realized suflicient capital for the indulgence of such luxuries, must inevitably acquire considerable wealth ; at least the opportunity has been offered under the old regime. But the stern necessity for retrenchment felt by so large a portion of the community, and the paralyzation of trade consequent on the late failures, together with the host of adventurers, which the alteration of the East-India Company's charter will in all probability send out, cannot fail to effect a striking change in the mercantile classes of Calcutta."
*The jewellers, especially, set no bounds to the exorbitance of their demands. The counterpart of a gold smelling-bottle let with precious stones, which was sold in London for fifteen pounds, had the modest price of seventy aftized to it in Calcutta. A common chain of hair, with a locket attached to it, of the plainest description, was charged seven pounds ten ; not being executed according to order, it was sent back for alteration, and sixteen shillings added to the original bill, for the reparation of the blunders made by the workmen. A perfumer charged six shillings for an old bottle sent with a sample which was disapproved ; and whole pages might be filled with similar instances of the utter disdain of the recognized principles of trade exhibited by the shopkeepers of Calcutta.
Source:
Scenes and Characteristics of Hindostan: With Sketches of Anglo-Indian Society
By Emma Roberts
Published by W. H. Allen, 1837
Trev.
.
An interesting insight, and perhaps an answer to the decline in the trade at Calcutta as from the mid-nineteenth century.
"The European jewellers' shops in Calcutta are large and handsome; they do not make any shew on the outside, but the interiors are splendid ; the pavement of one or two is of marble, and the glass-cases on the various counters display a tempting variety of glittering treasures–diamonds of the first water, pearls of price, with every precious stone than can be named, in rich profusion. The setting of these gems is exceedingly beautiful, and according to the most fashionable patterns of London or Paris, neither of those places boasting a more superb assortment; but the prices are so ruinous, that it is wonderful where sufficient custom can be obtained to support establishments of the kind, of which there are at least four, in addition to the vast number of native artisans, who are not only exclusively employed by their own countrymen, but do a great deal of work for Europeans. Nothing could be more unconscionable than the profits which English jewellers sought and obtained for their goods in those days in which wealth flowed into Calcutta from many sources now cut off. Hitherto the European shopkeepers of Calcutta have transacted business in the most arbitrary manner, according to their own devices, without any reference to the regulations of trade at home.* They have had no competition to dread excepting with the natives, whose retail business, though extensive, has been carried on in a silent, unostentatious manner.
Formerly, an idea was entertained that European goods could only be obtained in perfection from European dealers ; but this notion is now exploded, and it will be seen, in the course of these remarks, that the shopkeepers of both countries obtain their supplies from the self-same sources. It is the policy of Europeans to cast a stigma on their native competitors; for, living at an expensive rate, they are obliged to charge enormously for their commodities ; while the humbler-minded native, whose whole establishment is maintained at a very small cost, is enabled to sell at a fair profit. In their anxiety to secure the genuine productions of Hoffman, or some other noted London house, families have sent to the accredited agents of these traders in Calcutta, paying of course the highest price, and have afterwards discovered that the vender, being out of the article, has kept the messenger waiting, while he despatched one of his own people to the bazaar, where it was to be had for about a fifth part of the money put down to their account.
Fortunes, however, are not accumulated in the rapid manner which might be surmised from the immense profits thus obtained ; the goose is too often killed for the sake of its golden eggs, and customers are driven away in disgust by some piece of rapacity practised upon them. The princely style of living, also, affected by Calcutta shopkeepers, forms another drawback ; they spend nearly as much as they gain, there being little or no difference between the establishment of a first-rate tradesman and that of a civil servant. The modest few, who are content to occupy their houses of business, and who do not display close carriages and services of plate until they have realized suflicient capital for the indulgence of such luxuries, must inevitably acquire considerable wealth ; at least the opportunity has been offered under the old regime. But the stern necessity for retrenchment felt by so large a portion of the community, and the paralyzation of trade consequent on the late failures, together with the host of adventurers, which the alteration of the East-India Company's charter will in all probability send out, cannot fail to effect a striking change in the mercantile classes of Calcutta."
*The jewellers, especially, set no bounds to the exorbitance of their demands. The counterpart of a gold smelling-bottle let with precious stones, which was sold in London for fifteen pounds, had the modest price of seventy aftized to it in Calcutta. A common chain of hair, with a locket attached to it, of the plainest description, was charged seven pounds ten ; not being executed according to order, it was sent back for alteration, and sixteen shillings added to the original bill, for the reparation of the blunders made by the workmen. A perfumer charged six shillings for an old bottle sent with a sample which was disapproved ; and whole pages might be filled with similar instances of the utter disdain of the recognized principles of trade exhibited by the shopkeepers of Calcutta.
Source:
Scenes and Characteristics of Hindostan: With Sketches of Anglo-Indian Society
By Emma Roberts
Published by W. H. Allen, 1837
Trev.
.
Parke Pittar invested in a variety of interests including mining, railway and tea, and even his local hotel as can be seen below.
He appears to have been a man of considerable wealth, with directorships of at least nine companies and citing three addresses: 26, Gresham Street, London EC. (perhaps his office), Kensington Park Gardens, London W., and Runnacleaves, Ilfracombe, Devon.
Source: The Joint Stock Companies Directory for 1867 by Charles Barker & Sons.
Trev.
He appears to have been a man of considerable wealth, with directorships of at least nine companies and citing three addresses: 26, Gresham Street, London EC. (perhaps his office), Kensington Park Gardens, London W., and Runnacleaves, Ilfracombe, Devon.
Source: The Joint Stock Companies Directory for 1867 by Charles Barker & Sons.
Trev.
Re: British Silversmiths and Allied Trades--Calcutta--1838
Hi Trev,
Thanks for the information I can take bits and bobs from it. Do you, by any chance, know when or where either Parke or Isaac Pittar were born?
Marion
Thanks for the information I can take bits and bobs from it. Do you, by any chance, know when or where either Parke or Isaac Pittar were born?
Marion
Re: British Silversmiths and Allied Trades--Calcutta--1838
Hi Marion,
I'm afraid I don't. Perhaps someone can add that information.
Trev.
I'm afraid I don't. Perhaps someone can add that information.
Trev.
Re: British Silversmiths and Allied Trades--Calcutta--1838
Parke Pittar
A christening of a Parke Pittar, son of Parke Pittar, merchant of 6 George Street, Adelphi and his wife Margaret, was recorded at St Martin in the Fields, London in 1819. His brother William was christened at the same church on the same day.
Parke Pittar, East India Merchant aged 36 years born in Rio de Janeiro, appears on the 1851 UK Census at 40 Gower Street, St Giles in the Fields, London. It seems Parke and William may have been christened together after their parents' return to the UK?
Parke Pittar aged 69 years died at 6 Redcliffe Road, South Kensington in 1884. The value of his estate was £38525+.
Isaac Pittar
An Issac Pittar, merchant aged 55 years born in Ireland, appears on the 1841 UK Census in Brixton. A son Isaac, an artist aged 25 years, lived with him.
All of the above detail from Ancestry.co.uk website.
Pittar Silversmiths
Jackson's Silver & Gold Marks of England Scotland & Ireland (p.636) edited by Ian Pickford refers to J Pittar silversmith sending work to Dublin Assay Office in 1751.
There are website links to what appears to be another J Pittar sending work to Dublin Assay Office in 1805 & 1814.
Mike
A christening of a Parke Pittar, son of Parke Pittar, merchant of 6 George Street, Adelphi and his wife Margaret, was recorded at St Martin in the Fields, London in 1819. His brother William was christened at the same church on the same day.
Parke Pittar, East India Merchant aged 36 years born in Rio de Janeiro, appears on the 1851 UK Census at 40 Gower Street, St Giles in the Fields, London. It seems Parke and William may have been christened together after their parents' return to the UK?
Parke Pittar aged 69 years died at 6 Redcliffe Road, South Kensington in 1884. The value of his estate was £38525+.
Isaac Pittar
An Issac Pittar, merchant aged 55 years born in Ireland, appears on the 1841 UK Census in Brixton. A son Isaac, an artist aged 25 years, lived with him.
All of the above detail from Ancestry.co.uk website.
Pittar Silversmiths
Jackson's Silver & Gold Marks of England Scotland & Ireland (p.636) edited by Ian Pickford refers to J Pittar silversmith sending work to Dublin Assay Office in 1751.
There are website links to what appears to be another J Pittar sending work to Dublin Assay Office in 1805 & 1814.
Mike
Re: British Silversmiths and Allied Trades--Calcutta--1838
The second 'J. Pittar', would have been John Pittar. Recorded at 21, Ross Lane, Bride Street, Dublin during the years 1784-1803, at 10, Stephens Green, Dublin, 1804-1815, and at Windy Harbour, Dublin, 1815-1825. He was a Quarter Brother in 1775, Freeman 1780, Registered at the Dublin office in 1784, elected Warden 1789-1792, elected to the Common Council City of Dublin, 1795, 1804, and 1810, Master of the Dublin Company 1796-1797. He appears in Dublin street directories 1784-1825.
Source: Collecting Irish Silver - Douglas Bennett
Trev.
Source: Collecting Irish Silver - Douglas Bennett
Trev.
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