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Elkington & Co. Ltd. - Newcastle - Sales box detail

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A straining ladle and bowl by Elkington & Co.:










1 - 10960 - & - E - E&/Co - Co. - P - ELKINGTON & Co.


S - ELKINGTON - Q - E&/Co

The bowl is struck with the date letter 'P' - 1901
The ladle is struck with the date letter 'Q' - 1902

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A teaspoons and tongs set by Elkington & Co., assayed at Birmingham in 1903:










E&Co.Ld. - Birmingham - 1903

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Advertisements from Richard and John Slack that shows that they were a license holder for Elkington's Patent process:


Richard and John Slack - London - 1851


Richard and John Slack - London - 1873

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The National Dog Show medal by Elkington & Co., assayed at Birmingham in 1931:


THE/NATIONAL/DOG SHOW/BIRMINGHAM/ESTABLISHED 1859




E&Co - Birmingham - 1931

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A server by Elkington & Co., assayed at Birmingham in 1895:






E&Co.Ld. - Birmingham - 1895

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An advertisement from E.W. Bachmann, Elkington's agent in Guernsey:


E.W. Bachmann - St. Peter Port - 1894

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A spectacle-case by Elkington & Co., assayed at Birmingham in 1921:








E&Co. - Birmingham - 1921

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JAMES NAPIER

James Napier. By Robert R. Tatlock, F.I.C., F.C.S., F.R.S.E.

James Napier was born in the village of Partick, one of the suburbs of Glasgow, in 1810. His father was a hand-loom weaver in humble circumstances, and his mother was a sempstress. At the age of seven or thereby he was sent to a small day school in the village, kept by Mr Neil, a medical student, where in less than twelve months he learned to read with comparative fluency. On account of the straitened means of his parents, however, he was then sent to work, and found employment as a “tearer” in a calico printing works, his remuneration being Is. 3d. per week. When he was between twelve and thirteen years of age he was put to his father’s trade, and, being conscious of the limited character of his education, he endeavoured successfully to earn a little money, by extraneous efforts of various kinds, to enable him to attend a night school for two winters, by which his writing and knowledge of arithmetic were greatly improved.

Owing to dulness in the weaving trade, he betook himself to that of a dyer, and was employed by the Messrs Gilchrist at their works, Meadowside, Partick, where, at the age of eighteen, he was promoted to the post of foreman “piece dyer,” his wages being then 11s. per week. When only twenty-one years of age he married, on the slender income of 13s. per week. About the year 1833, on account of the dull condition of the dyeing trade, a trades-union was formed among the workmen, in which he joined, and would not be dissuaded, even by offers of extra remuneration from his employers, in consequence of which he was dismissed. He was next employed as a dyer at Glasgow Field Bleach Works, where he remained for four years, after which, his health failing, he endeavoured to earn a subsistence by keeping a lending library, but without success, and ultimately returned to the dye-works where he was first employed, in the capacity of a clerk. Prior to this Mr Napier had written an essay of great excellence on dyeing, which had attracted the notice of the late Mr John Joseph Griffin, who combined the business of a dealer in chemical and philosophical apparatus with that of a publisher, in Glasgow, and afterwards in London. He accepted an appointment in this establishment to prepare and bottle chemical reagents, and to make up apparatus—an employment which he found very congenial, as in some autobiographical notes which he has left, he says : — " My position brought me into contact with all sorts of inquirers ; people in different trades came, not only to buy apparatus, but to question about difficulties. I had access to all kinds of chemistry books, and gave willing search to help them, thus gaining a knowledge of different trades ; but I wanted system, and to improve myself in this respect, I invited the members of our Mutual Instruction Society to my house, and went through a course of chemistry, following Graham’s work. By these means, and by nightly study, I obtained a pretty good knowledge of the principles of the science.” It was, doubtless, while in this employment that he made the acquaintance of the late Dr James Young, F.R.S., of Kelly, at that time laboratory assistant to the late Professor Graham, of Anderson’s College, Glasgow, who afterwards became Master of the Mint, which resulted in a life-long and most friendly intimacy.

In the year 1839 the results obtained by Mr Thomas Spencer in the new art of electrotyping and electro-metallurgy excited much interest, and Mr Napier, on Mr Griffin’s account, carried out some laborious and important work with the object of applying the art to useful purposes, such as copying woodcuts and engraving plates, &c.; and in 1842 he was appointed to take a leading position in the London electroplating works of Messrs Elkington & Mason, where, it is needless to say, he discharged his duties in a manner which reflected the highest credit upon him, some of the work which he turned out being truly very fine. The interest he took in the process of copper-smelting led to the discovery of a great improvement in the refining and granulation of copper, by the application of soda ash, in which he encountered much opposition, notwithstanding which the process was taken up and wrought by a private company in 1847, who acquired the Spitty Works at Swansea for the purpose, the result of which was that at the end of the first year the books showed a net profit amounting to £19,000, or upwards of 55 per cent., £900 of which fell to Mr Napier’s share. Tn 1844 he devised and described a process for extracting silver from its ores by calcination with common salt, which was, in principle, identical with the “ wet process,” devised by Mr William Henderson many years later, for the extraction of copper from poor ores. He also, some time thereafter, patented a method for the removal of tin, antimony, arsenic, &c., from poor Cornish ores. In 1852 he revised and extended some magazine papers which he had previously published, and they were published and issued by Messrs Griffin & Co., under the title of A Manual of the Art of Dyeing. This was succeeded by his well-known hook entitled A Manual of Electro-Metallurgy, which in 1860 reached a fourth edition. Mr Napier returned to Glasgow in 1849, and to his native place — Partick — in 1852, where he engaged in literary work and interested himself in its sanitary condition, analysing its potable waters, and instigating the movement which led to Partick being made a Police Burgh for its own local government. For several years he thus occupied himself, but retained his laboratory, employing himself as an investigating and consulting chemist. In 1860 he was requested by the Marquis of Breadalbane to visit and inspect a copper mine on his estate at Killin, on the south side of Loch Tay, which had been worked for years without profit, the result of which was that the works were started on the spot, under Mr Napier’s superintendence, for preparation of copper regulus and the manufacture of sulphuric acid and artificial manures, but owing to the failure in the quality of the ore from the mine these were soon suspended. In 1861 he returned to Glasgow, and commenced business as consulting chemist, where he continued till 1864, when he erected sulphuric acid works at Vinegar Hill, near Glasgow, the operations of which occupied his time and attention for six or seven years. Being then relieved of the active management by his son, he returned to his literary pursuits, and soon produced his Notes and Reminiscences of Partick (1873), Ancient Workers in Metals, Manufacturing Arts of Ancient Times (1879), and Old Ballad Folk-Lore (1879).

From the annexed list of his papers it will be seen that Mr Napier has earned for himself a recognised position in general science, and particularly in the special branches of technical chemistry and metallurgical science which were so congenial to him ; and that, with a more liberal education, his mental activity and aptitude for scientific study would have won for him a great name in the scientific world.

Mr Napier was elected a Fellow of this Society in 1874. He was also a Fellow of the Chemical Society, and took much active interest in the local scientific societies with which he was connected, particularly the Philosophical, Natural History, and Archaeological Societies of Glasgow. He was likewise a zealous worker in the management of Anderson’s College, and of the “ Young” Technical School, Glasgow, of which he was a trustee. The loss of his wife in the year 1881 proved a heavy blow to him, from which he never fully recovered; and on 1st December 1884 he terminated an active and useful life at the age of seventy-four, esteemed and respected by all who knew him.

Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh - 1888

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LIVERPOOL AND DISTRICT PROPERTY SALES

A private transaction of some interest is the purchase by Mr. Henry Miles, of Church-street, of the whole of the premises in Church-street of Messrs. Elkington and Co. who are contemplating removal. The premises in point extend at a right angle into Williamson-street and have an area of 641 square yards. The purchase price is £60,000. It is expected that the property will change hands next January.

Source: The Liverpool Mercury - 8th July 1899

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Elkington & Co. Ltd. - London - 1913

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Mr. A. Iliffe, one of Messrs. Elkington and Co.'s managers, died suddenly on Monday evening, the 14th ult., at his residence, New Road, Bromsgrove. He had just returned home from business, and on going upstairs, fell upon the landing and never recovered; he leaves a widow and three young children. He was highly respected in his circle and the trade. The cause of his death was heart disease.

Source: The Watchmaker, Jeweller and Silversmith - 1st May 1890

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Elkington & Co.Ltd. - London - 1908

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Walter Locke & Co. Ltd., Elkington's agent in Calcutta:


Walter Locke & Co. Ltd. - Calcutta - 1899

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A sugar-bowl by Elkington & Co., assayed at Birmingham in 1852:








E & Co. - Birmingham - 1852

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A creamer by Elkington & Co., assayed at Birmingham in 1852:








E & Co. - Birmingham - 1852

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Elkington & Co. - Birmingham - 1877

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Silverware by Elkington & Co. exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition held at Philadelphia in 1876:


Elkington & Co. - London - 1876

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Sir Robert and Lady Peel, and Miss Peel, accompanied by Sir Henry de la Beche, and the Right Hon. Henry Goulburn, M.P., Sir John Young, and Mr Bonham, &tc., on Wednesday visited the works of Messrs. Elkington, Mason and Co. of Birmingham, where they remained upwards of two hours inspecting the various scientific processes there carried on.

Source: Berrow's Worcester Journal - 22nd November 1849

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Things of Beauty—and Usefulness

Even when you first see its portrait in the black and white which cannot do justice to all its actual charm of colouring you will surely recognise it, and acclaim it as just exactly what you have always been wanting, while, later on, when you come to use it—for of course you will all buy it at sight!—you will realise that it is what you wanted, in absolute perfection.

For this one small compact and decorative thing is qualified to perform the duties of envelope and stamp damper and seal, and does all its work
equally well, the damping process in particular being made so simple that you will never be tempted—as often happens!—to resort to more
primitive methods.



But this, you see, is the most ingenious and successful of all, and so you are saved all further trouble when once you have secured the pretty little cone-shaped affair of coloured enamel—pink, mauve, amber, blue, green and so forth, which when unscrewed from the firmly standing silver base, filled with water, and then hastened up again, is ready for immediate and frequent use, without any further attention, a very fine sprinkler on the end allowing just exactly the right amount of moisture to escape when it is passed over the envelope flap, or the stamp. Then, this preliminary operation having been completed, the envelope can be finally and firmly sealed by the use in reversed form of the same convenient little contrivance, the effect being, of course, enhanced by the monogram or crest engraved on the silver stand and seal.

That can be done without making this latest novelty and necessity at all expensive, seeing that in its small size and with sterling silver mounts it costs only 14/-, larger sizes being 18/6 and 22/6, while in enamel and gold the respective prices are ; £1 11s. 6d. £1 17s. 6d., and two guineas.

Wherefore when you have provided yourself with one, it might well and wisely happen that you invest in several others for the benefit of birthday- celebrating friends or relatives, all of whom would assuredly be delighted to receive anything so thoroughly novel and pretty and practical. And so please note that it is an exclusive speciality of Elkington's and only to be obtained from 22, Regent Street, or their other establishment at 73, Cheapside, E.C., which is so convenient for the City man that it is responsible for many an anniversary of sentimental significance being remembered instead of overlooked.

Of course, the Regent Street house (just below Piccadilly Circus, be it mentioned for the benefit of the country cousin) is specially famous and fascinating on account of the great size and shape and arrangement of its showrooms, a really wonderful vista opening out before you from the first moment that you set foot inside this treasure-stored place. The display is even more eye-arresting than usual just now, inasmuch as Elkington’s have just added an array of uniquely beautiful lamps to their stock of silver and gold and bronzes and jewellery, each one being of unique design and made further distinctive by the introduction of the metallic work in whose treatment they are, of course, past-masters. The shades are veritable works of art, and are hand-painted to repeat the design of the china base. Furthermore, all the lamps are fitted complete with a specially toned silken cord and are ready for immediate use in any electrically lighted room, and as to the prices, they will I am sure will as a most pleasant surprise, on lovely vase lamp of powder blue china with a floral device on its white medallions, richly gilt mounts, and a golden fringe bordering its hand-painted blue shade, being only six guineas.



Even if you aspire to the capture of the elusive “ Blue Bird,” as a permanent occupant and ornament of the home, you need only spend £5 on that most original lamp (it has, I may mention, won Royal notice and approval) where the blue porcelain parrot, mounted on a rosewood plinth is an authentic replica of Kang-He, 1661—1722. Upheld in the bird’s beak is a shade of Chinese silk, where the same wonderful and beautiful shade of blue makes background for a procession of quaint little figures in tender pinks and ambers and greens, a bordering fringe of gold bullion giving just the right finish.

What a perfect wedding present this would make, to be sure—and as there is no escape for anyone from the making of such gifts several times every year, Elkington’s array of lovely and unique lamps should be specially interesting and helpful.

Then just two other examples I must give you of the variety of the goods and gifts you can get from them, one being the daintiest little case of soft, variously coloured leather, fitted with a solid gold cigarette holder—and four of the very hygienic quills which are so frequently used nowadays by smokers of both sexes, these quills being made in various sizes to take different kinds of cigarettes.

The whole thing costs complete only 7/6 !—why, it would be worth paying that amount just to have Elkington’s world-famous name to, as it were, hall-mark your gift.

Next, as an inducement to an expenditure of £25 instead of 7/6, there is a certain circular box of the finest tortoise-shell with silver gilt mounts which, when closed, is always a thing of beauty, while, when the lid is raised and the hinged interior fittings opened out, is revealed as a most luxuriously complete manicure case whose lining of yellow silk tones beautifully with the tortoiseshell and silver gilt of the fittings.

So one might go on and on till one had filled a volume as large as the catalogue, which will come to you post free for the asking—and it is worth asking for, as it can give you a first introduction to any number of other novel and desirable things both for personal and household adornment and use.

Source: The Badminton Magazine - January 1914

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