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An account of a tour through the 'Cornish Place' works of James Dixon & Sons of Sheffield in 1858.

During the last twenty-five years, several houses have sprung into existence in Sheffield in this trade; and, in consequence of the moderate price of the goods, the business has been steadily increasing. There is one house in this line that is worthy of special notice, not only because it is the most extensive in the silver-plating trade in Sheffield, but that it embraces three distinct branches of manufacture, each of which are conducted upon a scale of almost unprecedented magnitude.

On the north side of Sheffield, in the valley of the Don, and on the banks of that stream, the passing stranger may observe a huge brick building, with a stalk of considerable altitude rising out of its centre. The Sheffield people know this place by the name of the " Cornish Works." This name may have been derived from the consumption of tin used in the business carried on there, tin being a Cornish produce. As this establishment is one of considerable interest, both in a commercial and artistic point of view, we will endeavour to give our readers an idea of its various appliances in connection with its threefold manufacturing character. We enter the building on its south-east side, by Cornish-lane. This range contains a suite of counting-offices, private rooms for the members of the firm and some of the upper-servants, storehouse, and packing departments. In commencing a voyage of discovery through this establishment and its wonderful mazes, we cross the quadrangle and enter a new building that forms the north wing, pass up two flights of stone stairs, and land in the show-room. This is an elegant and costly fitted-up saloon, and large enough for a district ball-room. The articles exhibited in the numerous cases in this place are well calculated to arrest attention. In one case we see splendid candelabra, with their foliated branches and trunk supporters, in every style of art; fruit-baskets and flower-stands in fret and filligree-work. Then we observe whole cases filled with bottle and cruet-stands in every imaginable design, both modern and antique. Other cases are embellished with salvers dish-covers, tureens, trays, and urns, some plain and others elaborately chased, tea-sets in every variety of pattern, with goblets and fancy wine-cups. The most massive articles we observed in silver and plated goods were trays and dish-covers. Many of the large trays were plated in the old style, but on Nickel foundations, which made them as good as silver for all practical purposes. Many of the articles, we observed, were got-up in the first style of workmanship, both in design and finish.

From thirty to forty years ago, this class of goods were unattainable by any but the more opulent members of society. At the present time, a really magnificent tea-set can be purchased for less than the price formerly paid for the workmanship. Rivalship, like necessity, is a prolific source of invention. In this trade, competition has been the means of not only improving the character of the goods, but it has also greatly reduced their selling price. Some of the pictures in relief we observed in the show-room were perfect models in art. The numerous modifications of the vase, from the Egyptian and Etruscan upwards, produce an endless variety in the form of goods made for the dinner and breakfast-service. These articles are not only beautiful to the eye, but, as a matter of economy, they are much cheaper for those people who can afford to purchase them than others of an inferior quality, while the purity of the metal is no small recommendation in a sanitary point of view. The manufacture of silver-plated forks and spoons is a leading feature in the business of this house. The introduction of these articles to the dinner-table of late years has been a move in keeping with the taste of the age. The disagreeable and highly offensive taste produced by the chemical action of acid on steel has been done away with by the use of these articles; and, if at all taken care of, well made silver-plated forks or spoons will last more than an ordinary lifetime. We may mention that there are some houses in Sheffield confined to the manufacture of these sort of goods alone, which is no bad proof of the great demand there must be for them in the market. It certainly would be a fortunate circumstance if knives for domestic purposes could be made of the same material.

The class of people who carry on the silver-plating business to any extent, require a large capital, inasmuch as a considerable amount of money must be continually sunk in designs, moulds, and dies. From Ihe general competition there is now in every branch of business, the house that can produce the most elegant designs and newest patterns is sure to receive the greatest amount of public favour. The capital shelved in this establishment in dies and moulds must be very considerable.

On leaving the show-room, we passed through the designing and modelling departments, where a number of the highest class of workmen were employed. Having already described these branches of the business in connection with the grate and fender trade, what we then stated is quite applicable to this business. After having observed some rather delicate manipulation in the modelling-room, our good mentor intimated that we should next visit the spinning-room. This is a large oblong apartment, full of machinery in motion. Our idea of this place, with its revolving wheels, before we entered, had a good deal of the cotton-mill notion in it. Much of the machinery in this room puts one in mind of being in a potter's turning shop. Along the whole length of the side of the apartment that fronts to the yard, there are a large number of turning lathes. The foundations for all articles that are to be made of a globular or cylindrical form, are cut from metal in the sheet, according to the sizes required. Whether a piece of this metal be for a bowl, a jug, urn, or goblet, one of the men here with his wheel in a very short time will fashion it into whatever form is required. The wonderful facility with which the spinners can convert the pieces of flat metal into the most symmetrical and beautiful forms is not a little interesting to the uninitiated. For some time after the introduction of Nickel silver into this business, a very great and what appeared an insurmountable difficulty in working it at the wheel was felt, the metal being so hard and brittle that it was continually giving way under the pressure necessary to give it the required shape. This serious difficulty has been overcome by a different treatment in the compounding. When the articles are finished in the spinningroom, they are sent off to the fitting department where they are supplied with handles, spouts, and such ornamentation or mouldings of a decorative character, as may be required for their class. The soldering process is one of much nicety, and is done here by the aid of oxygen gas. When the different parts of an article are soldered together, the points of union are decidedly the strongest. Such articles as have raised surfaces, or are formed of numerous parts, such as squares etc., require to undergo a very different process to those of a plain make. The divisions of a jug, or a tea-pot, are cut from the sheet, and embossed according to the pattern, and when a sufficient number of parts have been blocked into shape, the whole are artfully combined into the required design under the hand of the solderer. While the metal is undergoing the process of turning it is frequently found necessary to immerse it in a solution of sulphuric acid. Technically speaking, this is termed pickling. Such articles as the workmen beat into form by the hammer require a special treatment. In this case the metal must be frequently annealed, in order to make it sufficiently pliable for working. The annealing is done in furnaces constructed for the purpose and kept heated at a certain temperature. Many of those articles that are made for the breakfast and dinner tables are ornamented with handsome pannels, splendid chased mouldings, or rims in fancy work. In the process of making these, the parts are either moulded or cut and embossed in separate pieces, and are united by soldering. Nearly the whole of the goods of an ornamental character are chased. This process is the finishing one, so far as embellishment is concerned. There are a great number of men employed in this department; and as they require to be persons of superior education, as well as artistic taste, their remuneration is upon a higher scale than any of the other workmen, if we except the designers and modellers. The aroma that salutes the sense of smell on entering the chasing department is not by any means of a pleasing nature. All articles that are to be chased require to be filled with liquid pitch, and such articles as are not hollow are fitted in this material on wood frames. This arrangement protects the articles under treatment from being bulged or otherwise injured in the hands of the men. While in one of the chasing-rooms we were much interested in witnessing the manner in which fruit, flowers, the outlines of animals, and architectural designs were made to spring into existence at the will of the workmen. Under the operations of one man, creeping tendrils were sending their delicate feelers round the corrugated trunk of a mountain-pine, while a beautiful rose-bud was being made to unfold its tender petals by another. Some, again, were shaping limbs with anatomical correctness or forming the lineaments of the human face divine, and one man was engaged over a beautiful group of men and animals on the centre of a large tray.

When the articles intended for electro-plating have been formed, they are filed and smoothed with fine sand and oil. Some are buffed on the wheel, and after having been sufficiently polished, they are sent to be robed in silver or gold, or perhaps in both !

The number of silver-plated spoons and forks turned out in this house is almost incredible. In the manufacture of these articles, all the near cuts that science or machinery can give are taken advantage of; and the consequence is, that they are made with amazing rapidity. In the first process, the sheet-metal is submitted to the tender embrace of a ponderous machine upon the principle of the Nasmyth steamhammer. The metal is here cut into shape and size required. Another machine gives the embryo spoon its concave form, and the prongs of the fork are cut by another. These operations are performed with the quickness of thought. After having passed through these early stages of their existence, the infant spoons and forks are sent to another department, where they are treated with the respect due to their rank in the silver-plated family. They are filed, hammered, or smithed, smoothed and buffed, after which they are ready for the silver-bath.

The next branch of business in this work is that of the Britannia metal. A large number of people, male and female, are employed in the various branches of this trade. The different processes through which these goods pass in making are much the same as those above described. We have already stated that considerable improvements have been introduced into this business, both in the character of the material and in the designs applied to the shape and ornamentation of the articles. The consequence is, that this class of goods have now a very large demand, both at home and abroad. When we state that the Messrs. James Dixon & Son manufacture upwards of 60,000 Britannia metal tea-pots annually, it will convey some idea of their business in this department. Only think, ladies, of the mountains of bohea these little steam-engines are calculated to infuse, and the soothing influence its liquor must exercise over the nervous systems of those who imbibe it!! What tons of saccaharine matter and volumes of innocent gossip will make up the condiments to this delightfully exhilarating beverage! And what thousands of delicate little fingers will be employed in manipulating morning meals, and quiet scandal seasoned post-meridian feasts! How much human sympathy will glow in harmony with the tinkling music of plated spoons, the sweet organs of woman's speech, and the dulcet sound of porcelain cups and saucers! Every pot of this great army will, in all likelihood, have a family history, and many of them will become connected with strange and romantic events. Some of them, after having held the first place at the family board for years, will ultimately be superseded by others more in keeping with the altered circumstances of their owners. Others, again, will hold the post of honour when their silver predecessors have passed into new hands after having been flatteringly described by a knight of the hammer !!

The next branch of business carried on in this establishment is rather of a special character. The two we have noticed above are necessarily associated in our minds with the ideas of domestic comfort and the elegant appliance that surround a comfortable position in society. From the days of Nimrod to our own royal Albert, a large number of the human family, when not engaged in killing each other, have delighted in murdering certain classes of the lower animals. In our own country a love of field sports has characterised all classes of men from the sovereign down to the pig-headed poacher. On leaving the cutting and embossing departments, we were landed in a suit of rooms full of men, women, and boys, busily engaged in manufacturing all descriptions of sporting apparatus. In one room a number of men were employed in soldering the embossed divisions of powder flasks together, in another men were seen turning lids for flasks and shot measures. Some again were making liquor flasks, both in Nickel silver and bronze. The most of these latter articles are encased in leather or fine wicker work. Large numbers of people were engaged in making pouches and shot-belts in various designs. We believe this firm is fained over the world for their appliances in this business. Whether the sportsman ranges the backwoods of America, or scents the fragrant heather on the braes aboon Benau, he is almost sure to carry the private mark of this house with him on some of his murdering instruments.

After having feasted our eyes in this department, we were conducted to a part of the establishment were few strangers are allowed to visit. This is the place where modern Alchemy performs greater wonders than the ancient philosophers ever dreamed of. This is the electro-plating department. There can be no doubt that electricity is the most active agent of the Almighty's power, not only in sustaining life, but in regulating the forms and combinations of matter. It is now some years since this extraordinary subtile power was called in to the assistance of art manufacture, since which many of our productions have assumed new forms and characters. The revolution that has taken place in these matters can no where be seen to greater advantage than in the process of electro-plating, whether in gold, silver, or copper. The rooms set apart for this work are on the ground floor. The batteries are in the cellars underground, and their conducting wires lead to the silvering troughs, where they can be connected or disconnected as circumstances may demand. When the electricity is in a state of quiescence the liquid in the jars is perfectly still, but the moment the circle is connected, like the pool of Siloam, the waters become agitated. The most of people know how a galvanic battery is formed. We may mention, however, that the liquid in the jars made to act upon the battery, is a solution of sulphuric acid and water. When articles are sent to be plated, they are first of all passed through several vats containing strong solutions of potash ; these are kept at a temperature of from 200 to 212 degrees. When the articles are perfectly cleaned, they are immersed in a preparatory silvering bath for a few minutes. This bath is acted upon by an extra strong battery. If the article submitted to this process fails in receiving the necessary coating, it is a proof there is something wrong, and the consequence is, it must be sent back to undergo a second cleansing. When the goods are deposited in the regular silvering troughs, they are allowed to remain until they receive whatever amount of that metal is requisite for the class to which they belong. We may mention that this firm do not make plated goods of an inferior quality. All articles are therefore plated upon a scale commensurate with their market value. It must be observed that while the articles are passing through the electro-plating department, none of them are ever touched by the hands of the workmen, and when put in the bath each separate article is suspended by a piece of copper wire. The silver used in plating is in large sheets fixed athwart the troughs in various compartments. When the connecting wires are applied the mysterious power of the electric principle begins to reduce the sheets of silver, and at the same instant the liberated particles of the metal fly off to the base material, and forms, as it were, a morganic alliance. We believe one of the principal agents in this matrimonial ceremony is a strong solution of cyanide of potassium. The process of gilding with gold is somewhat different. A piece of sheet gold is suspended by a copper wire, the solution is made to fall upon it; this liquid carries off the metal in atoms, and drops on, or into, the article beneath where the gold is deposited. In numerous cases the inside of the articles only require gilding; in order therefore that the gold should adhere to the parts intended to be covered, the rest of the surface is coated with a solution of gum. The person in charge of this department must have a thorough knowledge of the business, and be able to regulate the baths with greatest nicety. In consequence of the exceedingly ticklish and precarious nature of the electro-plating process, numbers of manufacturers who do a large trade find it cheaper to send their goods to the electro-platers who confine themselves solely to the business, than have it done on their own premises. If a quantity of goods should be submitted to the bath and fail in the plating process in receiving a uniform coating, the whole of the silver that adheres to them, the time and the labour employed, would all be lost. It will be obvious to the reader that much of the success of the plating operation will depend upon the articles being thoroughly freed from grease or other foreign matter in the cleansing process.

After the articles have been finished by the platers, they are transported to the burnishing and polishing rooms to receive the kindly attention and care of a number of ladies. The process of shampooing, or polishing by the hand, may be supposed a very simple one; so it is, but we may remark that there are only certain kinds of hands suitable for the work. Those ladies whose hands are indicative of hard hearts and dry skins will not do, neither will your Desdemona humid palms answer. It is a curious fact, that silver cannot be so effectively polished by any other method as by the palm of the human hand. The process of burnishing is a very nice and clean one. This is done by the gentle friction of a small tool made of a very fine sort of stone. In those articles where one part of the metal is left dull or frosted, and others burnished, the contrast of the clear and dull metal produces a very pleasing effect. This sort of work is very frequently seen in candelabra and epergnes, and is well calculated to relieve the monotony which otherwise would prevail.

In consequence of the very extensive nature of the business done by this firm, they are enabled to compound their own metals. Whether there is any direct saving in their doing so we cannot say ; one thing, however, is certain, it enables them to regulate it to suit the different purposes of their business. These gentlemen consume four hundred ounces of silver in their electro-plating alone, weekly, upon an average the year round, which is a pretty good indication of the extensive character of their business. The number of people in their employ average above six hundred, and they consume four thousand feet of gas daily of their own making for lighting and manufacturing purposes. In our next article we will have occasion to notice the influence this firm exercises over the social condiiion of their workpeople, and the general prosperity of the town of Sheffield. In concluding this very imperfect sketch, we may remark that we never were in any public work where those employed in it were so apparently comfortable, clean and respectable in their persons.

and,


We have no desire to draw invidious distinctions in the observations and statements we are about to make, but as the circumstances came under our observation, it is our duty to make them public. The conduct of Messrs. James Dixon & Sons to their work-people is proof that they thoroughly understand the responsibility and the duties of their position. We have already stated that these gentlemen employ upwards of 600 people. The following is the manner in which they treat their servants. In the first place, every married man is provided with a comfortable cottage, at a moderate rent, in an agreeable suburb of the town. Each of these cottages is embellished with a flower-plot in the front and a garden in the rear, sufficiently large to produce vegetables for a good-sized family. In order to cultivate a taste among the men for botanical and horticultural pursuits, the Messrs. Dixon & Sons give a certain number of prizes to their tenants twice a year to be competed for. These prizes are divided among the successful competitors for having produced the best flowers and kitchen-garden vegetables. In order that their workmen may have time and opportunity to cultivate their little gardens and otherwise enjoy themselves, every man, woman, and child in the employment of this firm has a half-holiday every Wednesday throughout the year. If this half-holiday were looked upon as a pecuniary sacrifice, it would appear no trivial matter, it would amount to the loss of a day's labour of 15,600 people; and, if we take their wages at 2s. a head, we have the nice little sum of £780!! The interest these gentlemen take in their work-people does not end here, they also provide, to a certain extent, for the education of their children ; and such young men as show any aptitude or taste for drawing are sent to the School of Design, after which they are employed in the higher branches of the business in the works.

The idea of elevating the tastes and humanizing the minds of the people by the means of cultivating flowers is certainly a happy one, and is well calculated to produce a spirit of generous emulation. A familiarity with the beautiful must have a soothing influence over the mind, as well as conducing, in this instance, to habits of industry and sobriety. Such conduct as this needs no comment of ours to recommend it, and all we would add is, that it would be well for the community at large if other large employers would do in like manner.

The religious bodies who have been most forward in pressing their services upon the working-classes have made even a greater mistake than the philosophers. For some time past these gentlemen have been constant in their endeavours to rob the people of their amusements, without affording them the choice of others of a more rational character. In our opinion, the greatest mistake they have made has been in their endeavour to force the observance of the Jewish Sabbath with all its gloomy and spirit-depressing tendencies on the people. The best friends of the working classes are those who, like Messrs. Dixon & Sons, endeavour to teach them sobriety and self-respect. And if they are to be taught religion, the surest way to do so will be by the force of good example and kindly treatment.

Source: Commercial Enterprise and Social Progress or Gleanings in London, Sheffield, Glasgow and Dublin by James Dawson Burn--1858.

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Another report on James Dixon & Sons factory, this time from 1861

The Silver-plated And Britannia Metal Works Of Messrs. James Dixon And Sons, Powder Flask And Shooting Tackle Manufacturers.



We now introduce our readers to one of the largest plated and Britannia metal works in the world, a small colony of busy workmen, in itself giving employment to upwards of six hundred artisans, many of whom receive high wages, and live in much comfort. The buildings (which cover an expanse of four acres, called Cornish-place) have been enlarged from time to time, and will afford an idea of the immense business pursued here. The large chimney, which serves to point out from a considerable distance the locale of the manufactory, is upwards of 120 feet high.

The business was established in the year 1806, by Messrs. Dixon and Smith as Britannia Metal Manufacturers, in Silver-street, Sheffield, and since that period it has increased in reputation as a first-class supplier of articles, unexampled for their workmanship and beauty.

The general disuse of the old pewter ware, once so common in this country, was followed by the introduction of another metal, in the manufacture of which an ingenuity is displayed to which the ancient pewterer were altogether strangers. The modern material (the base of which is tin) has been called Prince's metal, more commonly Britannia metal, and by the workmen white metal; indeed, its resemblance to silver was so apparent at the Great Exhibition of 1851, that the authorities of that building had great difficulty in telling the difference between the goods then displayed and silver ware; so they recommended Messrs. Dixon and Sons to have inscribed on their cases, in large characters, Britannia Metal. The beauty of this metal, when wrought into a variety of articles, is not more striking than its cheapness in the manufactured state is surprising. This latter circumstance results, independently of the price of the material itself, from, the extensive application of machinery, and the extreme lightness of body with which wares in Britannia metal can be produced.

The principal, if not, indeed, the only seat of the manufacture of this metal is at Sheffield, and Messrs. Dixon and Sons represent the trade in that town. (The composition and application of Britannia metal on a large scale was begun about the year 1770, by two individuals of the name of Jessop and Hancock.) The composition of Britannia metal consists of best block tin, martial regulus of antimony, copper, and brass. The amalgamation of these metals is effected by melting the tin, and raising it just to a red heat, in a stout cast-iron pot or trough, and then pouring into it, first the regulus, and afterwards the copper and brass, from the crucibles in which they have been respectively melted; the caster, meanwhile, stirring the mass about during this operation, in order that the mixture may be complete. The fusion of the whole being completed, the liquid metal is transferred to the casting-boxes, which are made of cast-iron, and give to the metal poured into them the form of a slab. It is likewise put into other moulds forming small ingots, for the convenience of being used in the casting of such articles as are not made out of the sheetmetal. The rolling or flattening of the metal into sheets is performed in the manner practised in the lamination of metals generally,–that is, by passing it repeatedly between polished steel cylinders. It should be observed that Britannia metal is not only one of the most tractable of substances to work from the sheet, as well as one that runs most readily in the moulds, but it is also one that is cut most freely and pleasantly by the tools of the turner.

Plated Trade.–In the year 1829 the Silver-plated trade was added by Messrs. Dixon and Sons, and has been most successfully prosecuted until it has become the largest branch of their business.

Sheffield was the original seat of this manufacture, and has continued to maintain its celebrity for excellent quality, as "Sheffield Plate" is a term universally admitted to designate a first-class plated article.

The art of fusing silver with copper was originally discovered by a person of the name of Bolsover, of Whitely Wood, near Sheffield, in the year 1745, and used for knife-handles and buttons. It was soon adapted to other articles, and became an important trade in the town.

The introduction of electro-plating has interfered, to some extent, with the old mode of plating on copper, but Messrs. Dixon and Sons now plate by the fire process on Nickel Silver; and this metal, when mounted with ornamental silver mountings, is most suitable for large articles with flat surfaces, such as dishes, waiters, &c., and are most durable and easily cleaned.

Messrs. D. and Sons have, however, availed themselves of the modern art of electro-plating and gilding, which process allows of great scope for elegant and ornamental designs, and a beautiful variety of those goods (fully entitled to these terms) may be seen in their new large show-room, which is a great credit to the town. Messrs. D. and Sons have devoted great attention to the fork and spoon trade; fish, eating, and dessert knives and forks; and which, being in the first place cut out of sheets of Nickel Silver, hammered and stamped under Nasmyth's powerful hammer, a strong, well-made article is produced, and equal in appearance to silver.

Messrs. Dixon and Sons also give particular attention to the silver trade, and especially to Presentation Plate, having first-class designers, modellers, chasers, &c. Messrs. D. and Sons have succeeded in plating their Britannia by the electro process, and produce beautiful and serviceable articles in Coffee and Tea Services, as well as other goods, at one-third the price of those on Nickel Silver. This is becoming with them an important branch as the durability of the goods becomes known. Many parties have now had them in use for ten years, and have found them to wear well, and clean like silver.

The Powder Flask trade was commenced by Messrs. James Dixon and Sons in 1832, and is now one of the leading branches of their manufactory ; indeed, the largest stock in the world is made here. An immense variety of patterns may always be seen at these works. The designs used by the firm are classical, modern, and antique, and are much appreciated for their exquisite finish and beauty.

The Show Booms at Cornish Place are spacious apartments, filled with an immense assortment of articles manufactured on the premises. Silver and Plated goods are in one large show-room, and the Britannia metal and shooting apparatus in a second. Besides some beautiful specimens of Britannia metal work, the visitor will see Shooting Apparatus Of All Kinds, Pouches, Belts, Flasks, Liquor Flasks, for making which, as the racy author of "Field Sports in the United States," Frank Forester, observes, " Messrs. Dixon and Sons, of Sheffield, are a hundred to one against the world." The Improved Shot Pouch is a boon to all sportsmen. The registered improvement consists in the cutter being attached to the lever by spring, so that it can be removed to change the charge of shot, without the aid of the turnscrew. Amidst a multitude of useful objects, we find Shot Belts, Powder and Shot Measures, Dog Calls, Game Bags, Glass Dram Bottles, Breech-loading Cartridge Implements, Greyhound Slips, Britannia Metal Dram Flasks, Saddle Flasks, and Yorkshire Kegs. "We must conclude our notice of this interesting manufactory, remarking, however, that in no works of similar magnitude will the visitor see more admirable order, or better arrangements for business purposes.

Messrs. James Dixon and Sons make their own gas, and consume it largely by day, for soldering purposes, as well as by night. All the packing-cases and casks required in the business are also made on the premises. The proprietors of these extensive works are deservedly held in the highest estimation, not only in Sheffield, but wherever the name is known and appreciated. W. F. Dixon, Esq., the senior member of the firm, is a Justice of the Peace for the county. He was deputed by his fellow-townsmen to receive from the hands of the Emperor of the French, at the close of the Exhibition of 1855, the Gold Medal awarded to the town. This has been since handsomely mounted in a case, and the names of all the exhibitors engraved on a silver plate, and it is now in the care of the Cutlers' Company.

In 1842, an enormous silver candelabra was presented, in a most gratifying manner, to the late James Dixon, Esq., as a mark of respectful esteem on his retirement from the firm.

William Fawcett, Esq., late Mayor of Sheffield, is an active member of the firm. During his mayoralty, in 1856, the workmen employed on the premises presented this gentleman with a splendid silver claret-jug and waiter, to mark their sense of his endeavours to uphold the trade and sustain the dignity of the town.

The firm received a first-class medal at Paris, in 1855. In the Pantheon Biographique of 1859, a long article is devoted to a description of this manufactory. At the Great Exhibition of 1851 a medal was granted both for the Britannia-metal goods and the Powder-flasks of Messrs. James Dixon and Sons.


Source: The official illustrated guide to the Great Northern Railway: including the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, and Midland Railways, with descriptions of the most important manufactories in the large towns on the lines. - George S. Measom - 1861

Trev.

As good a place as any to reproduce the obituary of William Frederick Dixon, the son of William Frederick Dixon who is mentioned in the above post, that was published in The Gentleman's Magazine in 1867.


W. F. Dixon, Esq.

8th January. At Birley House, near Sheffield, aged 41, William Frederick Dixon, Esq.

The deceased was the only son of William Frederick Dixon, Esq., J.P. and D.L., of Page Hall, Yorkshire, by Anne, daughter of Benjamin Newton, Ksq., of Sheffield, and was born at Birley House, on the 13th of June, 1825.

He was one of the principal managing partners of the eminent firm of James Dixon & Sons, of Sheffield; and, by his business abilities, combined with great urbanity and good nature, and a high sense of honour, he not only conduced to win and maintain for that firm the deservedly high reputation they enjoy (both at home and abroad), but secured the warm esteem and the sincere respect of all with whom he came in contact.

He joined the 1st West York Yeomanry Cavalry, as cornet, in 1852, became lieutenant in 1853, and was gazetted captain in 1856. From his first connection with the corps, he devoted himself with pride and pleasure to the duties of his position. He was an excellent officer, and became a high favourite, not only with the men of his troop, but with the whole regiment. A proof of this feeling was evinced when, in July, 1862, the non-commissioned officers and members of his troop, with whom he was more immediately connected, presented to him a costly sword and belt, "as a token of respect for his uniform kindness."

In October, 1865, he qualified as a magistrate for the West Riding of Yorkshire; and, from that time, was as assiduous in the discharge of his magisterial duties as he had been before in his offices of churchwarden and vice chairman of the Poor Law Guardians of the Wortley Union.

He took great pride in the fine old church of his native parish, Ecclesfield, which has been designated "the Minster of the Moors" and it was mainly through his exertions, whilst churchwarden, that it was restored to its pristine slate, and the originally beautiful stone work of its interior was relieved from an unsightly mass of plaster and yellow ochre, by which it had gradually been encumbered and defaced through many successive generations.

Mr. Dixon married, in I860, Frances Mary, only daughter of J. W. Leather, Esq., of Newton Green, near Leeds, but has left no surviving issue.

With the exception of a few unimportant bequests, and subject to a settlement on his widow for her life, he leaves his entire property, real and personal, to his father, whom he constitutes his sole executor. His will was executed only four days before his death.

He was buried in the family vault at Ecclesfield, on the 12th January, the service being read by his great friend the vicar, the Rev. Dr. Gatty.

Source: The Gentleman's Magazine - Vol. 222 - 1867

Trev.

The Introduction of the Plate Trade to Sheffield

At the dinner to Messrs. Dixon & Sons' employees last month, in Sheffield, Mr. J. W. Cunningham gave a sketch of The rise and progress of the firm of James Dixon & Sons. He said that it had been thought that a brief outline of the history of the works in Cornish Place, from its inception in the year 1804, by its founder Mr. James Dixon, to its present development, when it has business connections with customers in all parts of the world, would be of interest to many who were present that night. It would be necessary at the outset to glance at the introduction of the Sheffield plate trade to the town, as it was the development and success of this trade that caused Mr. James Dixon to undertake the Britannia metal business. The year 1742 was memorable in the history of Sheffield for the introduction of a new manufacture into its midst. It was in that year that Mr. Thomas Bolsover, an ingenious mechanic, when employed to repair the handle of a knife which was partly composed of silver and partly of copper, was struck with the idea of its being possible to unite the two metals, so as to form a cheap substance which present only an exterior of silver, and which might therefore be used in the manufacture of various articles in which previously silver had been solely employed. The process was to cast an ingot of copper of convenient size, then to file the top and under edge true and clean. On these two faces were secured by iron binding wire two strong sheets of clean-scraped silver, a flux being added around the edge. The ingot was then placed in a furnace, and carefully watched until it was seen that the edges of the silver plates were being fused, and attaching themselves to the copper ingot. When this was fully accomplished, the ingot was withdrawn, the iron binding wires removed and the ingot cleaned and passed on to the rolling mill, where the greatest care was employed in rolling it into sheets for waiters, baskets and other articles. Mr. Bolsover did not succeed very well, and it was left for a member of the Cutlers' Corporation–Mr. Joseph Hancock–to show to what copper plated in this new method might be applied, and how successfully it was possible to imitate the most richly embossed plate. He employed it in the manufacture of candlesticks, teapots, waiters, and most of the old decorations of the sideboard, which previously to this time had been made only in silver. Workmen were easily procured from amongst the mechanics of Sheffield, whilst the streams in the neighbourhood furnished opportunities for erecting mills for the rolling of the metals. This trade naturally influenced the introduction of the manufacture of sterling silver plate into Sheffield, and in the year 1773 an Act was passed by Parliament which granted an Assay Office to Sheffield. The introduction of these trades into the town caused Mr. James Dixon, the founder of the firm, to form a bold and original idea. This was the manufacture in Britannia metal of the same articles which had as yet only been made in Sheffield plate. This idea was a great one, and when put into practice succeeded. Articles of daily use hitherto made of brittle crockery were soon generally superseded by a metal article more enduring, and, therefore, less costly in the end, whilst the silver tea or coffee pot was relieved from daily wear and tear on many breakfast tables by the introduction of these cheaper and not less efficient substitutes. In the year 1804, Mr. James Dixon, in conjunction with Mr. Smith, commenced business in Silver Street, and the venture proved a success, year after year extra workpeople being required to keep up with the demand for James Dixon's ware. During this period, part of the work was carried on at Cornish Place, where there was steam power. This place had originally been a rolling mill, and the engine was one of the first erected in Sheffield. The engine having been described, Mr. Cunningham proceeded to narrate that at this time the teapots made were mostly of oblong or oval forms, the bodies being stamped in two pieces by rude cast metal dies. They were then shaped with the mallet and hammer into the form required, and put together. For other shapes the bodies were stamped in sections of three, four or six, and then put together. The art of shaping the metal into form by the spinning process was only partially known, and only practised on a small scale. To have spun a teapot body all in one piece would then have been considered a marvellous piece of work. The business still increased and prospered. One of the workmen who was present that night, and who commenced to work for Mr. James Dixon in 1820, had told him that Mr. James Dixon was known to say that when he could keep twenty makers-up going he would be satisfied. Well, his anticipations were exceeded, for in 1823 there were more, and in all the branches together there were nearly 100 people employed. In this year, Mr. William Frederick Dixon, eldest son of the founder, came of age, amidst great rejoicings, an account of which was given, culled from the Sheffield Independent of June 21st, 1823. This gentleman was afterwards made a justice of the peace, and appointed a deputy lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire. In the year 1824 the whole of the business in Silver Street was removed to Cornish Place. In the year 1830 the silver and Sheffield plate trade was added to the works at Cornish Place, the business formerly carried on under the title of Nicholson, Ashforth & Cutts being acquired. The number now employed amounted to over 150. About this time Mr. William Fawcett joined the firm, and he most assiduously looked after the new branch of the business, and under his energetic supervision it was greatly extended. Mr. Fawcett subsequently became a member of the Town Council, and was raised to the aldermanic bench in 1851, being elected Mayor in 1855, and whilst in office he had the honour of receiving the gold medal from the then Emperor of the French for the excellence of Sheffield manufactures during that year. In 1863 he was elected to the magisterial bench. Returning to Cornish Place, the speaker found that about 1831 the powder flask trade was introduced, the business of Mr. Batty, of Tenter Street, being purchased. This caused another twelve men to be added to the employed, under Mr. Thomas Heely, as manager. In the year 1834 Mr. Dixon purchased from Mr. G. B. Greaves, Page Hall, which at that time was considered one of the handsomest residences near Sheffield. In the year following, Mr. James Dixon's second son came of age, but the young man at the time was absent in America, and the rejoicings in celebration of the event took place on his return home. Mr. James Willis Dixon went over to America on six different occasions, and at one time resided there as representative of the firm, and inasmuch as he was a most excellent man of business, he contributed greatly to spread the name and fame of Cornish Place manufactures to such an extent that the firm was placed at the head of the Sheffield houses sending plated goods to the United States. In the year 1836 the nickel silver spoon and fork trade was commenced, the new metal being composed of nickel, copper and zinc. This compound, called German silver proved to be very valuable. It was employed not only as a substitute for copper in the old plating process, but also as a basis for electro-plate. The spoons and forks were at first cast, then ground, buffed, and polished, but the process did not answer, the articles being very soft, porous, and defective. They were then made of rolled sheets, and stamped and filed into form. When this branch was added to the trade at Cornish Place, there were two men employed as filers and only one holloware buffer. Now there were employed in this department alone over 150 people, and additions were made daily to cope with the demand for this class of goods. On the 28th June, 1841, Mr. H. I. Dixon came of age, and in the following year Mr. James Dixon, the founder, retired from business. He was presented by the workpeople with a sterling silver service of plate, valued at £1000. On June 13th, 1846, Mr. W. F. Dixon, Jun. came of age, and the event was celebrated with great joy at Birley House. Mr. James Dixon's coming of age, its celebration at Stumperlow Hall in October, 1872, his election as Master Cutler in 1887, with the presentation made to him in honour of that occasion, were events within the memory of most of them. He must not omit to say that during the period just sketched great progress had been made in the artistic merit of all the various productions at Cornish Place. The firm sent an assortment of their manufactures to the first great International Exhibition at London in 1851, and it was recorded that their exhibits of Britannia metal so resembled silver that the authorities recommended them to inscribe the words " Britannia metal " on the cases, so that the goods might not be taken for silver. At this Exhibition the firm received two prize medals, and awards had also been made at the following exhibitions : London (1851), Paris (1855). Akola, India (1868), Chili (1875), Sydney (1878), Melbourne (1880), Calcutta (1883). In conclusion, he was pleased to say that at the present time the pressure of orders for the various articles manufactured by James Dixon and Sons is so great that it was taking all the efforts of the willing staff and workpeople to cope with them. The present celebrations in honour of the coming of age of Mr. L. B. Dixon and Mr. E. D. Fawcett was another instance of the cordiality of feeling existing between the firm and their workpeople, and lie trusted that that personal regard between employers and employed would ever be predominant at Cornish Place. If those two worthy young gentlemen would only watch the course of events and adapt the means of production to the necessities of the time they would hold their own. He hoped the introduction of the easiest and most economical methods of making beautiful articles would be their constant study, and if they did this an increase in the volume of work would result, employment would be given to more hands, and the firm of James Dixon and Sons would still further grow and develop.

Source: The Watchmaker, Jeweller and Silversmith - 1st July 1889

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In common with several other centres of industry, Sheffield has been honoured by a visit from the Shah, and his Imperial Majesty has expressed himself as highly pleased with his reception. The reception of the Master Cutler, held in his honour, was a most brilliant affair, not the least brilliant feature of it being the mass of jewels which adorned the person of the Eastern potentate. Several of the large works in town were visited by His Majesty and suite, among others the silver and electro-plate works of Messrs. James Dixon and Sons, of Cornish Place. The appearance of the spacious quadrangle around which the works are built bore striking testimony to the horticultural tastes of the workmen in the silver trade, every window sill being decorated with flowers grown in the gardens which they cultivate in their spare time. The Shah seemed much interested in the show-rooms of the firm and made some rather extensive purchases from the stock. Contrary to expectation, however, he did not visit any of the workshops, which seems to show that whatever other excellencies he may possess as ruler of a half-civilised state, Nasr-ed-Din is no Peter the Great. All the same he has the appearance of having his " head screwed on," and not at all the savage he is made out to be by some of our London correspondents.

Source: The Watchmaker, Jeweller and Silversmith - 1st August 1889

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An interesting gathering took place the other day in the Artillery Drill Hall, in connection with the coming of age festivities of two of the members of the Dixon and Fawcett families, of the firm of James Dixon & Sons, Cornish Place. The workpeople, to the number of about 700, were entertained to dinner by the firm, and the occasion gave rise to a most interesting history of the origin and progress of the works by Mr. J. W. Cunningham, one of the managers. The members of the Dixon and Fawcett families are now awful bigwigs–living in ancestral halls round about Sheffield–the ancestors being bought with the halls, of course. If old " Jimmy " Dixon had no ancestors, the present generation of Dixons–which is the third or fourth–have. Since the early years of the century when the business was founded, the family has given Mayors and Master Cutlers to the town, and served it in various other dignified capacities. There is a tradition among the workmen, that when old "Jimmy" first bought Page Hall, some poetic wag wrote beside the gateway –

" Who would have thought it,
That Teapots had bought it."

Another tradition records how these same teapots were introduced into the market. A man dressed like a " flunky " was sent round to the shopkeepers to ask for one of Dixon's teapots, and–in the words of the quack advertisements–to see that he got it. Of course he did not get it, as nobody had heard of Dixon's teapots, but acting up to the spirit of his instructions, he would " take no other." These, and a host of similar legends are none the worse for being possibly not true, but the sober narrative of the rise and progress of this gigantic concern as told in the Drill Hall constitutes in itself a " strange eventful history."

Source: The Watchmaker, Jeweller and Silversmith - 1st July 1889

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The firm of James Dixon & Sons of Cornish Place, Sheffield, manufacturers of gold and silver plate, electro-plated tableware, Britannia metal goods, etc, has been turned into a limited company with a capital of £200,000.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 13th October 1920

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James Dixon & Sons - Sheffield - 1882

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James Dixon & Sons - Sheffield - 1891

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The trowel used by the Prince of Wales in laying the foundation stone of the new Royal College of Music at Kensington last month and which is made from the metal of the corrugated boiler flues of the troopship Pretoria, was mounted in gold by Messrs. James Dixon and Sons, of Sheffield and London.

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

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Another connecting link with the past has been broken in the death of Mrs. Fawcett, of Clarke House, the other day, at the advanced age of eighty-three. Mrs. Fawcett was one of the daughters of James Dixon, the founder of the firm of that name, a fact, which enables us to realise the length of time which separates us from the commencement of the plated trade in Sheffield. The late Alderman Fawcett, who was also a partner in the firm of James Dixon and Sons, predeceased his wife as far back as 1864, at the age of 57. The Fawcetts and Dixons, who form a numerous clan, many of them inhabiting the old mansions of an extinct squirearchy, are all partners in the old firm, which is still managed with as much energy and ability as at any former period of its history.

Source: The Watchmaker, Jeweller and Silversmith - 2nd March 1891

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An interesting novelty was shown to me the other day — a dram-flask, introduced by Messrs. James Dixon & Son, of Cornish Place. The invention has been patented in several countries, and the new flask is in great demand. It is unique in design, is better suited for the pocket, and much easier to fill than the ordinary flask. The loose cup is totally abolished, the formation of the neck affording facility for drinking quite as easily as from the ordinary cup, which is renewed automatically as fast as exhausted. The necessity of drinking with the neck of the flask wholly in the mouth is entirely removed. Mr. Joseph Hall, of Wharncliffe Chambers, is the inventor and patentee of this flask.

Source: The British Trade Journal - 1st June 1881

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James Dixon & Sons - Sheffield - 1871

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Detail from the Milan Exhibition of 1906:



448a. JAMES DIXON & SON.
Postal Address
Indirizzo Postale: Sheffield

Agency for Italy
Agenzia per l'Italia: Valigeria Franzi, Via Ruggiero Boscovich, 14, Milano.

General Notice.—This firm are manufacturers of Sheffield silver and silver-plated goods of which examples are shewn on their stand in the Decorative Arts Section (Valigeria Franzi).

Particolari Generali.—La Ditta James Dixon & Son fabbricante di argenteria di Sheffield e articoli argentati di cui sono esposti esemplari nella sezione delle Arti Decorative Pranzi). (Mostra Valigeria Franzi).

Source: Milan International Exhibition, 1906 : Catalogue of the British Section - 1906

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J·D&S - Sheffield - 1906

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James Dixon & Sons - Sheffield - 1850

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J·D&S - Birmingham - 1933

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J·D&S - Sheffield - 1897

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CURIOUS CHARGE OF FELONY

At Sheffield Town Hall, Henry Biggin, of the firm of Wostenholm and Biggin, Brittania metal manufacturers, was charged with felony. For 30 years the defendant had been in the employment of Messrs. Dixon and Son, silver platers, and in February he was dismissed. He afterwards induced a man named Ridge, who is in the employment of the firm, to obtain for him a set of patterns, from which he was having dies made when knowledge of what he had done came to the prosecutors' knowledge. He was Committed to the sessions for trial on charge of having stolen them.

Source: County Observer and Monmouthshire Central Advertiser - 27th March 1875

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J.D&S - Sheffield - 1891

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