John Boot (1815 – 1860) was the founder of Boots The Chemist. He was born in Radcliffe on Trent and studied at Tiffin School in Kingston. He became a farm worker but his poor health did not give him the great strength and resilience needed for this type of employment. He moved to Hockley Village. Unable to afford doctors’ fees his mother made herbal remedies for him. She taught him how to make remedies too. John married Mary Wills and they had two children Jesse and Jane. John died in 1860. On his death Mary continued the business they had founded - M & J Boot Herbalists.
Read more
Some of our favourite sterling silver and guilloche enamel powder compacts are vanities crafted by Henry Clifford Davis. The wide variety of lid decorations and exquisitely beautiful compositions ensure these beautiful accessories pride of place in any collection.
Read more
John Hilliard (1816 - 1871) established his business in 1837 in Birmingham, England. Three years later John Thomason Jr. (1811- 1892) joined the firm & they began to trade as Hilliard & Thomason. John Hilliard's father was James Hilliard, who was a lifelong silversmith. Hilliard & Thomason were known for making small silver items such as snuff boxes, wine labels, vinaigrettes and exquisite mother of pearl inlaid knives. Hilliard & Thomason nutmeg graters are especially sought-after today.
Read more
Solomon Blanckensee was born in 1801 in Filehne, Wielen, Czarnków-Trzcianka County, Poland. His father was Levin Blanckensee & his mother Julia Joseph. He had three brothers, Issac, Myer & Moses. By the time of his death in 1864 he was a highly successful jeweller. He died in the county of Warwickshire, Great Britain.
In 1826, Solomon Blanckensee founded a jewellery concern based in Bristol, England. The business proved to be highly successful and as time went by it acquired a number of other prominent jewellery firms. The size of the business and quality of the products meant that it had few others considered to be its equals.
Read more
The photograph above shows the magnificent facade of the premises occupied by the esteemed gold and silversmith S J Rose. The huge windows were essential to allow the maximum natural light into the building. The craftsmen would have been seated at work benches close to the windows, so that their exquisite creations could be crafted with as much attention to detail as possible.
Read more
Georg Adam Scheid was born on July 28 1838 in Schönau Baden, Germany. When he was sixteen years old he began an apprenticeship. During this time he worked in both Pforzheim and Stuttgart. Pforzheim is famous as a center of jewellery making - so much so that it was known colloquially as Goldstadt (Golden City).
Read more
The Mascot brand was owned by the London based company A.S. Brown & Co. (Manufacturing) Ltd. of 79-83 Coborn Road, Bow, London, E3. Following the end of WWII the company switched from producing aircraft components to making powder compacts and fancy goods (such as dressing table sets). A.S. Brown signed its compacts in a variety of ways, for example, 'ASB', 'ASB Mascot', ‘Mascot’, and sometimes solely with a crown and even a blank oblong cartouche without the accompanying brand name.
Read more
