F. and C. Osler
of Freeth Street, Birmingham. Their showrooms were at Broad Street.
Also of Oxford Street, London.
1807 Company established by Thomas Osler. Initially he made small glass ornaments for toys and expanded into manufacturing chandeliers.
1831, Thomas's son, Abraham Follett Osler was given control of the business. His business acumen ensured Osier's survival with original designs. Thomas Clarkson Osler was also involved in the business and opened the Oxford Street showroom in 1845.
1851 In the 1851 Great Exhibition they exhibited 'Candelabra (a pair), in richly cut crystal glass, carrying fifteen lights, each eight feet the property at Her Majesty. Crystal glass candelabrum,.... large lusares. richly mounted, with crystal prisms. Busts of Her Majesty and H.R.H. Prince Alfred, Shakespeare. ^tilron, Scot, and Sir Robert FW, in frosted glass. Large fountain, in cut crystal glass, twenty-seven feet high (at the intersection of the Main Avenue and Transept).'
1869 Advert as manufacturers of crystal glass chandeliers, candelabra, table glass etc. [1]
1871 Employing 215 persons.[2]
1892 Crystal Palace Electrical Exhibition. Lighting. [3]
1902 Crystal glass. [4]
1906 Private company. The company was registered on 14 July, to acquire the business of the firm of the same name, glass manufacturers, carried on at Birmingham, London, Calcutta and Bombay. [5] Henry Follett Osler and Alfred Clarkson Osler, the children A.F. and T.C Osler, became directors. By then, the company was manufacturing glass items for India.
1911 Producing glass.
1914 Manufacturers of glass and all kinds of electric fittings.[6]
1919 Acquired Faraday and Son, manufacturers of metal electrical fittings. The demand for light fittings which incorporated glass diffusers could be catered for.
1925 The two companies became fully amalgamated, and they renamed the sales organisation Osler and Faraday and the new company decided to trade only in wholesale.
1941 Factory destroyed by bombing. Production resumed six months later.
1961 Manufacturers of electric light fittings, electrical motors, cable, switches, switchgear, pumps, and lifts. Also export their products throughout the world. [7]
1965 The company ceased trading
1985 Osler and Faraday including the name, designs and manufacturing rights, was bought by Wilkinson who registered the Osler and Faraday name to keep the legacy pf excellent design and manufacture alive.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Bradshaw’s Railway Manual 1869
- ↑ 1871 Census
- ↑ 1892 The Practical Engineer
- ↑ Kelly’s Trade Directory 1902
- ↑ The Stock Exchange Year Book 1908
- ↑ 1914 Whitakers Red Book
- ↑ 1961 Dun and Bradstreet KBE
- Birmingham’s Industrial Heritage by Ray Shill. Published by Sutton Publishing 2002. ISBN 0-7509-2593-0