George Tutill
Born in in Howden in 1817 to an illiterate miller father, George Tutill would at the age of 20 set up a firm which would be a prolific manufacturer of trade union banners. More than three quarters of the trade union banners made after 1837 can be attributed to George Tutill.[1]
George Tutill started as a travelling fairground salesman, a profession were it was common to decorate sideshows and caravans. He often met with trade union members and friendly societies who would ask him to paint their banners.
Tutill's banners were made of pure silk and he established his business in East London due to the proximity of Huguenot descended silkweavers in Spitalfields and Bethnal Green.
1860s - He introduced hand looms to the premises to control the quality of the silk and eavce the designs of his choice as well as to provide greater control of production.
6 July 1861 - Tutill took out a patent for "treating materials for the manufacture of banners and flags". The system employed was to coat the silk with a thin solution of india rubber and once it had dried, either in a heated chamber or by oxidization, a second coat with linseed oil as well, was applied.[2]
1887 - George Tutill died, aged 70.[3]
The Tutill factory was destroyed in the Blitz but was rebuilt and continued to operate until the 1960s when it closed and production moved to Chesham.[4]
The business he founded still exists today in association with Turtle and Pearce[5]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Banner Bright: An Illustrated History of Trade Union Banners by John Gorman, page 47
- ↑ Banner Bright: An Illustrated History of Trade Union Banners by John Gorman, page 47
- ↑ Historical Dictionary of Organized Labor By James C. Docherty, Sjaak van der Velden, page 129
- ↑ The Art and Ideology of the Trade Union Emblem, 1850–1925, By Annie Ravenhill-Johnson, page 22
- ↑ Banner Bright: An Illustrated History of Trade Union Banners by John Gorman, page 47