ЧАРЛЬЗ ПИКСЛЕЙ
Чарльз Пикслей (1781–1852) родился в Линкольне, сыном (по словам потомка, Кристофера) Ричарда Пиксли (1739–1821) и Пенелопы Фостер (1739–1802). Чарльз был учеником торговца скобяными изделиями Линкольна. К 1804 году он был торговцем скобяными изделиями на Хай-стрит в Шеффилде вместе с Джоном Грином. Они также начали продавать пилы и столярные инструменты с Джеймсом Миллингтоном (партнерство закончилось в 1811 году). В 1810 году Пикслей женился на Мэри Мортон (1782–1857) в Машаме. В Sheffield General & Commercial Directory (1821 г.) была раскладывающаяся реклама печей Green & Pickslay. Один старожил вспоминал, что они «были, пожалуй, первыми и самыми крупными торговцами скобяными изделиями в Йоркшире» .'был джентльменом, увлекающимся полевыми видами спорта и имевшим вход в очень хорошие дома. Но он должен был отдать долг своим большим друзьям и был не тем человеком, чтобы требовать плату, так что конец был неизбежен, и мистер Грин впал в нищету» (Leader, 1876 1 ). В 1823 году компания Green & Pickslay была распущена, хотя связь между Грином и Пикслеем сохранялась до 1827 года. Грин умер 11 мая 1833 года в возрасте 66 лет.
К 1828 году Пикслей был вовлечен в два партнерства: первое с Адамом Пэдли , управлявшим Padley, Norburn & Co; второй с Джеймсом Эпплби и Джеймсом Бертрамом (около 1806–1869). В то время, когда фирмы редко давали рекламу, трио разместило четырехстраничную рекламу в The Sheffield Directory and Guide (1828 г.). Над гравюрой с изображением выставочных залов Королевского Йорка компания объявила себя «Производителями Его Величества и королевской семьи, главнокомандующего, лорда-камергера и т. д. и т. д.».Далее следовал длинный список тарелок и столовых приборов (включая столовые ножи, ложки и серебряные вилки), помимо люстр, письменных столов, принадлежностей для стрельбы, причудливых пряжек, волос и зубных щеток, решеток для печей, кранцев и замков. Многие предметы были из серебра, для которых Пикслей в 1828 году снял маркировку («CP»).
Эта затяжка для того, что было не более чем торговцем скобяными изделиями с Хай-стрит, похоже, была попыткой подражать выставочному залу Джозефа Роджерса и королевскому покровительству. Томас Эслайн Уорд саркастически охарактеризовал это как «пламенную рекламу» и высмеял «испорченную готику Strawberry Hill» хваленых Show Rooms (Bell, 1910 2) .). Уорд был другом Пикслея и писал о нем в своем дневнике. Они вместе присоединились к местным волонтерам и разделяли интерес к помощи бедным и к различным проектам реформ (например, те, которые касаются начальных школ, упразднение пивных магазинов и прекращение найма мальчиков-трубочистов). Очевидно, Уорд больше ценил навыки Пикслея в милиции, чем его деловые способности. Он считал, что Пикслей слишком доверчив и имеет слабость к экспериментам и изобретениям. В 1820-х годах Пикслей переписывался с Майклом Фарадеем об экспериментах последнего по легированию стали серебром и другими элементами. Это привело к тому, что Пикслей специализируется на изготовлении ножей, ножниц и бритв из «перуанской стали». Некоторые «перуанские» бритвы и ножи Пикслея сохранились, несмотря на то, что они содержали серебро, иридий.
Конечно, предприятия Пиксли оказались недолговечными: партнерские отношения с Пэдли / Норберном и Эпплби / Бертрамом закончились в 1829 году. В 1832 году Пикслей закрыл выставочный зал и продал акции с аукциона ( Sheffield Independent , 22 сентября 1832 г.). Бертрам объявил себя «преемником»на Норфолк-стрит. В помещении Пикслея разместилось почтовое отделение. В 1833 году он основал Charles Pickslay & Co на Солли-стрит и получил торговую марку Crescent and Star. В 1837 году он открыл офис на Сидар-/Перл-стрит в Нью-Йорке, в котором работал его сын Уильям Мортон Пикслей (1813–1896). Но в 1843 году Пикслей обанкротился. Он умер в своем доме в коттедже Endcliffe 20 июля 1852 года в возрасте 71 года. Его захоронение не обнаружено. Его сын Уильям поселился в Америке. Он продолжал продавать столовые приборы из перуанской стали под своим именем (информация от Зака Джарвиса) и унаследовал изобретательские наклонности своего отца. Он зарегистрировал патенты на железо и сталь и, по-видимому, заинтересовался ранними попытками Америки производить сталь в Адирондаке. Ни одно из этих предприятий не имело большого успеха. К 1860 г. он был фермером в Кентукки; а к 1870-м годам бухгалтер в Бруклине. Сын Уильяма, Чарльз Пикслей (1848–1910), позже владел ювелирным магазином на Манхэттене на 5-й авеню / 27-й улице.
1. Лидер, Роберт Э., Воспоминания о Старом Шеффилде (Шеффилд, 2-е изд. 1876 г.)
2. Белл, Александр Б. (редактор), Взгляд в прошлое: отрывки из дневника Томаса Эслайна Уорда (Шеффилд, 1910)
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CHARLES PICKSLAY
Charles Pickslay (1781-1852) was born in Lincoln, the son (according to a descendant, Christopher) of Richard Pickslay (1739-1821) and Penelope Foster (1739-1802). Charles was apprenticed to a Lincoln ironmonger. By 1804, he was an ironmonger in High Street, Sheffield, with John Green. They also began marketing saws and joiner’s tools with James Millington (a partnership that ended in 1811). In 1810, Pickslay married Mary Morton (1782-1857) at Masham. Sheffield General & Commercial Directory (1821) had a fold-out advertisement for Green & Pickslay’s stoves. An old-timer recalled that they ‘were, perhaps, the first and most extensive ironmongers in Yorkshire,’ and that Green ‘was a gentleman fond of field sports and having the entrée of very good houses. But he had to give his great friends long credit, and was not the man to ask for payment, so that the inevitable end resulted, and Mr Green came to poverty’ (Leader, 18761). In 1823, Green & Pickslay was dissolved, though a link between Green and Pickslay remained until 1827. Green died on 11 May 1833, aged 66.
By 1828, Pickslay was involved in two partnerships: the first with Adam Padley, who operated Padley, Norburn & Co; the second with James Appleby and James Bertram (c.1806-1869). At a time when firms rarely advertised, the trio took out a four-page advertisement in The Sheffield Directory and Guide (1828). Above an engraving of Royal York Show Rooms, the company announced itself as ‘Manufacturers to His Majesty and the Royal Family, the Commander-In-Chief, The Lord Chamberlain, etc., etc.’ A lengthy list followed of plate and cutlery (including table knives, spoons, and silver forks), besides chandeliers, writing desks, shooting accessories, fancy buckles, hair and toothbrushes, stove grates, fenders, and locks. Many items were in silver, for which Pickslay had taken out the mark (‘CP’) in 1828.
This puff for what was no more than a High Street ironmonger seems to have been an attempt to ape Joseph Rodgers’ showroom and royal patronage. Thomas Asline Ward sarcastically described it as a ‘flaming advertisement’ and poked fun at the ‘debased Strawberry Hill Gothic’ of the vaunted Show Rooms (Bell, 19102). Ward was a friend of Pickslay and wrote about him in his diary. They joined the local Volunteers together and shared an interest in helping the poor and in various reform projects (such as those relating to elementary schools, the abolition of gin shops, and ending the employment of boy chimney sweeps). Ward evidently had more regard for Pickslay’s militia skills than his business abilities. He believed that Pickslay was too trusting and had a weakness for experimentation and inventing. In the 1820s, Pickslay had corresponded with Michael Faraday about the latter’s experiments in alloying steel with silver and other elements. This led to Pickslay’s speciality: knives, scissors, and razors made from ‘Peruvian Steel’. Some of Pickslay’s ‘Peruvian’ razors and knives have survived, though whether they contained silver, iridium, or rhodium has never been settled.
Certainly, Pickslay’s ventures proved short-lived: the partnerships with Padley/Norburn and with Appleby/Bertram ended in 1829. In 1832, Pickslay closed the showroom and auctioned the stock (Sheffield Independent, 22 September 1832). Bertram announced himself as ‘successor’ at Norfolk Street. Pickslay’s premises became the site for the Post Office. In 1833, he launched Charles Pickslay & Co in Solly Street and was granted a Crescent and Star trade mark. In 1837, he opened an office in Cedar/Pearl Street, New York, which was staffed by his son, William Morton Pickslay (1813-1896). But in 1843 Pickslay was bankrupt. He died at his home Endcliffe Cottage on 20 July 1852, aged 71. His burial has not been traced. His son, William, settled in America. He continued to market ‘Peruvian steel’ table cutlery under his own name (information from Zak Jarvis) and inherited his father’s inventive bent. He registered iron and steel patents and apparently became interested in early American attempts to produce steel in the Adirondacks. None of these ventures proved a great success. By 1860, he was a farmer in Kentucky; and by the 1870s a bookkeeper in Brooklyn. William’s son, Charles Pickslay (1848-1910), later operated a Manhattan jewellery shop at 5th Avenue / 27th Street.
1. Leader, Robert E, Reminiscences of Old Sheffield (Sheffield, 2nd edn 1876)
2. Bell , Alexander B (ed), Peeps into the Past: Being Passages from the Diary of Thomas Asline Ward (Sheffield, 1910)
Charles Pickslay (1781-1852) was born in Lincoln, the son (according to a descendant, Christopher) of Richard Pickslay (1739-1821) and Penelope Foster (1739-1802). Charles was apprenticed to a Lincoln ironmonger. By 1804, he was an ironmonger in High Street, Sheffield, with John Green. They also began marketing saws and joiner’s tools with James Millington (a partnership that ended in 1811). In 1810, Pickslay married Mary Morton (1782-1857) at Masham. Sheffield General & Commercial Directory (1821) had a fold-out advertisement for Green & Pickslay’s stoves. An old-timer recalled that they ‘were, perhaps, the first and most extensive ironmongers in Yorkshire,’ and that Green ‘was a gentleman fond of field sports and having the entrée of very good houses. But he had to give his great friends long credit, and was not the man to ask for payment, so that the inevitable end resulted, and Mr Green came to poverty’ (Leader, 18761). In 1823, Green & Pickslay was dissolved, though a link between Green and Pickslay remained until 1827. Green died on 11 May 1833, aged 66.
By 1828, Pickslay was involved in two partnerships: the first with Adam Padley, who operated Padley, Norburn & Co; the second with James Appleby and James Bertram (c.1806-1869). At a time when firms rarely advertised, the trio took out a four-page advertisement in The Sheffield Directory and Guide (1828). Above an engraving of Royal York Show Rooms, the company announced itself as ‘Manufacturers to His Majesty and the Royal Family, the Commander-In-Chief, The Lord Chamberlain, etc., etc.’ A lengthy list followed of plate and cutlery (including table knives, spoons, and silver forks), besides chandeliers, writing desks, shooting accessories, fancy buckles, hair and toothbrushes, stove grates, fenders, and locks. Many items were in silver, for which Pickslay had taken out the mark (‘CP’) in 1828.
This puff for what was no more than a High Street ironmonger seems to have been an attempt to ape Joseph Rodgers’ showroom and royal patronage. Thomas Asline Ward sarcastically described it as a ‘flaming advertisement’ and poked fun at the ‘debased Strawberry Hill Gothic’ of the vaunted Show Rooms (Bell, 19102). Ward was a friend of Pickslay and wrote about him in his diary. They joined the local Volunteers together and shared an interest in helping the poor and in various reform projects (such as those relating to elementary schools, the abolition of gin shops, and ending the employment of boy chimney sweeps). Ward evidently had more regard for Pickslay’s militia skills than his business abilities. He believed that Pickslay was too trusting and had a weakness for experimentation and inventing. In the 1820s, Pickslay had corresponded with Michael Faraday about the latter’s experiments in alloying steel with silver and other elements. This led to Pickslay’s speciality: knives, scissors, and razors made from ‘Peruvian Steel’. Some of Pickslay’s ‘Peruvian’ razors and knives have survived, though whether they contained silver, iridium, or rhodium has never been settled.
Certainly, Pickslay’s ventures proved short-lived: the partnerships with Padley/Norburn and with Appleby/Bertram ended in 1829. In 1832, Pickslay closed the showroom and auctioned the stock (Sheffield Independent, 22 September 1832). Bertram announced himself as ‘successor’ at Norfolk Street. Pickslay’s premises became the site for the Post Office. In 1833, he launched Charles Pickslay & Co in Solly Street and was granted a Crescent and Star trade mark. In 1837, he opened an office in Cedar/Pearl Street, New York, which was staffed by his son, William Morton Pickslay (1813-1896). But in 1843 Pickslay was bankrupt. He died at his home Endcliffe Cottage on 20 July 1852, aged 71. His burial has not been traced. His son, William, settled in America. He continued to market ‘Peruvian steel’ table cutlery under his own name (information from Zak Jarvis) and inherited his father’s inventive bent. He registered iron and steel patents and apparently became interested in early American attempts to produce steel in the Adirondacks. None of these ventures proved a great success. By 1860, he was a farmer in Kentucky; and by the 1870s a bookkeeper in Brooklyn. William’s son, Charles Pickslay (1848-1910), later operated a Manhattan jewellery shop at 5th Avenue / 27th Street.
1. Leader, Robert E, Reminiscences of Old Sheffield (Sheffield, 2nd edn 1876)
2. Bell , Alexander B (ed), Peeps into the Past: Being Passages from the Diary of Thomas Asline Ward (Sheffield, 1910)
