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Osler, F. & C. (1807-1965)

Osler, F. & C.

Birmingham, Warwickshire & London; glass furniture maker and lamp & lustre manufacturer (fl.1807-1965)

Thomas Osler established the firm in Birmingham c.1807 and was succeeded by his sons, Abraham Follett & Thomas Clarkson who opened a showroom in Oxford Street in 1845. 

In 1847 a pair of large candelabra which had been ordered for the tomb of Prophet Mahomet in Mecca, went on display in the Oxford Street showroom, attracting a good deal of publicity, even meriting a visit by the Prince Consort. An even larger pair of candelabra were shown at the Exhibition of Industrial Arts & Manufactures, Bingley Hall, Birmingham, in 1849

Osler was recorded in the Lord Chamberlain’s accounts in 1856 for supplying a pair of eight-foot candelabra for Osborne House; matching a similar one which had been commissioned for Ibraham Pacha, ruler of Egypt, and was exhibited at 1851 Great Exhibition. They also created a Gothic style fountain for the Great Exhibition (illustrated below) which was described in the catalogue as ‘…perhaps the most striking object in the Exhibition; the lightness and beauty, as well as the perfect novelty of its design, have rendered it the theme of admiration with all visitors’. 

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Fountain at Great Exhibition
Gothic style fountain by Osler created for the 1851 Great Exhibition. Wilkinson

At the 1862 London International Exhibition the firm displayed a fine candelabrum which stood under the eastern dome. They also exhibited a standing candelabrum and a glass side cabinet (illus. Meyer (2006), p. 244). 

By 1876 Osler had a factory and two showrooms, one at Broad Street in Birmingham and the other at 45 Oxford Street in London [The Furniture Gazette, 8 July 1876].

T. Clarkson Osler died on 5 November 1876. His will was proved by his executors which included one of his son, Alfred Clarkson Osler. The personal estate was sworn at under £140,000 with bequests to various Birmingham charities. His wife received his furniture, pictures, plate, effects and an annuity of £1,000 per annum for her life, reduced if she remarried, and Thornfield House, for her widowhood. The rest of the estate was left to his children. Shortly after his father’s death Alfred C. Osler retired from the firm and the two brothers’ sons, Henry Follett and Alfred Clarkson took on the business, in due course creating new styles of chandeliers that incorporated electricity [The Furniture Gazette, 3 February 1877 & 7 April 1877]. 

At the 1878 Paris Exhibition Osler showed a cut glass throne chair and a table in Gothic style, aimed at the Indian market (they had a gallery in Calcutta). The Furniture Gazette, 19 January 1884, described the glass throne as a capacious armchair with canopy totalling 9ft 6ins. high and comprised 176 parts. Every surface of the glass had been cut with the front legs of moulded solid glass. There was also an accompanying crystal stool. They were awarded a bronze medal for a glass cabinet and chair [The Furniture Gazette, 13 April & 21 September 1878]. 

They participated in the Annual Furniture Trades Exhibitions, Agricultural Hall, Islington three years in a row: 1881, 1882 & 1883 [The Furniture Gazette, 13 August 1881, 25 March 1882 and 31 March & 5 May 1883] and the Manchester Jubilee Exhibition, 1887, with a display of light & lamp fittings, a glass cabinet (price £740), and side table shown in the Shooting Box in the grounds of the Exhibition [The British Architect, 3 June 1887]. The last exhibition they were known to participate in was the 1901 Glasgow International Exhibition where they displayed a range of light fittings.

A late 19th century cut crystal glass and silvered side chair with upholstered seat & back was offered for sale by Bonhams, 20 November 2007 (lot 321). Related chairs were recorded in the collection of Jai Vilas Palace, Gwalor, India and photographs of the interiors of this Palace also show a matching pair of chaise longues. Crystal glass occasional tables, with mirrored round tops and hanging glass drops, stem and base, attributed to Oslers have also come to the market in recent years.   

The name F & C Osler was formalised on 14 July 1906 when the children and grandchildren of Follett and Clarkson became the first directors.  

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Advertisement for F&C Osler (date unknown). Wilkinson

In 1918 Osler entered into a partnership for lighting manufacture with the metal workers, Faraday & Son Ltd of Wardour Street, London. The two firms amalgamated in 1925 to form Osler & Faraday Ltd, a wholesale business which opened new showrooms in Glasgow, Manchester, Belfast and Cardiff in the 1920s.

In 1960 along with William McGeoch & Co, an electrical accessories company, Osler & Faraday Ltd purchased the soon to be liquidated company, Veritys, who produced the well-known “Maxlume” industrial and commercial light fittings and used it as a subsidiary company. All stocks and work in progress was transferred to the Maxlume factory located in Aston, Birmingham. The venture failed and all existing trading ceased on 30 June 1965 after 158 years.

The name of F. & C. Osler and manufacturing rights of Osler & Faraday Ltd and a large number of their patterns and drawings were acquired by Wilkinson’s in 1985. 

Sources: Joy, ‘The Royal Victorian Furniture-Makers, 1837-87’, The Burlington Magazine (November 1969); Kinchin and Kinchin, Glasgow Great Exhibitions 1888, 1901, 1911, 1838, 1988 (1988); Smith, Crystal for Royalty and Rajahs (1991); Meyer, Great Exhibitions. London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia. 1851-1900 (2006).