Shard, J & Co. (1885-1981)
Shard, J & Co.
London; furniture maker (fl.1885-1981)
Johann Jakob Schaad was born 1854 in Weinfelden, Switzerland, into a family of blacksmiths. He left school at the age of 12 and was apprenticed to a carpenter. He travelled throughout Germany, Brussels and London. He also worked in Paris for a billiard cue maker before settling in Hendon, North London in 1885, and set up business as a cabinetmaker in Pentonville Road, near the Angel Islington. In 1890 he anglicised his name to Jacob Shard, by which time he was making reproduction period furniture for firms such as Waring and Gillows and Maples. He was joined in the business by Albert & Ernest, his two sons. At the age of 18, in 1911, Albert was put in charge of the factory. After 1918 sales increased and a number of workshops were leased in New Charles Street, off Goswell Road. Within these premises Shard's ran a system of self-employed 'piece masters' working exclusively for them, from whom they ordered various pieces of furniture at agreed prices and at the high standards required by the firm, but assembled 'in the white' ie. unpolished. The firm then undertook final finishing in their polishing workshop, ensuring the quality of the end product. After the slump of the early 1930s, they exhibited at the British Industries Fair and attracted the attention of Queen Mary, who became a frequent visitor to the factory and purchaser of furniture. At this time the firm employed a number of German, French & Italian immigrants, along with a few English cabinet makers.
Shard supplied the Tottenham Court Road firm of A. Davis & Son Ltd, established in 1830, and Jacob Shard even lent them £3,000 secured against a shareholding, and when they failed in 1921, Shard took them over and thus gained a retail outlet for selling direct to the public, although they continued to supply other retailers also. With the further growth of the business, in February 1938 more modern premises of 12,500 sq ft plus yard space were purchased for £11,000 by Albert, a move with which the aging Jacob disagreed. Their factory in Camden was considered too near mainline stations for them to receive Government contracts and indeed it was destroyed by bombing, but apparently the company continued 'reconstructing' furniture from its Tottenham Court Road premises, for which purpose they obtained licenses for a minimal quantity of raw materials. In 1946 the factory was rebuilt and in 1949 Albert Shard died aged 51. After restrictions on furniture production were lifted, Ernest Shard revived their British and export business and in 1963 Ernest's son Michael joined Albert's son, Raymond, in the firm. Shard's took over Dalton's workshop near Tottenham Court Road mainly for the benefit of its plant and skilled workforce and in 1973 moved to a 3-storey factory near Barnstaple. In 1981 the firm was sold by the family.
Source: Massil, Immigrant Furniture Workers in London, 1881-1939. A Supplement (2000).