William Vale & Sons

[cornishbrummie]

I just discovered that my 3xGreatgrandfather was William Vale (b1821 d1887) of Birmingham-based silversmithing company William Vale & Sons: his design for a propelling mechanical pencil was registered in 1868. I can find very little information about the company - or the man himself - and wonder if anyone on here might be able to help?

 

[sospiri]

CornishBrummie:

I'm afraid that the new London Gazette site, like the new FindMyPast site, is a complete mess, so even if there are any appropriate entries, this ghastly new search engine is unlikely to find them.

Maurice

 

[mikejee]

Around that time there seem to be two William Vales, both dying in the late 1880s, one (William H. Vale) a jewellers stamper in Vyse St, who seems to have also run the White Hart pub in Warston Lane, and the other one (your one I believe) at 83 Unett St, described as a pencil case & watch key maker. He also had an office(?) in Milton St london, according to the advert below, and , although I could not find mention of the patent you mention in the Birmingham Post, it did mention a patent for a watch key, also below. It later became William Vale & Sons, as shown in the advert below (identical from both 1884 & 1888 Kellys).
The firm William Vale & Co first appears in directories between 1868 & 1872 at 83 Unett St, though previously and in 1872 and 1873 there was a Henry Vale , jeweller at 85 Unett St. The firm there remains till 1921, though the factory had expanded by then to be 82 & 83 Unett St, but had gone by 1932, when the factory was owned by Dawson (Birmingham) Ltd, electroplated ware manufacturers.
Hope that is useful

 

[lulibell]

Hi

Vale 'rang a bell for me' and I realised that I have asked for help about a newspaper advert about a collapsible shaving brush which my gt grandfather had some input inventing or patenting. Please see this thread: The 'Whitvale' Patent Collapsible Shaving Brush

Best regards,
Lu

 

[mikeshipton]

I have one of the pencils - hallmarked WV&S, 1898.

 

[keith henry day]

I just discovered that my 3xGreatgrandfather was William Vale (b1821 d1887) of Birmingham-based silversmithing company William Vale & Sons: his design for a propelling mechanical pencil was registered in 1868. I can find very little information about the company - or the man himself - and wonder if anyone on here might be able to help?

I am related to the vale family through my grandmother Polly Hilda Vale.
Keith Henry Day I have a family tree on “ My Heritage”