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Liberty & Co., Birmingham
- Thread starter sarunte43
- Start date
Shortie
master brummie
I know a little. My gt grandmother's brother worked there in the early 1900's. They were silk fabric and other small item importers, it was a shop, not a manufactoring company. I would imagine that the Liberty jewellers were in London, but not altogether sure about that. Mikejee may be able to help.
Here is the entry in Kellys for 1904:
They are listed 1903-1940, but not 1900 or 1943.
Between 1933 & 1936 they moved to 11 Warston Lane
Cymric apparently means something associated with wales (says he after looking at google)
Liberty & Co. (Cymric) Limited, manufacturing jewellers and silversmiths'
8 Hylton streetThey are listed 1903-1940, but not 1900 or 1943.
Between 1933 & 1936 they moved to 11 Warston Lane
Cymric apparently means something associated with wales (says he after looking at google)
Shortie
I was wrong in my giuess, and they were connected:
Oxford Dictionary of Modern Design: [h=2]Liberty & Co[/h]
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Home > Library > Business & Finance > Modern Design Dictionary
(established 1875) Liberty & Co. of Regent Street, London, has been a well-known name in fashionable retailing for more than 125 years, with a particularly distinguished place in the history of design in the later 19th and early 20th centuries. Of particular note was its role in relation to the Aesthetic Movement and Art Nouveau, often known as Stile Liberty in Italy. Arthur Lazenby Liberty (1843-1917), the firm's founder, became involved with the world of London retailing at the firm of Farmer & Rogers' Regent Street emporium in 1862, the year in which London's second major international exhibition was held in South Kensington. A prominent feature of this exhibition was the display of Japanese art and design, both attracting considerable critical comment and exerting a powerful influence on designers, architects, and artists. Farmer & Rogers purchased a number of oriental artefacts from the exhibition, putting them on sale in its Oriental Warehouse, in which Liberty was given a managerial role in 1864. Capitalizing on the rapidly growing interest in such exotic goods in artistic circles, Liberty opened his own shop in Regent Street opposite Farmer & Rogers, importing decorative artefacts, silks, and wallpapers from India, Indochina, Persia, as well as Japan and other countries. A Furnishing and Decorative Studio was set up in 1883, reflecting fashionable interest in ‘art industries’ and the Aesthetic Movement. The costume department, established under the direction of E. W. Godwin in 1884, also promoted fashionable dress and sought to challenge the pre-eminence of Paris. Liberty's exhibited aesthetic clothing at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris, opening ‘Maison Liberty’ for the sale of clothes and fabrics in the centre of the city in the following year. It proved successful and lasted until 1932 when unfavourable trade tariffs were introduced. In the later 19th century Liberty's commissioned many other leading designers associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement including C. F. A. Voysey, Hugh Baillie Scott, Lindsay Butterfield, and Arthur Silver for work across a wide range of media. In the early years of the 20th century the company established its own range of silverware designs under the name Liberty & Co. (Cymric) Ltd., soon followed by its Tudric pewter range. Celtic decorative motifs were an important source of inspiration for designers such as Archibald Knox and Rex Silver, although they remained anonymous and their work marketed under the Liberty name.
I was wrong in my giuess, and they were connected:
Oxford Dictionary of Modern Design: [h=2]Liberty & Co[/h]
Top
Home > Library > Business & Finance > Modern Design Dictionary
(established 1875) Liberty & Co. of Regent Street, London, has been a well-known name in fashionable retailing for more than 125 years, with a particularly distinguished place in the history of design in the later 19th and early 20th centuries. Of particular note was its role in relation to the Aesthetic Movement and Art Nouveau, often known as Stile Liberty in Italy. Arthur Lazenby Liberty (1843-1917), the firm's founder, became involved with the world of London retailing at the firm of Farmer & Rogers' Regent Street emporium in 1862, the year in which London's second major international exhibition was held in South Kensington. A prominent feature of this exhibition was the display of Japanese art and design, both attracting considerable critical comment and exerting a powerful influence on designers, architects, and artists. Farmer & Rogers purchased a number of oriental artefacts from the exhibition, putting them on sale in its Oriental Warehouse, in which Liberty was given a managerial role in 1864. Capitalizing on the rapidly growing interest in such exotic goods in artistic circles, Liberty opened his own shop in Regent Street opposite Farmer & Rogers, importing decorative artefacts, silks, and wallpapers from India, Indochina, Persia, as well as Japan and other countries. A Furnishing and Decorative Studio was set up in 1883, reflecting fashionable interest in ‘art industries’ and the Aesthetic Movement. The costume department, established under the direction of E. W. Godwin in 1884, also promoted fashionable dress and sought to challenge the pre-eminence of Paris. Liberty's exhibited aesthetic clothing at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris, opening ‘Maison Liberty’ for the sale of clothes and fabrics in the centre of the city in the following year. It proved successful and lasted until 1932 when unfavourable trade tariffs were introduced. In the later 19th century Liberty's commissioned many other leading designers associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement including C. F. A. Voysey, Hugh Baillie Scott, Lindsay Butterfield, and Arthur Silver for work across a wide range of media. In the early years of the 20th century the company established its own range of silverware designs under the name Liberty & Co. (Cymric) Ltd., soon followed by its Tudric pewter range. Celtic decorative motifs were an important source of inspiration for designers such as Archibald Knox and Rex Silver, although they remained anonymous and their work marketed under the Liberty name.
Shortie
master brummie
Well that's very interesting Mike. I did think the Liberty jewellery would have been made in London, how wrong can you be? I hae always been very fond of Liberty designs, and when I worked in Birmingham in the 90's I bought a Liberty shopping bag from a shop near to Rackhams, to take my spare shoes and odds and bobs with me to work - it cost about £12 at the time which was a lot. Once I stopped work it never saw the light of day again until shopping bags again became a necessity, so I am using a Liberty shopping bag today. I still love the designs.
sistersue61
master brummie
I love the Liberty shops, we went to the small one at Westfield Stratford in London, I could have spent a bomb in there, Sally got mom a lovely pair of silver sewing scissors with ornate handles, in a Liberty print case, really lovely!
Sue
Sue
A 1924 advert for Liberty & Co of New Street. Viv.
