British picture framemakers, 1750-1950

A selective directory, to be revised and expanded annually. 1st edition November 2007. Contributions are welcome, to Jacob Simon at jsimon@npg.org.uk. Cross-references to other makers are indicated by adding '(qv)' after the relevant name. Bibliography and resources.

Peter Babell (active 1763, died 1771). At Long Acre, near James St, London 1763, James St 1770. Papier mâché frame and ornament maker.

Peter Babell (d.1771) was listed in Long Acre in Mortimer's Universal Director of 1763 as 'Designer and Modeller. One of the first Improvers of Papier Maché Ornaments for Cielings, Chimney-pieces, Picture-frames, &c'. It is unclear whether the design book by 'Babel of Paris', A New Book of Ornaments, published in London in 1752, was the work of the Paris-based master, Pierre Edmé Babel (c.1720-1775?) or of Peter Babell in London.

In his will, dated 7 August 1770 and proved 4 October 1771, Peter Babell of James St in the parish of St Paul, Covent Garden, named his wife as Mary Babell and made provision so that she could choose to carry on his business of making papier mâché. He also referred to Peter Smith and Joseph Defoure. His widow appears to be the Mary Babell, who married John Cobb on 24 February 1772 at St Paul's, Covent Garden, probably John Cobb (c.1715-1778), the well-known cabinet maker of 72 St Martin's Lane.

Little is known of Babell's work but the Delaval papers document a commission in 1766 when Babell wrote on 24 July to Sir John Hussey Delaval at Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire, mentioning sending 'The Border for the two Picture Frames', and continuing, 'I am Sorry the Work came above the Price that my Lady was pleas'd to mention. I have Charged the very lowest, But the Moulding being so Bold did take more Gold, than I thought at First. I have sanded the ground of the Border to give a Relief to the Ornaments'; Babell charged Delaval £8.15s for 70 feet of 'Paper machee Rich Border Gilt in Oil Gold'.

Sources: Geoffrey Beard, 'Babel's "A New Book of Ornaments", 1752', Furniture History, vol.11, 1975, pp.31-2; John Cornforth, 'Putting up with Georgian DIY', Country Life, vol.186, 9 April 1992, pp.54-6 (for the Delaval papers, Northumberland Record Office).

William Badger, 97 Boundary Road, St John's Wood, London NW 1871-1887 as carver and gilder, 49 Dorset St, Portman Square 1877-1888 as manufacturing artists' colourman.

See British artists' suppliers.

J. Bagnell, mid-20th century. A candidate for a proposed supplement to this Directory. Contact Jacob Simon at jsimon@npg.org.uk.

John Bainbridge, see Thomas Fentham

William Barry, see Francis Draper

Samuel Bartington 1816-1845, Mrs Mahala Bartington 1846-1851, Mahala Bartington & Son, also described as M. & B. Bartington 1852-1860, Benjamin Bartington 1860-1866. At 24 Beckford Row, Walworth, London 1816-1823 or later, 4 Crown Row, Mile End Road 1832-1833, 95 Wardour St 1833-1848, 58 Wardour St 1849-1864, 45 Wardour St 1860, 24 Charlotte St 1865, 53 Wardour St 1866. Carvers and gilders, picture dealers, initially brokers of household goods.

Samuel Barnfield Bartington (1783-1845) and his wife Mahala had a daughter, Mahala in 1814, a son, Samuel Barnfield in 1822, and another son, Benjamin Barnfield in 1828. Samuel Bartington initially traded as a broker of household goods at 23 and 24 Beckford Row, Walworth, according to his fire insurance policy of 16 December 1816 with the Sun Fire Office. By 1823 he was dealing in pictures, occasionally advertising the sale of portraits (The Times 28 May 1823, 20 May 1841). In 1853 M. & B. Bartington, claiming the business to have been established for 30 years, advertised 'their large collection of ancient and modern carved frames, of the most choice and scarce patterns; likewise a large assortment of carved and composition gilt frames ready for use' (The Times 14 May 1853).

M. & B. Bartington framed G.F. Watts's portrait, Father of the Artist, 1833 (Watts Gallery, Compton) in a complex moulding frame with a label from 58 Wardour St, and therefore probably dating to the 1850s (information from Lynn Roberts).

Sources: Guildhall Library: Records of Sun Fire Office, vol.472.

James Bazin, see Benjamin Charpentier

Frederick Bartram, 3 Grafton Place, Euston Square, London by 1871-1881 or later. Carver and gilder.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti used Frederick Bartram (1827-1883?) for moving and repairing a pagoda cabinet in 1870, and proposed to use him for framing work in 1871 (Fredeman, letters 70.50 and 71.176). Bartram was listed at 3 Grafton Place in the 1881 census as a master carver and gilder, age 53, born Stamford, with a wife and four children, including his eldest son, William, age 21, who was also listed as a carver and gilder. Rossetti refers to Grafton Place as being near where his mother, Frances, was living, and therefore identifiable with the Euston Square area (information from Jan Marsh, 2007).

In 1876 Rossetti tried 'L. Bertram', perhaps the same individual, for picture framing, following a disagreement with Foord & Dickinson (qv); however, he criticised Bertram's work and in the process provoking a strong reaction from this framemaker: 'The punched design on the flat I consider the best I have ever done in my life, in fact, the frame is a perfect specimen of good workmanship and materials of unsurpassed quality' (Simon 1996 pp.88, 89).

William Bayley, see Charles Mitchell May

William Beaumont, The King's Arms, 24 Leicester Square, London by 1788-1794. Carver and gilder.

William Beaumont married Sarah Vialls at St Martin-in-the-Fields in September 1779. His trade card, bearing the date 1788 (Banks coll, repr. Heal 1972 p.5), describes him as nephew and successor to Thomas Vialls (qv), but unsurprisingly he is not mentioned in Vialls's will in March 1779, which was made some six months before his marriage into the family. He took apprentices in 1791 and 1792 and he is possibly William Beaumont at Mary-le-Bow-Fields in 1791.

Sources: DEFM, to which this account is indebted.

William Benham, 9 Devonshire Terrace, Notting Hill Gate, London 1863-1888. Artists' colourman, printseller, picture framemaker etc.

See British artists' suppliers.

Bennett & Jennison Ltd, Julian St, Grimsby, Lincolnshire by 1913-1919, Weelsby St 1919, Ladysmith Road, Grimsby by 1921-1955 or later. London showroom, 27 Chancery Lane 1924, Napier House, 24/27 High Holborn, London WC1 1929-1935, 67 Aldersgate St EC1 1936-1941. Picture frame and moulding manufacturers.

It was claimed in 1914 that most mouldings in Britain were foreign in origin but that Bennett & Jennison were producing British mouldings (Fine Art Trade Journal, vol.10, 1914, information from Jeremy Adamson). The origins of the business may lie with Solomon Bennett, who advertised in 1902 as a carver, gilder and artistic picture framer, established in 1868, also offering his services as a plumber, glazier, gasfitter and wholesale glass merchant and importer, from 82 Cleethorpes Road (Grimsby & Cleethorpes Directory, 1902). Bennett & Jennison Ltd was listed as fine art publishers 1909 telephone directory. There was a fire on Bennett & Jennison's premises in 1917 (The Times 25 June 1917). In 1924 the business was described as makers of picture frame mouldings, photo frames, fire screens, advertising frames, mirrors and pictures in frames, wood stair rods, overmantles, etc, and from 1936 as fancy goods manufacturers in the Post Office London directory. The company was listed to be struck off the Companies Register in 1957 (London Gazette 18 October 1957).

Bennett & Jennison advertised swept frames, antique gilt frames for artists and exhibitions, offering lists and moulding patterns on application, describing themselves as the largest frame and moulding works in Great Britain (The Year's Art 1930). By 1951 the business was offering exhibition frames for artists in 'Antique Gilt or Ivory and oxidised silver', offering a new list, no.103 (The Artist's Guide, 1951; see also The Artist, vol.41, April 1951, p.xi).

Jabez Benson, 28 Warwick St, Golden Square, London 1826-1828, 39 Warwick St 1829-1836-1858, not listed 1859-1860, 20 Broad St, Golden Square 1861. Looking glass and picture framemaker.

Jabez Benson (c.1804-1864?) was listed in the 1841 census as a framemaker, in 1851 as a carver and gilder, age 47, address 29 Warwick Square, and in 1861 at 62 Warwick St. He is probably the individual of this name who married twice at St James's Westminster, firstly in 1827 to Mary Wilkinson, and then in 1834 to Caroline Osbourn; he is probably the Jabez Benson who died in 1864.

His trade label on the reverse of a drawing by Adam Buck, dated 1830, describes him as nephew and successor to the late Mr Gravel (Sotheby's 26 November 1998 lot 18), namely Robert Gravel, who worked at 28 Warwick St, 1809-25 (DEFM).

L. Bertram, see Frederick Bartram

C.F. Bielefeld ?1826-1828, Bielefeld & Haselden 1829-1836. At 62 Edgware Road, London 1828-1836, 33 Great Windmill St, St James's 1833-1835, 29 Oxendon St, Haymarket 1836. Papier mâché furniture and looking glass makers.

John Henry Bielefeld (b. Germany 1747) married Amelia Gosler at St Martin-in-the-Fields in 1770; they had nine children between 1770 and 1788, most christened at St Mary's, Marylebone, including John Henry (1771-1848) and Charles Frederick (1778-1844). The name is sometimes found spelt as Bielefield, Billfield or Biellfield. 'John Henry Bielefeld senior' (whether father or son) and 'Charles Frederick Bielefeld', 70 St Martins Lane, variously described as toymen or toy manufacturers, took out insurance in 1819 and 1821 with the Sun Fire Office. The father was trading as a music seller in 1781 in Oxford St, as a dealer in musical instruments at 127 Oxford Street in 1787, and as a toyman in Oxford St in 1789, and father and son were listed at 1 Bolsover St from 1801 as Bielefeld & Son, wholesale toymen, and at 72 St Martin's Lane from 1819, as toy merchants or as a toy warehouse. In 1817 the partnership was listed as J. & C. Bielefeld, perhaps no longer father and son but the two brothers John Henry (1771-1848) and Charles Frederick (1778-1844). This partnership was dissolved in 1826 (London Gazette 22 May 1827), leaving J.H. Bielefeld, toyman, to continue to trade from the same premises until he was made bankrupt in 1834 (London Gazette 27 June 1834).

Following the dissolution of the partnership, Charles Frederick Bielefeld went into business with his nephew, also Charles Frederick Bielefeld (1803-64), and with William Haselden, as Bielefeld & Haselden, papier mâché furniture and looking glass makers, in or soon after 1826, the date subsequently given in trade publications for the invention of their improved form of papier mâché. In 1832 the partnership was dissolved 'as far as regards Charles Frederick Bielefeld the younger', leaving Charles Frederick Bielefeld the elder and William Haselden to continue the business of manufacturers of ground paper ornaments (London Gazette 27 March 1832). In 1837 what was presumably the remaining partnership between Bielefeld the elder and Haselden was dissolved (The Times 4 January 1837). In both cases the partnership was described as manufacturers of ground paper ornaments, Edgware Road.

The business published a catalogue in 1831, A collection of designs for the use of upholsterers, decorators, gilders &c, 3rd book, 2nd edition, 28pp (Winterthur Library). The trade card of Bielefeld & Haselden, 'Inventors & Manufacturers of the New Papier Mâché Ornaments, by Appointment to his Majesty's Office of Works', shows them trading from 62 Edgware Road and also from 33 Great Windmill St, St James's (Johnson coll. Trade Cards 23 (80).

The younger Charles Frederick Bielefeld (qv) went on to trade independently, as is described below, while William Haselden set up as Haselden & Co, whose work was featured in a trade catalogue from 24 Golden Square in about 1840, Fashionable Window Cornices and Hangings with Glass Frames &c, being original designs, in which are introduced ornaments of papier mâché (British Library, 7808.i.16). In a series of changing partnerships, trading as Haselden & Co and as Hinchliff & Co, William Haselden and several members of the Hinchliff family, initially with George Cooke, traded in papier mâché furnishings and paper hangings (London Gazette 24 November 1837, 21 April 1843, 25 June 1850, 28 April 1859). Various Hinchliff family partnership, property and personal deeds, 1804-55, are in the City of Westminster Archives (M:Acc.0560).

Sources: DEFM; Guildhall Library: Records of Sun Fire Office, vols 262 no.395387, 342 no.528747, 482, 488. Information from descendants of the Bielefeld family, including Colin Smith, 25 April 2007, and Penny Poulton, 2 & 8 May 2007, concerning the family, particularly the various John Henry Bielefelds, and identifying Bielefeld as a music seller in 1781.

Bielefeld & Co 1833, Bielefeld & Knapp 1834, C.F. Bielefeld 1835-1864, Bielefeld & Co 1866-1869. At 18 New Road, Fitzroy Square, London 1833-1838 (see note below), 15 Wellington St North, Strand 1840-1861, renumbered 1861, 21 Wellington St 1861-1869 (not listed 1865). Papier mâché manufacturer, including picture frames, mouldings and ornament.

Charles Frederick Bielefeld the younger (1803-64), son of John Henry Bielefeld the younger (1771-1848), was born on 24 February 1803 and christened at St Marylebone Church. He and his wife Elizabeth had several sons, Charles (b. c.1829), Julius (b. c.1832), Sydney (b. c.1836), Francis (b.1837), christened at St Marylebone, as well as four younger sons and daughters. By the time of the 1851 census, both father and son Julius, age 19, were listed as papier mâché manufacturers. In 1861 Bielefeld was living with his large family at 31 Gower St, when he was described as an artist and manufacturer of papier mâché ornaments.

Charles Frederick Bielefeld left the earlier partnership of Bielefeld & Haselden (qv), which included his uncle, Charles Frederick the elder, in 1832. When he set up in business at 18 New Road, he went into partnership with Martin Knapp as Bielefeld & Knapp, advertising as manufacturers of the improved papier mache ornaments, for centre flowers and ventilators to ceilings, room and window cornices, glass frames, brackets, mouldings and every description of decorations (Johnson coll. Trade Cards 23 (81). This partnership was dissolved in 1834 (London Gazette 22 July 1834). Subsequently C.F. Bielefeld advertised in almost identical terms as 'Modeller and Manufacturer of the Improved Papier Mâché Ornaments', trading from 18 New Road, featuring among other products glass frames and mouldings, and referring to the availability of pattern books (Johnson coll. Trade Cards 23 (79). Early listings for this business are confusing, variously giving its address as 18 Quickset Row, New Road 1836-1839, and 18 Bath Place, New Road 1836-1839, but also recording it as New Road, Fitzroy Square 1833-1835 or more specifically as 18 New Road 1834.

Bielefeld's first catalogue, Ornaments Drawn from Examples, Executed in the Improved Papier Mache, issued in parts in or soon after 1834 from 18 New Road, was illustrated with 32 lithographic plates. It was followed by catalogues of Gothic ornaments in 1835 and 'in every style' in 1836 (RIBA Library). Once Bielefeld had moved to new premises at 15 Wellington St in 1839 or 1840, built to the design of Sydney Smirke, he issued a series of more ambitious catalogues, entitled On the Use of the Improved Papier-Mâché in Furniture, which he initially advertised as consisting of some 800 plates, and later promoted as containing more than 1000 (copies are available in various libraries). A priced catalogue, probably a working copy used by the firm, details the cost of each component part of Bielefeld's frames and other ornaments (Victoria and Albert Museum Print Room, see Simon 1996 p.169).

From September 1841 Bielefeld advertised in The Art-Union, featuring an expanded edition of his folio volume of patterns in February 1842, and his machine-made patent picture frame mouldings in 12 ft lengths without join in 1848 (The Art-Union Advertiser June 1848 p.cxi). A master of self publicity, Bielefeld benefited from a series of articles and promotional puffs in The Art-Union, The Builder and the Illustrated London News in the 1840s and early 1850s.

At one stage Bielefeld employed a workforce of not less than one hundred. His success brought its own problems; smoke from his works in Wellington St brought objections from local residents who also complained about the 'hordes of vagabond boys' employed there. However, this success was relatively short-lived: there was a fire on his premises in 1854 (The Times 10 March 1854), he was bankrupt by 1861 and died in 1864, though his business continued in other hands. By 1872 the Papier Maché Co Ltd (Walter Clare, Managing Director) was listed at the 21 Wellington St address, to be followed in 1887 by the Plastic Decoration and Papier Mache Co Ltd, which issued a catalogue from 21 Wellington St in 1893 and continued in business until 1901.

In the nineteenth century technical advances allowed papier-mâché to be used much more widely in furniture and architectural decoration. It was employed for the throne canopy in the House of Lords, for the laurel-leaf friezes in galleries at the British Museum and even for a prefabricated waterproof papier-mâché village of ten houses exported to Australia (Simon 1996 p.43). In 1845 Bielefeld patented the use of a type of papier-mâché for architectural decoration; it was known as 'fibrous slab', or patent wood, and was used on the interior of the dome of the British Museum Reading Room.

'Bielefeld's Improved Papier Mâché Picture Frames', advertised Charles Frederick Bielefeld in 1840. As Bielefeld's catalogues show, his frames were assembled from pressed parts which were priced individually so that a frame like that on Richard Rothwell's Mary Shelley, exh.1840 (National Portrait Gallery, repr. Simon 1996 fig.31) was made up from seven different elements. The large leaves are stamped CF BIELEFELD LONDON (Simon 1996 fig.32). An identical frame can be found on Samuel Laurence's Charles Babbage, 1845 (National Portrait Gallery). Though this frame was built on an open framework, others are closer to contemporary compo frames in appearance. A stamped papier-mâché frame with small-scale ornament applied to a wooden moulding was used for William Etty's Britomart redeems faire Amoret, exh.1833 (Sotheby's 24 November 2005 lot 66). A rather bolder design, clearly a reframing, can be found on John Rising's Henry Meynell, c.1790 (Temple Newsam House, Leeds). Bielefeld offered a separate catalogue, which he described as a miniature work with 50 designs for picture frames (Liverpool Mercury 26 May 1843).

In The Art-Union in 1842, it was claimed that papier-mâché frames had several advantages over compo, apart from appearance: they had 'all the effects of old carved work; many of the patterns represent exactly the finest carvings of the seventeenth century' (April 1842 p.91), and 'they are cheaper, being about two-thirds of the cost; next, they will not "chip" in carriage; and next they are so much lighter in weight' (November 1842 p.257). In an advertisement for such frames, Bielefeld claimed that they would be 'found fully equal in style and finish to the finest carvings, at a cost not exceeding that of the common putty composition frames', offering an illustrated tariff of his frames, containing several designs, made expressly for Art Union prints (The Times 13 October 1843). Despite Bielefeld's claims, there was some feeling that papier mâché did not form such a good foundation for gilding as wood or composition, nor did it retain a firm hold of nails or screws. For whatever reason, the use of papier mâché in framemaking did not prosper beyond the 1860s (Simon 1996 p.44).

William Biggs, Biggs & Son, W.H. Biggs & Co, see John Harris

James Birchall, Duke's Court, London 1774, 433 Strand 1780, 473 Strand ('near St Martin's Church') 1780-1794. Carver and gilder, picture framemaker and printseller.

James Birchall (d.1794) appears to have married twice, firstly to Catharine Wyer at St Martin-in-the-Fields in 1763, having three children between 1764 and 1771, the first two christened at St Anne's Soho, and the third at St Martin-in-the-Fields, and secondly to Susanna Bennett at St Clement Danes in 1776, having four children between 1782 and 1791, all christened at St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Birchall appears in the Westminster poll book for 1774 at Duke's Court. He took out insurance in June 1780 with the Sun Fire Office as a carver, gilder, printseller and dealer in glass at 433 Strand, including £500 for utensils and stock and the significant figure of £630 for glass and china, subsequently insuring from 473 Strand in 1786 when his utensils and stock had increased to £1200 but china and glass were now given as £200. He was publishing prints from 473 Strand by 1780, initially with the engraver, John Raphael Smith and he was advertising German glasses for large prints and drawings as a carver, gilder and printseller from 473 Strand in 1780 (trade card, Banks coll., with added date 1780). In his will, dated 9 December 1794 and proved 7 January 1795, James Birchall, carver, gilder and printseller, made bequests to his wife, Susannah, and his sons, Thomas and James William. His stock of engravings was sold at auction in May 1795.

In 1780 he invoiced the 3rd Duke of Dorset for £11.11s for framing Nathaniel Dance's Anthony and Cleopatra (Kent Record Office, U269, A243/10, information from National Trust files). In 1783 and 1784 he invoiced Lord George Germaine for a total of £14.17s for various frames, including a half length 'Salvator Rosa pattern', carrying out further work in 1785 (Drayton House archive, information from Bruce Bailey, 2002).

Sources: Maxted 1977 (recording Birchal's address at 433 Strand in 1780, and his death in 1794, including entries in Guildhall Library: Records of Sun Fire Office vols 284 no.429920, 337 no.519680); Ellen G. D'Oench, 'Copper into gold': prints by John Raphael Smith 1751-1812, 1999, pp.73-4.

Thomas Blanford, see George Morant

Blundell & Pritty 1811-1813, William Blundell 1813?-1815, Blundell & Sanderson 1815-1824, William Blundell 1823-1836. At 6 Little St Andrew St, Seven Dials, London 1811-1826, 21 Little St Andrew St 1825-1832, 36 Church St, Soho 1833-1836, 9 Meard's Court, Soho 1836. Composition ornament makers, from 1823 sometimes listed as a carver.

The partnership between William Blundell and Robert Pritty, composition ornament manufacturers of Little St Andrew St, was dissolved in 1813 (London Gazette 11 May 1813), although it continued to be listed in Kent's London Directory for 1814 and 1815. William Blundell, composition ornament maker, 6 Little St Andrew St, Seven Dials, insured his premises with the Sun Fire Office in 1815 (Guildhall Library: Records of Sun Fire Office, vol.466). He may have been followed in business by G. Blundell at 59 New Compton St in 1839.

Descriptions such as 'Blundels Dolphin ornament', 'Blundells bead' and 'Blundells flat laurel', appear in the ledgers of John Smith (qv) from 1812, suggesting that Blundell was among the sources used by Smith for composition ornaments for his picture frames, whether as a subcontracting supplier or a source of moulds (see also Simon 1996 p.140).

Boots Ltd, 1 Angel Row, Chapel Bar, Nottingham, Boots Cash Chemists Ltd, Station St, Nottingham, with shops at many locations. Chemists; also artists' materials retailers and picture framemaker c.1894-1963 or later.

In 1894 the business was advertising as 'Printsellers, Carvers, and Gilders, Picture Frame Manufacturers, Artists' Colourmen', selling 'English Gold Frames of the Highest Quality', as well as cleaning and regilding frames (The Year's Art 1894). For fuller details of this business, see British artists' suppliers.

William Boswell 1839-1859 or later, William Boswell & Son by 1864-1869, W. Boswell 1869-1912 or later, also trading as William Boswell's Galleries 1906-1910, W. Boswell & Son(s) by 1920-1960. At Magdalen St, Norwich 1841-1869 or later, 15-16 Exchange St 1863-1869 or later, 37 London St by 1871-1877 or later, 48 London St by 1883-1929, St Ethelbert's House, Tombland 1930-1948, 24a Tombland 1950-1960. Carvers and gilders, looking glass manufacturers, later also upholsterer, artists' colourmen, photographers, picture dealers and restorers, antique dealers.

William Boswell (1810-77) was apprenticed to William Freeman (qv) in 1824 and was admitted as a Norwich freeman in 1831 (DEFM). He founded a frame making, picture dealing and picture restoring business which lasted into the 20th century in one form or another. He took over the business of John Thirtle (qv) at his death in 1839, as is evident from his trade label (repr. Stabler 2006 p.57), and that of Charles Jeremiah Freeman in about 1870.

In the 1841 census, William Boswell was listed as a carver and gilder, Magdalen St, with a son, also William Boswell, age 1, in 1851 at Magdalen St, employing seven men. The partnership between William Boswell and William Boswell the younger, carvers, gilders and photographers, trading as Boswell & Son, was dissolved at 31 December 1868 (London Gazette 12 January 1869). The business had an account with the artists' colourmen, Roberson, 1863-71, from Exchange & Magdalen St and 37 London St (Woodcock 1997).

In William White's History, Gazetteer & Directory of Norfolk, 1883, the entries for James Charles Boswell and Samuel Howard Boswell are both followed by the name, W. Boswell, suggesting that they were the active partners in the business, which traded as W. Boswell. Samuel Howard Boswell (b.1850) was recorded in 1881 census as a house furnisher and James Charles Boswell (b.1852) as a picture and furniture merchant. In 1901 James Charles Boswell appears as a fine art dealer. Subsequently, the business is said to have been managed by William Boswell's grandson, Bernard Boswell (b.1885) (Stabler 2006 p.105).

W. Boswell was described in Harrow & Co's 1877 directory as carver, gilder, picture frame manufacturer, looking glass, cabinet ware, and paper hanging warehouseman. A later trade card from 48 London St, records the business as 'Carver, Gilder, Picture Frame Maker, Upholsterer, Cabinet & Chair Maker Artists' Colourman' (Johnson coll. Trade Cards 24 (85).

By 1906 the business was advertising as W. Boswell's Galleries from 48 London St, making the untenable claim that it had been established in 1722 (The Year's Art 1906, and subsequently), and promoting artists such as Crome, Cotman, Lawrence, but no longer mentioning picture framing as a service. James Boswell died in about 1920 and the business appears to have changed hands, with a sale held by S. Mealing Mills & Co in June 1920 (Elzea 2001 p.336). In 1924, William A. Boswell, picture frame maker, whether connected or not, was listed at 22 St John Maddermarket. The later history of the business is not traced here but apparently it closed in 1960 ('Summary History of Norwich Framers', typescript supplied by Cathy Proudlove, 2006).

The business supplied some of Frederick Sandys' early frames, 1858-70; examples include the painting, Queen Eleanor, 1858 (National Museum of Wales, Cardiff), and the drawing, W.H. Clabburn, 1870 (Norwich Castle Museum). Other works with Boswell's label, all in the Norwich Castle Museum include the following (information from Cathy Proudlove, 30 January 2005): Henry Bright's Shore Scene near Leyden, Holland, 1852, John Joseph Cotman's Whitlingham Lane, Norwich, and Alfred Stannard's Seascape, 1840s (Magdalen St label)

Sources: Simon 1996 p.175 (for Sandys); Elzea 2001 pp.336-9 (a detailed listing); P.K. Scott, A Romantic Look at Norwich School Landscapes, 1998, p.100, quoting from a summary history of the business in W. Boswell & Son, Art in Picture Restoring, 1922). John Stabler, 'A Dictionary of Norfolk Furniture Makers 1700-1840', Regional Furniture, vol. 20 (2006).

(Arthur) James Bourlet 1850-1895, James Bourlet & Sons 1896-1910, James Bourlet & Sons Ltd 1911-1983, James Bourlet Frames 1980-1982, (James) Bourlet Frames Ltd 1980-1991, Bourlet from 1994. At 34 Foley St, London 1850-1855, 10 Foley St 1855-1863, 17 Nassau St (later named Titian House), Middlesex Hospital W1 1864-1974. Also at 18 Nassau St 1895-1974, 12 Union Mews, Middlesex Hospital W 1865-1908, 13 Union Mews 1882-1890, 11 Union Mews 1895-1908, 77 Mortimer St 1899-1903, Chelsea depot 133 King's Road 1915. From 1975: 36 Dover St, W1X 3RB 1975, 263 Fulham Road 1976-1990, workshop 247/249 Fulham Road 1975-1980, workshop 7 Distillery Road, Hammersmith 1981, 32 Connaught St, W2 2AY from 1991. Carvers and gilders, picture framemakers, fine art packers and exhibition agents, picture cleaners.

The founder of the business, Arthur James Bourlet (c.1828-1895), known as James Bourlet, was apprenticed to Mr Smallhorn, presumably John Smallhorn (qv) (MS by David Blackley; information from Lynn Roberts). He took over his master's premises at 34 Foley St by 1850. He was recorded in the 1861 census as a carver and gilder, age 33, at 10 Foley St; in 1871 as a master gilder, employing three men, at 17 Nassau St, with four sons, Arthur John age 20, James age 14, Ernest Albert age 7, and Frederick Francis age 4; and in 1891 as a carver and gilder, with his sons, Louis age 29, and Frederick age 24, also listed as carvers and gilders. Arthur John Bourlet (1851-1910), 'Fine Art Agent', was recorded at 17 Nassau St in the 1881 census, with wife, Louisa, son, Arthur J.B. Bourlet, and daughter, Maud.

James Bourlet's trade label advertised his services as a looking glass and picture frame manufacturer and conveyancer and packer of fine arts, holding appointments to Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales and the Archbishop of Canterbury. He advertised as 'Carver, Gilder, Fine Art Packer, and Exhibition Agent' (The Artists' Directory 1875, p.195). A cartoon in Punch (4 May 1878) has 'Mr Bourlet and his crew' collecting rejected Royal Academy exhibits. In 1889 Bourlets acquired the frame making business of Smith & Uppard (qv) at 77 Mortimer St. James Bourlet is said to have rebuilt his Nassau St premises in 1896 (Bourlet, annual trade publication, 1960). By 1897, the business was advertising as Frame Makers to the Queen, established 50 years, also offering services in cleaning, lining and restoring pictures and as fine art agents for numerous London and provincial exhibitions (The Year's Art 1897). The business went bankrupt in 1908 (London Gazette 21 January 1908), when the partners were the brothers, Louis Henry Bourlet (b.1861) and Frederick Francis Bourlet (b.1867).

Bourlet's frame label can be found on Laura Alma-Tadema's drawing, George Eliot, 1877, Walter William Ouless's 7th Duke of Rutland, 1886, and James Sant's Adelina Patti, exh.1886 (all National Portrait Gallery). Pictures in the Royal Collection with frames recorded as by Bourlet include the following: Frank Holl's 'No Tidings from the Sea', 1870, George Koberwein's Prince Sigismund of Prussia, 1867, James Sant's Prince Leopold, and Duc d'Aumale, both 1869, James Jebusa Shannon's Mrs Henry Bourke, 1881, and George Housman Thomas's The Review at Potsdam, 1859, The Marriage of the Prince of Wales, 1864, and Aya with John Clark, c.1864 (Millar 1992 nos 341, 381, 608-9, 630, 773, 777, 780).

It is worth noting that there were various other carvers and gilders trading by the name of Bourlet in the 19th century, their relationships to determine. These include William Bourlet, trading 1808 to 1829 or longer, Thomas Bourlet, trading 1851 to 1882 or longer, Thomas James Bourlet trading 1860 to 1870 or longer and Arthur Bourlet, probably James Bourlet's son, who began trading in 1886. Under a subsequent owner, the Bourlet business claimed to have been established in the eighteenth century (MS by David Blackley; information from Lynn Roberts).

The Blackley family 1908-73: Following the bankruptcy of the Bourlet brothers in 1908, the business was sold to the Scottish-born theatre designer, David Blackley (1863-1947). It was subsequently managed by other members of the Blackley family, including Armand Blackley (1891-1965) (Bourlet, annual trade publication, 1960). The business began to advertise extensively once in the possession of David Blackley, in 1909 offering 'a large quantity of Old Gilt Frames, carved wood and composition', as well as new picture frames (The Studio, vol.48, November 1909, p.xxvi), in 1910 '300 distinct and different mouldings in stock' (The Year's Art 1910), in 1912 Titian Gilt Frames (The Studio, vol.55, March 1912, p.xi), describing their frames in 1915 as 'made with a view to enduring the wear and tear of exhibitions' (The Year's Art 1915). In its catalogues, the business promoted 'new patterns coloured to meet the conditions laid down for the guidance of artists sending in other than gilt frames [to the Royal Academy] ' (catalogue, January 1921).

Bourlet produced an annual illustrated catalogue, or Professional List from at least 1919 until 1964 or later (copies in Imperial War Museum Dept of Art 1919; Victoria and Museum Furniture Dept 1921, 1938, 1964; National Gallery of Art, Washington DC 1931; V&A National Art Library 1935, 1939, 1982; coll. Jacob Simon 1937, 1960, 1963). It also produced a separate catalogue, trading as the Bourlet Galleries, 1922 or later, Lamps, Shades, Mirrors, 31pp, with essays by M. Landseer Mackenzie and Isabel Savory.

The 1937 catalogue contains interior views of the mounting room, the packing warehouse and two showrooms. It features 53 frame patterns, mainly of historic patterns named after well-known artists. Modern patterns include Whistler, in 'Titian Gilt' or silvered oak and Dod Procter, a cassetta section in imitation antique silver or gilt oak. The 1960 catalogue features 15 frame patterns including Louis XIV, Louis XV and other French and English 17th and 18th century style frames, as well as more modern designs, including the 'Churchill' pattern, said to have been designed for Sir Winston Churchill for a portrait of his mother. A service to colour and tone frames to harmonise with the painting was offered for some models. Finishes varied from 'Ivory, Shaded, or Stripped Wood', to gold leaf and decapé.

Further study is needed to distinguish Bourlet's label as a fine art packer from their business as a framemaker. It appears that Bourlet may have framed or transported work for Maurice Greiffenhagen, including his Self-portrait, 1920s? (National Portrait Gallery) and his Sir George MacDonald, 1929 (Scottish National Portrait Gallery). L.S. Lowry also used Bourlet: in 1938 Alexander J. McNeil Reid saw several of the artist's paintings waiting to be framed by the firm (Obituary, Mr L.S. Lowry, The Times 24 February 1976), and the business still owns a Lowry frame drawing and note (information from Gabrielle Rendell, 30 July 2007).

The business since 1973: Bourlet's changed hands several times in the late 20th century. The business was purchased by Sotheby's in 1973 (The Times 6 April 1974), and was the vehicle used to acquire J.J. Patrickson & Sons Ltd (qv) in 1974 (The Times 20 September 1974). By 1975 the business was operating as fine art packers and forwarding agents from 3 Space Waye, Feltham, and as a picture cleaners and framemakers from Fulham Rd. It is the latter division of the business which is traced further here. The business was then sold by Sotheby's in 1982 to a group of former employees at a knockdown price (The Times 28 May 1982). It has been owned by Gabrielle Rendell since about 1990.

Bourlet Frames made the 'Derain Moulding' frame to the artist's specification for Margaret Foreman's Lord Butler, 1981 (National Portrait Gallery); the invoice refers to Chantfane Ltd, presumably a parent company. The business also framed Paula MacArthur's Frederick Sanger, 1991 (National Portrait Gallery, information from Gabrielle Rendell, 30 July 2007).

G. Bowen, see George Morant

Philip Boyd, see George Morant

Bradley & Co 1890-1911, F. Bradley & Co 1912-1914. At 81 Charlotte St, Fitzroy Square, London 1890-1914, warehouse in Tottenham Mews 1890-1907. Fine art packers, exhibition agents, carvers and gilders, picture framemakers.

George W. Bradley (b. c.1843) was listed at 81 Charlotte St in both the 1891 and 1901 censuses, in 1891 as a picture framemaker, age 48, in 1901 as an art packer (worker), age 58, born in Bloomsbury. In the 1881 census he appears to have been listed as a waiter.

Bradley & Co was primarily a fine art packing company which also carried out artists' frame designs (The Year's Art 1897), advertising in 1902 as carvers, gilders, and picture framemakers. By 1905, their primary listing was as fine art packers. They were forwarding agents for major art societies in the United Kingdom, and also for the Paris Salons, the Dresden International, the Munich Secession and other continental exhibition venues.

Smith Brand, Brand & Noble, see Thomas Noble

James Brewer, 33 Snow Hill, London by 1779-1790, 126 Newgate St 1790-1804. Carver and gilder, looking glass maker.

James Brewer was active by 1779, making looking glass frames and some picture frames. He took out Sun Fire office insurance policies in 1779 and 1781 (DEFM). The business was listed as Brewer & Son, looking glass manufactory, in Holden's 1802 London Directory, and as John Brewer in the Post Office Directory, 1800-1804.

James Brewer was presumably a brother or related in some way to Willoughby Brewer, who was trading as a carver and gilder at 33 Snow Hill at some time between 1779 and 1789 (DEFM) and who had eight children between 1771 and 1780, including a son, also called James, christened at the nearby church of St Sepulchre in 1777. In 1825, Nathaniel Brewer, connection if any uncertain, attended a meeting of more than fifty master carvers and gilders who resolved to resist the demands of journeymen for an increase in wages (The Times 30 June 1825).

James Brewer, 33 Snow Hill, invoiced the 3rd Duke of Dorset in 1779 and again the following year, on both occasions for £4.4s for oval spandrel frames (Kent Record Office, U269, A243/10, information from National Trust files). James Brewer supplied the Corporation of the City of London with the picture frame for John Singleton Copley's Siege of Gibraltar in 1793-4 (Jules David Prown, John Singleton Copley, Harvard University Press, 1966, p.334).

John Brooker 1819-1844, John Brooker & Son 1845-1859, Alfred Brooker 1860, Alfred Brooker & Sons 1861, John Brooker & Son 1862, Thomas Brooker 1863-1893. At 33 Gloucester St, Queen Square, London 1819, 5 Southampton Row 1820-1862, 23 Upper King St, Bloomsbury 1863-1865, 59 Southampton Row 1866, 55 Southampton Row 1867-1893. Carvers and gilders, looking glass and picture framemakers, picture dealers, later printsellers and publishers.

John Brooker (c.1788-1857/8?) and his family were in business in and around Southampton Row for more than 70 years. John Brooker, 5 Southampton Row, carver, gilder, picture frame, looking glass manufacturer and picture dealer, took out insurance with the Sun Fire Office in 1821, 1822, 1827 and 1832. In 1825, J. Brooker attended a meeting of more than fifty master carvers and gilders who resolved to resist the demands of journeymen for an increase in wages (The Times 30 June 1825). He was also described as John Brocker (DEFM) and by the 1830s the business was sometimes listed as Brooker & Son although generally as John Brooker. In 1830 J. Brooker & Son of 5 Southampton Row is recorded as having established a branch in Market Hill, Cambridge (DEFM). The business had an account with the artists' colourmen, Roberson, 1831-9 (Woodcock 1997). John Brooker was declared bankrupt in 1843 (The Times 7 October 1843).

John Brooker was listed in the 1851 census as a carver and gilder, age 63, employing three men and four boys, with his son, Stephen, age 25, also listed as a carver; he may have died in the St Giles registration district in 1857 or 1858. In the 1851 census Thomas Brooker (c.1821-1893?) was listed as a journeyman picture framemaker, age 29; in 1861 at 6 Hastings St, St Pancras, as a picture framemaker, age 42; in 1871 at 55 Southampton Row as a gilder and picture framemaker, age 49, with a son as a gilder, age 23; and in 1881 at 55 Southampton Row as a picture framemaker, age 59; he is presumably the man of this name who died in the St Giles registration district at the age of 72 in 1893. Alfred Brooker (b. c.1833), perhaps his younger brother, was listed in the 1861 census at 5 Southampton Row as a frame gilder and picture seller, age 28.

Sources: Guildhall Library: Records of Sun Fire Office, vols 485, 490, 507, 530; see also DEFM.

Henry Brookes by 1785-1800, H.H. Brookes 1797-1799, Brookes and Temple by 1801-1808. At 8 Coventry St, Haymarket, London by 1785-1791 or later, 28 Coventry St by 1797-1808. Stationers, printsellers and portfolio and picture framemakers.

Henry Brookes's primary business was as a stationer and printseller but he also published a number of caricatures in the 1780s (BM Satires nos 7063, 7830, 8238). He was acquainted with Thomas Johnson (qv), who used his premises at 8 Coventry St as a mailing address (Simon 2003 p.14). In his will, dated 19 January and proved 4 February 1795, Brookes described himself as a stationer and called himself Henry Brookes the elder, describing his nephew as Henry Brookes the younger, and referring to certain payments due under articles of agreement made between them on 9 January 1795. It would seem that this nephew carried on the business, soon going into partnership with Thomas Temple (qv), who was one of the witnesses to his uncle's will and who had previously traded elsewhere.

Although the business was listed in Holden's and some other directories as stationers, 1804-1809, it also supplied frames and other carved work. 'Brooks and Temple' provided gilt mouldings at a cost of £91 for Old Grosvenor House in or before 1808. In September 1808 the partnership between Henry Brookes and Thomas Temple as picture framemakers and stationers was dissolved (London Gazette 27 September 1808). By 1809, Thomas Temple (qv) was operating independently from 50 Great Titchfield St, describing himself as a carver, gilder and picture framemaker, 'removed from Coventry Street'. Temple became one of the leading London framemakers, building up a considerable clientele.

Three pencil-and-wash portrait drawings by Henry Edridge show the changing nature of the business, from Henry Brookes in 1798 to Brookes & Temple in 1802 and Temple by 1809. Edridge's Lord Sheffield, 1798 (National Portrait Gallery) bears Brookes's trade label from 28 Coventry St, advertising work 'In The Present Taste and at the Lowest Price's', including picture and glass frames, girandoles, chimney pieces, ornaments for panels and all sorts of carving and gilding. Edridge's drawing, The Duke of Cumberland, 1802 (Historical Portraits Ltd, repr. in the catalogue, Philip Mould Historical Portraits, n.d. but 2006, pp.56-9), has the label of Brookes & Temple while his Mrs Whaley and her daughter, 1809 (Christie's 12 April 1994 lot 27), has the label of Temple on his own.

Sources: Maxted 1977; Survey of London: 'Index: A-J', Survey of London: volume 40: The Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 2 (The Buildings) (1980), pp.387-408. URL: www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42164. Date accessed: 17 January 2007.

William Brooks 1828-1865, W. Brooks & Son 1866-1904. At 19 Little Wild St, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London 1828-1831, 14 Great Queen St, Lincoln's Inn Fields 1831-1904. Carvers and gilders, picture frame and looking glass makers, printsellers.

William Brooks (c.1799-1871 or later) was established in business by the late 1820s. As William Brooks, picture framemaker, he took out insurance at 19 Little Wild St with the Sun Fire Office in 1828, and then as picture framemaker and dealer in pictures and prints, and as carver, gilder and picture framemaker, at 14 Great Queen St in 1831 and 1835. He was declared bankrupt in 1848 (London Gazette 14 November 1848).

In the 1851 census Brooks was listed as a picture framemaker, age 52, employing four men, in 1861 as a carver and gilder with a son, William E. Brooks, age 28, picture framemaker, and in 1871 again as a carver and gilder. In 1862 the business was listed in trade directories as carver, gilder, composition ornament, fancy wood, glass & picture framemaker, in 1884 as carvers and gilders to the Queen & H.R.H. the Prince of Wales and in 1903 the business advertised as 'Carvers and Gilders to the King Established 80 Years', offering 'Frames to Artists' Designs. Plastic work out of gelatine moulds. Wood moulding to any pattern. Gilding and colour work.' (The Year's Art 1903). In the 1901 census William E. Brooks was listed as a picture framemaker, age 68, at 13 & 14 Great Queen St, and it was presumably on his retirement that the business closed.

The business was employed by Queen Victoria, 1865-85 (Joy 1969 p.684), supplying 'Lawrence' frames in 1865 and an 'Alhambra gold frame' in 1868 (National Archives, PP2/98, 9474 and PP2/125, 13375. Many works framed by Brooks are identified in the catalogue of the Royal Collection (Millar 1992). These include Scottish landscapes by August Becker', framed in gold 'Lawrence' frames in 1865 (nos 151-3, 158), portraits of dogs by Thomas Musgrove Joy, 1843-5 (nos 352, 354-5, 357-8), portraits by George Koberwein, 1873 (nos 386, 389), animal portraits by George Morley, 1837, 1841 (nos 503, 508-10), John Partridge's Queen Victoria, 1840 (no.532), portraits by James Sant, 1872 (nos 603, 605-6), portraits by Rudolph Swoboda, 1888-1900 (nos 667-72, 674, 676, 729, 737, 739, 743, 745, 747-9, 751, 753-6) and Franz Xaver Winterhalter's Louisa Duchess of Manchester, 1859 (no.925).

Sources: Guildhall Library: Records of Sun Fire Office, vols 516, 528, 545.

Edwin B. Brown, see Frederick Henry Grau

Thomas Brown, see Stewart and Brown

John Brydon, 48 Brewer St, London 1780, 7 Charing Cross 1783-1801, 4 Charing Cross 1802-1805, 218 Oxford St 1805-1808. Printseller, print publisher, carver and gilder, picture framemaker, looking glass warehouse.

In 1780 John Brydon, carver and gilder, took out an insurance policy at 48 Brewer St with the Sun Fire Office. He was trading from Charing Cross by 1783. Brydon advertised prints for sale from his 'Looking-glass and Print Warehouse, opposite Northumberland-house, Charing-cross', which he also described as his 'Exhibition Room' (The Times 10 November 1792, 19 January 1793). He distributed prints for Valentine Green from as early as 1783 (Clayton 1997 p.220; J.C. Smith p.592, BM Satires no.8243); Green's Duchess of Rutland was altered and republished by Charlotte Brydone, 7 Charing Cross, as the Duchess of York (J.C. Smith p.583).

Brydon may have been responsible for framing Guy Head's full-length portrait, Viscount Nelson with a Midshipman, 1798-9 (National Portrait Gallery), for Nelson who wrote to Emma Hamilton on 8 February 1801, 'I hope Mr Brydon has executed the frames to your satisfaction' (Simon 1996 p.166).

Brydon was listed as a bankrupt in 1801 as William Brydon (The Times 17 June 1801), but in subsequent reports he was named as John Brydon. His extensive stock-in-trade as a bankrupt was advertised for sale, including paintings, drawings, engravings, copperplates, paper, printing presses and picture frames (The Times 3 September 1801), as was the lease of his 'substantial' house and shop, the premises described as upwards of 50 feet deep and four storeys high, at a rental of £150 a year (The Times 14 September 1801). He continued to make payments to creditors until 5 June 1804 (Maxted 1977 p.33). The business was listed as Brydon & Co, print merchant, 1802-1805, in some directories.

Sources: Maxted 1977 (giving the address, 7 Charing Cross in 1783); Guildhall Library: Sun Fire Office, vol.289 no.436154, see DEFM; note also an earlier policy, vol.257 no.383803, from 1777, for John Brydon, broker, at Great Windmill St, Golden Square.

Buck & Scott 1876-1881, Frederick Charles Buck 1881-1928, F.C. Buck & Son 1929-1962. At 76 Wigmore St, London W 1876-1888, 12 Marylebone Lane 1879-1880, renumbered 1880/1, 48 Marylebone Lane 1881-1890, 59 Wigmore St 1889-1900, 78 Baker St 1897-1900, 21 Baker St 1900-1923, 48 Baker St 1924-1962. Carvers and gilders, later fine art dealers.

Frederick Charles Buck is probably to be identified with the individual born in Hackney in 1850. He was initially in partnership with Alfred Robert Scott, trading as Buck & Scott at 76 Wigmore St but this partnership was dissolved on 1 January 1881 (London Gazette 1 February 1881). He was recorded in the 1881 census as carver and gilder, age 30, at 76 Wigmore St, in 1891 at 78 Baker St and in 1901 living at 93 Finchley Rd with two sons. He is possibly the Frederick Charles Buck referred to in a court case concerning his father's will in 1900 (The Times 26 June 1900).

The premises at 78 Baker St seem to have been used for trading in antique furniture. The business was listed in the Post Office London Directory as fine art dealer by 1924 and antique picture frame dealer by 1941. F.C. Buck & Son's invoice paper in 1938 describes the business as 'Dealer in Antique Furniture, Works of Art', specifying 'Chromos, Prints, Drawings &c Mounted, Pictures Cleaned, Lined & Restored, Looking Glasses & Picture Frames Cleaned or Regilded' (example in National Portrait Gallery records, RP1935).

In 1931 the business supplied the National Gallery with an old frame for a picture by Moretto (NG 299), since removed from this work. The business also supplied frames or materials for works by some well-known artists. Frederick Sandys's small panel, Hero, 1871, has the label, 'Prepared panel. Fredk. C. Buck. Dealer in Works of Art. Frame Maker. Wigmore St. London' (Elzea 2001 p.240). Frederick Buck was mentioned by William Holman Hunt in a letter, 1898, and he made the now lost frame for Hunt's The Miracle of Sacred Fire in the Church of the Sepulchre, exh.1899 (Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge). The aedicular frame on Hunt's The Beloved, 1898 (Royal Collection) is said to have been made by Buck to the artist's design (Millar 1992 p.126: repr. Bronkhurst 2006 p.323). It is one of Hunt's symbolic frames, incorporating pomegranates and mignonette, in a Renaissance scrolling design which would have been a test of the carver's skill.

Philip de László used Buck as a source for old frames, for example in 1923, according to recent research into the De Laszlo archive (National Portrait Gallery), which is currently being catalogued. When de László's portrait of Victor, 9th Duke of Devonshire, 1927-8 (Chatsworth) was copied in 1928, the artist recommended Buck as a dealer in old frames as one of two framemakers for the job but it was Emile Remy (qv) who got the commission on price (see National Portrait Gallery website, Philip de László and picture framing).

A.E. Burling, 121 Great Portland St, London W 1897-1899, renumbered 1899, 101 Great Portland St 1899-1900. Carver and gilder, picture framemaker and mount cutter.

Albert Edward Burling (b.1872) was born in Notting Hill. At the time of the 1891 census, he and his older brother James were recorded as picture framemakers living as lodgers at 113 Upper St, Islington. Albert Edward married in 1892 in the Islington registration district. He had set up in partnership as a picture framer by 1897, advertising in 1898 'Green Stained Oaks or Special Patterns made to Customers' requirements', as well as 'French, Chippendale, Swept and Louis Frames in English Gold' (The Year's Art 1898), but the following year this partnership, with Ernest Walter Wesson, trading as A.E. Burling at 101 Great Portland St, was dissolved as from 31 May 1899 (London Gazette 29 September 1899).

There were other businesses going by the name of Burling, connection unknown, trading in frames at this time. Burling & Weatherall, picture framemakers, were listed at 99 Talbot Road W, 1895-9, and Burling & Co, picture framemakers, at 103 Talbot Road, 1899. James Burling, picture framer, age 30, was listed at 15 Theberton St, Islington, in the 1901 census.

James Byfield 1777-1790, James and Thomas Byfield 1790-1799, Thomas and James Byfield 1802, James Byfield 1805-1808, Thomas Byfield 1809-1828, T.B. Byfield 1822-1824, T.B. Byfield & Son 1823-1827, James Byfield 1829-1834. At Wardour St (corner of Holland St), Soho, London 1777, 16 Wardour St 1785-1793, Compton St 1795-1799, 39 Old Compton St 1802-1828, 37 Old Compton St 1819-1834, 11 Richmond Buildings, Soho Square 1836, 9 Richmond Buildings 1837-1840. Carvers and gilders.

This carving and gilding business in Soho, begun by James Byfield in or before 1777, was continued over more than one generation, with a relative, Thomas, in partnership by 1790, and another James continuing the business subsequently.

James Byfield took out insurance with the Sun Fire Office in January 1777 as a carver and gilder at the corner of Holland St in Wardour St. 'Mr Byfield', Compton St, attended a meeting in 1795 of fifteen consumers and manufacturers of leaf gold which resolved to resist an attempt by journeymen goldbeaters to increase their labour charges (The Times 22 December 1795). It has been suggested by Judith Butler that this carver and gilder is James Byfield (d.1813), who had six children between 1788 and 1800, christened at St Mary's, Marylebone, or at the Providence Chapel, Great Titchfield St, three of whom became wood engravers, John, Ebenezer and Mary, and the youngest, James, born 1800, who may have followed his father as a carver and gilder.

Thomas Byfield, in partnership 1791, may have been a brother, nephew or even a son by an earlier marriage. He was carver and gilder to His Majesty, following on from William Robert Adair (qv), who died in 1807. He is recorded in the Royal Household accounts, 1808-27, supplying frames for official portraits for ambassadors (DEFM). In 1825, Thomas Byfield attended a meeting of more than fifty master carvers and gilders who resolved to resist the demands of journeymen for an increase in wages (The Times 30 June 1825). James Byfield continued the business from the late 1820s. He may be the individual in the 1841 census recorded as a carver and gilder, age 37, and who was listed as a composition ornament maker at 5 George Yard, 23 Crown St, Soho, in 1841.

It would appear that some of the Byfield frame moulds passed to the business of Criswick (qv), according to sale details given when Criswick sold his moulds at auction in 1863 (The Times 9 February 1863).

Sources: Guildhall Library: Records of Sun Fire Office, vol.254 no.379756; Judith Butler, 'Ingenious and Worthy Family: The Byfields', The Private Library, 3rd series, vol.3, 1980, p.149.

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