Lambert & Co.

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dognose
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Lambert & Co.

Post by dognose »

LAMBERT & Co. - HARMAN & LAMBERT - HARMAN & Co. Ltd.



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Lambert & Co. - London - 1905


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Last edited by dognose on Sun Jan 24, 2010 12:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
dognose
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Post by dognose »

Hi,

A receipt from Lambert & Rawlings for a 'Chased Silver Pint Mug' £5-15-0

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The firm was known as Lambert & Rawlings for the period 1819-1861.

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Post by MCB »

The original proprietor of this trade was Francis Lambert from around 1803. There is no record of him entering a maker/sponsor mark.
Lambert was joined around 1819 by William Rawlings. Again no record of their entering a mark.
From 1822-3 John Wrangham & William Moulson t/a Wrangham & Moulson are said to have been manufacturers for Lambert & Rawlings. They entered a joint mark in that year. P Siddal joined them in 1823 and a joint mark was entered. By this time Wrangham & Moulson is said to be a subsidiary of Lambert & Rawlings.
Francis Lambert died in 1842 and Lambert & Rawlings was continued by Rawlings alone until his death in around 1860. Again no new mark was registered.
Wrangham & Moulson was continued from 1840 by William Moulson with a new mark in his name. The firm became Wrangham & Williams in 1846 without a new mark being registered. Moulson retired in 1860 and Wlliam Wrangham Williams continued with his new mark from 1860 to his death in 1877.
Lambert & Co took over Lambert & Rawlings in 1861 with George Lambert as proprietor entering his own mark. On his death in 1901 he was succeeded by Herbert Lambert and a new mark in his name.
Lambert & Co were finally taken over by Harman & Co Ltd in 1916.
Lambert & Rawlings and Lambert & Co were said to have been heavily reliant on the sale of old plate in addition to new pieces manufactured by, inter alia, Wrangham & Moulson.
I'm indebted to Messrs Grimwade & Culme for the background detail.
Mike
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An account of Lamberts taken from 'Illustrated London and it's Representatives of Commerce' Published in 1893.

MESSRS. LAMBERT, GOLDSMITHS, JEWELLERS, AND SILVERSMITHS,
10, 11, And 12, Coventry Street, W.

A Very important and interesting business is that which has for upwards of ninety-two years been carried on in Coventry Street under the name of Lambert. This notable and thoroughly representative house was founded as far back as the year 1800 by Mr. Francis Lambert, who was born in 1778, and whose father was a well-known accoutrement maker, doing business in the Strand.
Francis Lambert was apprenticed as a boy to a Mr. Wesley, a silversmith in the Strand, but, leaving him, he joined a Mr. Clark, who dealt in cutlery, and thus he acquired a knowledge of the latter trade as well. As already stated, he commenced business for himself in 1800, having as a partner a Mr. Hamlet, with whom, howover, he soon afterwards severed his connection. A few months spent on the Continent enabled Mr. Lambert to acquire a great amount of additional knowledge bearing upon the artistic departments of his trade, and when he returned to London he again commenced business, in opposition to his late partner.
The success of that venture was most encouraging, and its prosperous career has never since been interrupted, for the famous establishment now existing in Coventry Street is the direct outcome of that not very pretentious beginning ninety years ago.
Francis Lambert was after a time joined in partnership by a Mr. Rawlings, and the firm bought the business of Rundle & Bridge, a very celebrated house in those days. Mr. Rawlings died in 1862, and the historic house of Lambert is now carried on by the son and grandson of the founder.
The premises occupied are very commodious and admirably adapted to the requirements of this high-class and artistic business. The shop, a fine corner one, has a frontage of over a hundred feet to Coventry Street, and its windows are a never-failing attraction to the thousands of passers-by.
Apropos of the interest aroused in artistic minds by this renowned establishment, the following passage is quoted from a speech of the Right Hon. Leonard Courtney, M.P.: "Mr. Thackeray, in one of his novels, talked of the unceasing delight of the people of those days in looking into the windows of Rundle & Bridge. That firm has passed out of existence, but its place has been in some part taken by Lambert & Rawlings. He never passed from Piccadilly to Leicester Square without stopping to look into that shop." It is very interesting to know that the author of " Vanity Fair" was a constant visitor at 10, 11, and 12, Coventry Street, and the last purchase he made of Messrs. Lambert prior to his decease was a very fine silver bowl. It is characteristic of the man that, in driving a bargain for this bowl, he urged that he should have it at a reduced price, saying, " for the sake of a poor author." It is not every shop that can boast of so intimate an association with Thackeray, and one can readily understand why it is that no alteration has been made in this establishment since the great and genial novelist's days. Internally, the premises ace spacious and finely appointed, and the stock is in many respects unique.
Magnificent examples of beautiful antique gold and silver plate, old and valuable clocks, and superb jewellery, are here displayed, goods but rarely found in even the best of modern establishments, yet not by any means unusual at Messrs. Lambert's, for this firm's peculiar element is the unique and the unconventional, and they cater exclusively for the highest circles of society. Her Majesty the Queen, the Royal Family, the nobility and gentry, and many distinguished art connoisseurs and collectors are numbered among their regular and constant patrons.
While it would be idle to attempt even the most concise enumeration of the many features of interest that distinguish the stock and the productions of this widely famous firm, mention must be made of Messrs. Lambert's superb display of church plate, which is shown in a large number of exceedingly fine glass cases. This department has long been a speciality of the house, and the firm have a wonderful private collection of ecclesiastical vessels, including some of great age and interest. Special attention is due to their many elegant designs in chalices; and the beauties of both the ancient and modern styles of church plate receive full exemplification.
In the matter of second-hand plate, Messrs. Lambert are in a position to offer exceptional advantages to purchasers, both as regards price and quality ; and their stock in this, as in other lines, is one of the largest and most valuable in London.
This firm are not only dealers, but manufacturers also, and every branch of the goldsmith's and silversmith's art is carried out upon a large scale in the spacious and well-appointed workshops on the premises, a very numerous and skilful staff being here employed. All kinds of gold and silver plate are produced, and the house is especially famous for designing and making cups, trophies, &c., for prize and presentation purposes.
The following extract from the Daily Telegraph of July 16, 1879, has reference to the firm's excellent work in this last-named direction : " Messrs. Lambert, who chiefly follow the most approved forms of old English metal-working, as exemplified by the goldsmiths of William III and Queen Anne, are prominently represented by the quaint and characteristic pair of bossed flagons, constituting the Rajah of Kolapore's prize; the Chancellor's Challenge Plate for the Oxford and Cambridge match, a stately tankard of thoroughly British design; and the Spencer Cup for the Public Schools' competition. This last trophy is in the purest taste of the Adams' period of decorative art, from the Old House which continues to work silver of the same fineness as used in those reigns, and which requires the Hall Mark of Britannia, and the Lion's Head erased." Messrs. Lambert also designed and executed the magnificent caskets in which the freedom scrolls of the Goldsmiths' Company were presented to the Right Hon. W. H. Smith, M.P., and the Right Hon. A. J. Balfour, M.P., in May 1889. These were superb examples of the goldsmith's art, and worthy of a house whoso reputation is international, and whose influential connection extends to almost all parts of the world.
This distinguished firm are the holders of warrants of appointments as gold and silversmiths to their Majesties William IV and Queen Adelaide, H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex, Her Majesty Queen Victoria, their Majesties the King and Queen of Denmark, and also to 'their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh. Messrs. Lambert were large exhibitors at the Great Exhibition of 1851, as also at its forerunner, the first exhibition of the Society of Arts, held at the Adelphi in the year 1849. They also took part in the Marlborough House exhibitions, of which the South Kensington institution may be said to be the outcome. Here, too, valuable and interesting specimens of their workmanship are still to be met with.


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Post by MCB »

It is surprising to see the 1893 account refer to Lambert & Co’s acquisition of Rundle & Bridge’s business since John Culme’s biography of neither firm makes mention of such an auspicious event.
Culme refers to the closure of Rundell & Bridge’s premises in 1834 and transfer of the silver work to William Bateman and John Tapley & Co thereafter and ends with Rundle Bridge & Co the successors to the business continuing until Christmas 1843.
Reading between the lines, if the 1893 account is accurate, it seems Lambert & Co’s acquisition of the Rundell & Bridge trading name is a little known detail but what then is surprising is the absence of so famous a name from Lambert’s bill heading of 1857 and advertisement of 1905.

Mike
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Post by dognose »

Hi Mike,

It is indeed a most curious detail. I cannot find a reference that points one way or another. One would assume the the writer of this piece obtained his information from Lamberts, and maybe Lamberts did acquire something--stock, lease, goodwill, even staff? But, as you suggest, would they not boast about such a connection?

I have searched for some evidence of such a fact, but with no joy. Below is some of their printed matter.

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Lambert - London - 1871

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Lambert - London - 1874

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Lambert - London - 1892

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Lambert - London - 1895

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Lambert - London - 1898

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Lambert - London - 1900

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Post by MCB »

Hello Trev,

"In 1842 the stock was sold by auction at Christie's and the goodwill said to have been purchased by Francis Lambert."

Found in Grimwade page 448 in the biography of John Bridge partner in Rundell Bridge & Co but quoting from another source.

Regards,
Mike
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dognose
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Post by dognose »

Another mystery solved! Thanks Mike.

I would have imagined that the purchase of the goodwill would have allowed Lamberts the right to use the name, it does seem strange that they appear not to have taken advantage of that right.

I'm sure I read somewhere that the Rundell & Bridge shop on Ludgate Hill was turned into an umbrella manufactory.

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An obituary of George Lambert that was recorded in the 'Journal of the British Archaeological Association' in 1901.

GEORGE LAMBERT, F.S.A

We have to record, with deep regret, the death of Mr. George Lambert, F.S.A., which took place on September 12th last, in his seventy-eighth year, after a prolonged period of failing health. Mr. Lambert became a life member of the Association in 1870, and for many years was an active and zealous member, as his contributions to the Journal, and his various publications on archaeological subjects, abundantly prove. He was a frequent attendant at the Congresses, during which his great knowledge of the history of the gold and silversmiths' art, and his correct judgment of the workmanship of the old craftsmen, enabled him without hesitation, on many occasions, to assign to the true date some ancient mace or piece of corporation plate, or regalia, set out for the inspection of the members of the Association at these meetings. The information he was always ready to give upon such matters, and upon church plate at the churches visited, was most valuable, and was always gratefully acknowledged by the several custodians and the associates generally.

Mr. Lambert was one of the most prominent gold and silversmiths in London, and his business in Coventry Street, Haymarket, one of the most celebrated. He was well known in City circles, and had filled many important offices. He was apprenticed to the Goldsmiths' Company in 1837, and filled the office of Prime Warden in 1887, of which circumstance he had a deep appreciation, as being the only apprentice who had attained that distinction for several centuries. Mr. Lambert was a liveryman of many City companies, and a generous supporter of their charities, and a liberal benefactor to the several societies connected with his own Guild of Gold and Silversmiths. Mr. Lambert was an early member of the Volunteer Force, and had attained to the rank of Major V.D.


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Lambert - London - 1872

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Lambert - London - 1883

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Title page of a short history of St Dunstan written by George Lambert in 1883.

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Lambert - London - 1904

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Lambert - London - 1908

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Lambert - London - 1912

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Lambert - London - 1912

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Sir Albert K. Rollit, M.P., presided at the nineteenth annual dinner of the Goldsmiths’ and Jewellers’ Annuity and Asylum Institution, which was held at the Holborn Restaurant on Monday, November 22nd. Mr. George Lambert, the president, was exceedingly well received, and all the speakers (including Mr. E. J. Watherston, who is not always in accord with his trade brethren) were unanimous in recognizing the value of the Institution. Mr. J. L. Innocent, the secretary, announced subscriptions to the amount of £216; and Mr. S. H. Hagon very ably directed and took part in a selection of vocal music.

Source: The Horological Journal - December 1886

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At the twenty-first anniversary dinner of the Goldsmiths' and Jewellers' Annuity and Asylum Institution held on the 7th ult. at the Holborn Restaurant, Major Lambert in proposing "The Health of the Chairman," said that the, Goldsmiths' Company had a long list of poor to provide for, and they gave a large donation to this institution, although it had nothing to do with the company. He, however, had no doubt that if the asylum was well supported by the trade the company would add largely to their subscription.

Source: The Watchmaker, Jeweller and Silversmith - 1st January 1889

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Lambert - London - 1869

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Lambert - London - 1902

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