The Canadian Trade, Information, Advertisements, Etc.

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A topic for information concerning the Canadian silver trade. If you have some details you wish to share, then here's the place to post them.

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GUSTAVUS SEIFERT

26, Fabrique Street, Upper Town, Quebec



G. Seifert - Quebec - 1871


G. Seifert - Quebec - 1884

German born Gustavus Seifert started his business in Quebec around 1860.

Styled as 'G. Seifert's European Bazaar' located at 34, Fabrique Street, in 1891.


The business was restyled to G. Seifert & Sons by 1900 and located at 16, Fabrique Street.

G. Seifert & Sons, jewelers. Quebec, have registered as doing business there.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular and Horological Review - 20th September 1899


It is thought that this business was acquired by Henry Birks & Sons c.1930.

For details of Gustavus Seifert's mark, go to: Canadian Silver Marks

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JOSEPH ROBINSON & Co.

Sheffield House, 15 King Street West, Toronto

Thought to have been in business from 1856 until c.1880. Succeeded by 'Robinson & Brother'.


Joseph Robinson & Co. - Toronto - 1865


Joseph Robinson & Co. - Toronto - 1867


MESSRS. JOSEPH ROBINSON & CO.
SHEFFIELD HOUSE.–DIRECT IMPORTERS FROM THE MANUFACTURES.
The firm of Messrs. Joseph Robinson & Co. are so well known to the public, that their name and that of " The Sheffield House" has become almost a household word in Canada and their extensive premises and varied stock hardly requires to be called attention to by us. Their establishment, situate on the south side of King Street west, between Yonge and Jordan, is most commodious and fitted up in a style which shows their stock to the public with ample justice, and places them in the front rank as one of the finest in Canada. The store is a three story building, 25 feet front, with a depth of fully 100 feet. The windows on King Street are plate-glass, with handsome fittings, and on each side of the store are glass side-cases, filled to repletion with valuable stock, while the counters are covered with show cases, containing the finest and most recherche articles of jewellery. Messrs. Joseph Robinson & Co.'s display of jewelery is unsurpassed in the Province, and their stock includes every variety of silver ware, pitchers, tea and coffee sets, trays, knives and forks, and presentation plate. They are also dealers in jet, silver and steel jewellery, combs, brushes perfumery, soaps, spectacles, opera glasses, papier mache and cabinet ware. Messrs. J. R. & Co. have also a full supply of Rodgers & Sons' table and pocket cutlery in handsome cases. For the travelling community they have a stock well worth looking at, comprising satchels, travelling and dressing bags, and other little appurtenances which add much to the comfort of the traveller. Those who enjoy sport will find an ample stock of cricketing, archery material, fishing tackle, croquet, bagatelle tables, &c., while for the younger classes of the community there are to be found guns, toys and dolls, in great variety and at exceedingly moderate prices. To the fancy goods business Messrs. Joseph Robinson & Co. have paid particular attention, and they have at present the largest and cheapest variety of English, French and German fancy goods to be found in Canada. This firm were the first to introduce the highly fashionable, amusing and healthy game of croquet, and so large a run was there for the game, that the firm have commenced its manufacture here, and give complete sets at very low prices. While the firm do the largest part of their business by retail, still they cultivate a large wholesale trade, and will be found to be extensively liberal to purchasers. To describe the rich stock of this enterprising firm would take more space than we can devote ; indeed, so varied is the assortment of silver and electro-plated ware, watches, and jewellery, that a visit, and that only, will enable one to appreciate its extent, and the skill and taste evinced in the selection and importation of the different articles that meet the eye. Parties from a distance can be furnished with copious catalogues giving every information, prices, &c.

Source: Toronto as a Market for Western Canada Merchants, with Descriptive Notices of the Principal Business Establishments in the City - 1866


Examples of the work of Joseph Robinson:

A pair of tablespoons 8½ inches in length and together they weigh 95 grams:







For another example of the mark of Joseph Robinson & Co., go to: Canadian Silver Marks


Charles Robinson, late of the Sheffield House, one of the best known jewelers of Toronto, has accepted a position with P. W. Ellis & Co.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular and Horological Review - 14th November 1894

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STANLEY & AYLWARD Ltd.

Toronto and Montreal


Stanley & Aylward - Toronto and Montreal - 1920


Percy B. Ball, who for the past 13 years has been identified with the Frank M. Whiting Co., first as designer and later also as executive in charge of the factory, has now associated himself with Stanley and Aylward in Stanley & Aylward, Ltd.. of Toronto and Montreal, Canada, as an active partner in charge of manufacture. Although Mr. Ball will make his headquarters in Toronto, it is understood that the very pleasant relations he has so long enjoyed with the management of the Frank M. Whiting Co., are to be maintained. Mr. Ball has been active in the life of the community, and has the warm regard of all with whom he has been associated. His departure from the city is a source of keen regret, and since it became known among his close acquaintance, he has been the recipient of numerous substantial gifts and choice expressions of their regard, which included a special excursion in his honor by the Utopian Club of Providence, of which he has been an active member since its inception, and for some years president. During the morning of last Saturday the power in the shop was shut off, and he was surprised with the presentation of handsome testimonials from the shop employes, the office force and the management. It was with deep feeling that he responded to these culminating expressions of good will. Mr. Ball left on Sunday morning to take up his new duties in Toronto. For the present his wife and family will remain at their home here, but expect to move to Toronto early in the Fall.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 4th August 1920



Stanley & Aylward, Ltd., manufacturing jewelers of Kingston, Out., have been incorporated with $150,000 capital by Frederick J. Aylward, Edwin Mooers, Clayton E. Cobb, Minnie E. Ball and Oscar V. Bartels.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 20th September 1922


Essay, a trade mark of Stanley & Aylward:



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JOHN WANLESS & Co.

172, Yonge Street, Toronto


John Wanless - Toronto - 1866

The house of John Wanless & Co. retail and manufacturing jeweler of Toronto, is not only one of the most respected, but one of the oldest jewelry establishments in the Province of Ontario, having been originally founded at Niagara by the late Wm. Bell about the year 1835. A few years residence in that ancient burgh convinced that gentleman that Toronto, or Little York, the name by which it was then commonly known, offered the more desirable future for his calling, and in 1840 the business was accordingly removed to this city and located on Church Street, where it remained until 1846. when it was transferred to its present location. No. 172 Yonge Street.

In this spot it has quietly grown from year to year, until it has reached its present stage of development, and now occupies a warehouse which is without doubt one of the most elegant and commodious in the dominion of Canada.



In 1861, Mr. John Wanless, then a young man of 31, succeeded to the business, which under the influence of his energy and sound judgement soon began to exhibit evidence of a steady improvement in keeping with the growth of the city.

In 1870, the old two storey frame structure which had for nearly a quarter of a century served the double purpose of store and dwelling house, was, like many another of Toronto's old landmarks, torn down in order to make way for a brick store in keeping with the progress of the city. In this new building the business continued to flourish and expand until the present year, when the firm (which had now been increased by the addition of Mr. John Wanless, Jr., as partner) finding it altogether inadequate for the altered conditions of their growing trade, decided to enlarge and improve it.

This work, which practically amounted to rebuilding the entire premises, and occupied nearly six months, has been fully completed, the result being that the firm are now in possession of a handsome monument of the builder's art, containing all the modern improvements and thoroughly abreast of the times, which could not be duplicated for less than $20,000.



The new building has a frontage of 24 feet, and an entire depth of 100 feet. It is four stories high, and has an attractive and imposing front of red pressed brick and Credit Valley sandstone. Although the outside of the premises presents a marked contrast to the previous structure, the internal changes are not less decided and pleasing, as the following description taken from one of our city dailies at the time of its opening will testify :

" Its richly decorated walls and ceilings, elegant furniture, cases shining with polish and sparkling with jewelry of all descriptions, form a picture which is little short of enchanting, from the entrance to the jewelers' workshop there is an endless variety of objects to arrest the attention and please the fancy. A spacious window of the finest plate glass adorned with annealed ornamentation contains cases filled with a great variety of jewelry novelties. Passing through the entrance a long row of walnut and silver cases on solid cherry tables bends to the right and runs down the length of the place. Down the centre handsome solid cherry tables with velvet centrepieces are ranged, holding bronze figures of many postures and depicting a great variety of life. These form an artful accompaniment to other goods displayed, chief among which are the marble clocks, scores of which are on view at the left hand side. The handsome wall case, of plate glass in solid cherry appear to their full advantage, being set off with the massive silverware inside. At the end of the wareroom the watchmakers' room is situated, and further in the rear the jewelry manufacturers have a separate department. The cash desk and private office is in the centre of the wareroom at the right side. It is an elegant piece of work in solid cherry. Behind this is a J. & J. Taylor burglarproof safe of the most approved degign. There are two safes, one inside the other, the smaller being used for the costliest goods. Incandescent electric light and gas are used for lighting, and steam for heating."



'The firm give employment to ten persons on the premises, and in addition to the goods they buy and sell in the ordinary way, they manufacture a large line of special goods, such as diamond jewelry, medals, etc.

Mr. John Wanless, the senior member of the firm was born at Longformacus, Berwickshire, Scotland, on the 18th of February, 1830. His father, the Grammar School Teacher and Registrar of the parish, was a gentleman of more than ordinary culture, and well known and highly respected throughout the district. Having passed his youth amid such favorable surroundings, it is little to be wondered at that Mr. Wanless imbibed so thoroughly those principles of perseverance, self reliance and integrity, which have not only made his own career a success, but have won for his compatriots a place amongst the foremost men in every civilized country on the face of the globe.

In the year 1851, like many another young and hopeful Scotsmen, Mr. Wanless left the old fatherland and crosscd the ocean in search rch of home and fortune in this western hemisphere. That he has achieved a success in every respect is a matter that any citizen of Toronto can truthfully testify. In business he is not only genial and obliging, but strictly honorable in all his transacations, and it is in a great measure owing to this happy combination of qualities that his success has been achieved.

His popularity amongst the Jewelry trade is evidenced by the fact that at the organization of the Canadian Retail Jewelers' Association, he was elected
treasurer by a unanimous vote, a position which he has continued to fill with acceptance ever since. He also holds the important position of a Justice of the Peace for the County of York.



At the commencement of the present year, feeling that he had earned the right to more leisure than he had heretofore enjoyed, Mr. Wanless took into the firm his eldest son John Wanless, Jr., who had for the previous five years been acting as his assistant in the business. Upon this young gentleman now devolves the general oversight of their large and growing business, a task for which his training had fully qualified him and for which he is in every way competent. Mr. Wanless, Jr., having literally grown up in the business, it goes without saying that he is thoroughly conversant with the jewelry trade. He has a pleasing address, is well liked by his customers, and it is safe to predict that under his management the old house will preserve the high reputation for fair and honorable dealing so long enjoyed by it.

The portraits illustrating this article will give our readers a very good idea of the personnel of the firm, the front elevation of the store, and also the interior decorations and fittings. It will pay any of our readers who may visit Toronto to take a look through Messrs. Wanless & Co.'s premises, and we can safely promise that the members of the firm will be glad to see them, and afford any information they may desire.

Source: The Trader and Canadian Jeweller - 1890


JOHN WANLESS Jeweller, Toronto, Ont., was born February 18th, 1830, in Berwickshire, Scotland. His parents were Wm. and Margaret (Graham) Wanless. His father was a graduate of Edinburgh University, a school master and registrar of the Parish of Longformacus, Berwickshire. Mr. Wanless received his education in his father's school, and came to Canada in 1851. In religion, he is a member of the Presbyterian Church, holding the office of elder in Knox Church, Toronto ; in politics, he is a Liberal. He is also a J. P. for York County. Mr. Wanless married, October 2nd, 1861, the widow of the late Wm. Beel (sic), Toronto, and daughter of Daniel Kinsman, of Cornwall, Eng. His family consists of one son and three daughters, the former being a member of the firm of John Wanless & Co., Toronto.



Source: Men of Canada - Edited by the Rev.Wm. Cochrane DD - 1895


The store of J. Wanless & Co., Yonge St., Toronto, which was badly damaged by fire in the Spring has been completely refitted and was opened to the public last week. The firm have put in new incandescent lights of over 4,000 candle power. The store, which is widely patronized by American trade, covers 6,400 feet of space and is one of the finest retail jewelry establishments in Canada.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular and Horological Review - 25th September 1895


John Wanless Passes Away

One of the oldest residents of Toronto, in the person of Mr. John Wanless, sen., died early this morning at his residence, 760 Spadina avenue, after a brief illness from pneumonia. Deceased, who was for many years, one of the best-known jewelers in the city, contracted pneumonia last Sunday. He was in his ninetieth year. The last Mr. Wanless was born in Berwickshire, Scotland and came to Canada in 1851. Practically all his life had been spent in Toronto. He was for many years connected with the well-known jewelry firm of John Wanless & Co., which was for a long time in the old Simpson block. It was about twenty years ago that he retired from active business. He was an elder in the Knox Presbyterian Church and was the oldest living member. His wife predeceased him about eighteen years ago. Surviving him is one son and two daughters, John Wanless jun., Mrs. A.C. McMaster, and Mrs. J. McP. Scott.

Source: Period Toronto newspaper - 22nd February 1919

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W.A. TOWNSEND

441, later, 92, later still, 142, Notre Dame Street, Montreal


W.A. Townsend - Montreal - 1851

At Montreal, the Fraternity has fully revived, and the Lodges are doing well. Many gentlemen have been raised during the year past, to the order of Masters, and many more are inquiring the way. There are two Lodges in the city consisting of near two hundred members. I was so busily engaged while there that I could not-seek out many of the Brethren. I became acquainted, however, with Wm. M. B. Haitley, Esq. and W. A. Townsend, Esq., both active and intelligent Brothers. They informed me that the prospect of their future success was never so good as now. I could not find your agent, Br. Lawry–I was informed he had gone to Quebec. I have agreed with Br. W. A. Townsend, (Jeweller, 441, Notre Dame Street,) to act as agent for the Magazine, and wish you to send him, by mail, two or three numbers of the late volume, so that he can let the Brethren see the character of the work. I think he will obtain some subscribers, and not interfere with your former agent–if he returns to the city.

Source: Freemason's monthly magazine - Volume 4 - 1845


W.A. Townsend - Montreal - 1853


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TORONTO SILVER PLATE Co.

For information regarding the Toronto Silver Plate Company, see:

Toronto Silver Plate Company

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T. WHITE & SON

12, Melinda Street, later, 39, King Street West, Toronto


T. White & Son - Toronto - 1882


T. White & Son - Toronto - 1885

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BENJAMIN CHAPMAN

261, Yonge Street, Toronto

Trade Card of Benjamin Chapman:


B. Chapman - Toronto - c.1885 Courtesy of Toronto Public Library


BENJAMIN CHAPMAN, watchmaker and jeweller, 26I Yonge Street, is a native of Belfast, Ireland, where he learned his trade and carried on business for sixteen years. He came to Canada in 1864, and ten years later established himself in business at his present store, where he has a first-class connection, his specialty being fine work.

Source: History of Toronto and County of York, Ontario: Containing an Outline of the History of the Dominion of Canada; a History of the City of Toronto and the County of York, with the Townships, Towns, General and Local Statistics; Biographical Sketches - Volume 1 - Charles Pelham Mulvany, Graeme Mercer Adam - 1885


B. Chapman, 261 Yonge Street, is an old and practical watchmaker and jeweller. He first started business in Belfast, Ireland, where he continued for sixteen years, after which he came to Toronto. He is one of an old family of watchmakers, his father having been in business in Dublin, Ireland, as far back as 1814. Mr. Chapman has been established in business for the last fourteen years in Toronto, and has consequently acquired a thorough practical knowledge of his business in all its branches. He imports both from England and Germany, and his store is replete with a large assortment of clocks, ranging from one dollar and upwards. There is also an endless variety of watches, rings, and jewellery of every description; also a large assortment of choice fancy articles.

Source: Illustrated Toronto: Past and Present - J. Timperlake - 1877


Electric Lights.–Ryrie Bros. and Benj. Chapman, the well-known retail jewelers of Yonge Street, Toronto, have recently had the Edison incandescent electric light introduced into their stores. The effect is very good and shows off their handsome goods to great advantage.

Source: The Trader & Canadian Jeweller - January 1890


Toronto, Can., May 31.— Robert M. Webb, alias Taylor, alias Anderson, etc., was arrested on the 28th on several charges of forgery and fraud, having victimized several merchants by means of bogus checks. One of the losers by his operations was B. M. Chapman, jeweler, Yonge St., from whom the prisoner purchased a watch for $16, tendering a check for $25,. drawn in favor of A. H. Taylor, in payment, which he endorsed. Mr. Chapman accepted the check, giving Webb $9 cash in change. Webb left the watch to be engraved and did not return for it. He was arraigned on this and two other charges at the Police Court on the 29th inst. and pleaded not guilty, the case being remanded for one week.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 5th June 1901

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HENRY BIRKS & SONS

For information regarding Henry Birks & Sons, see:

Henry Birks & Sons

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JUDAH GEORGE JOSEPH aka JOSEPH G. JODAH

56, King Street East, Toronto


J.G. Joseph - Toronto - 1847


JOSEPH, JUDAH GEORGE (Gershom), businessman and craftsman; b. 1798 in Exeter, England; m. Rebecca –, and they had two daughters and two sons; d. 17 May 1857 in Toronto.
The late 1830s and the 1840s saw the small Jewish population of Toronto augmented by the arrival of Jews from England, Germany, Lower Canada, and the United States. Primarily shopkeepers and skilled artisans — grocers, clothiers, jewellers, tobacconists — they sought to integrate themselves into the social and economic life of Toronto. Judah George Joseph, one of the most prominent members of this early community, was born of a family described as “highly respectably connected.” Much of his early life had been spent in the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey. He immigrated to the United States in 1829 and eventually established himself as a jeweller and optician in Cincinnati. He prospered but “his generous nature led him to become a victim of false friends” and he was swindled in business, losing most of his property. About 1840 Joseph reportedly moved with his family to Hamilton, Upper Canada. Possibly attracted by the mercantile prospects offered by Toronto, he settled there between 1842 and 1844 and opened a business on King Street near the St Lawrence Market, then the city’s leading commercial district. In addition to his trade as a jeweller and optician, he produced silverware, timepieces, mathematical and drafting instruments, and scientific equipment. Joseph observed traditional Jewish practice and closed his shop on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. He built a successful business, acquired property, and enjoyed considerable popularity as a result of his “cheerful, open-hearted and familiar” manner.
Joseph was instrumental in the formation of the Hebrew Congregation of Toronto, a small group which evidently performed no synagogal functions. In September 1849, however, Judah Joseph and Abraham Nordheimer* laid the foundation for Jewish community organization in Toronto by purchasing land for a cemetery from John Beverley Robinson*. This half-acre property, located in York Township east of Toronto (on present-day Pape Avenue), was to be held in trust for the Hebrew Congregation, which probably had the cemetery as its sole concern. In 1850 Joseph’s young son, Simeon Alfred, was one of the first to be buried there and it is possible that the lad’s illness may have motivated this purchase by Joseph who was “domestic and intensely attached to his family.”
Joseph declined to join the city’s first synagogue, Toronto Hebrew Congregation (Sons of Israel), when it was organized in 1856. The membership requirements may have seemed restrictive to Joseph; there also appears to have been a social, if not economic, gap between the cemetery trustees (established members of the city’s society) and the synagogue’s founders (many of whom, such as Lewis Samuel*, were recent arrivals). Nevertheless, as an observant Jew, Joseph continued his annual payments through the synagogue for the support of a ritual slaughterer, which was evidently a practical arrangement to facilitate his purchase of kosher meat. About 1859 the burial-ground was transferred to the synagogue (now Holy Blossom Temple), which Joseph’s son, George, joined two years later.
The glowing obituaries occasioned by Joseph’s death described him as “a good citizen and a sincere friend.” His funeral, conducted at the Jewish cemetery in orthodox fashion, was attended by a large number of people and probably provided the first opportunity for local residents to observe a Jewish ritual. Following his death, Joseph’s business was continued by his son-in-law Henry Joseph Altman of Birmingham, England, and Thomas Hawkins Lee of Toronto.

Stephen A. Speisman

AO, RG 1, A-I-6, 25; RG 22, ser.305, J. G. Joseph; RG 55, ser.3, 1, nos.194, 255—56, 404, 1511—12. CTA, RG 1, A, 1853—57. Holy Blossom Temple Arch. (Toronto), RG 1(a): 8, 23—25, 29—31, 91, 94. Toronto Boroughs and York South Land Registry Office (Toronto), Deed no.69381. British Colonist (Toronto), 21 May 1857. Leader, daily ed., 19 May 1857; semi-weekly ed., 26 May 1857. Toronto Mirror, 29 May 1857. Toronto directory, 1846—47; 1850—51; 1856; 1862—63; 1866. The Jew in Canada: a complete record of Canadian Jewry from the days of the French régime to the present time, ed. A. D. Hart (Toronto and Montreal, 1926), 41. J. E. Langdon, Canadian silversmiths, 1700—1900 (Toronto, 1966), 89. Robertson’s landmarks of Toronto, vol.3. B. G. Sack, History of the Jews in Canada, from the earliest beginnings to the present day, [trans. Ralph Novek] (Montreal, 1945; [2nd ed.], ed. Maynard Gertler, 1965), 116, 152. S. A. Speisman, The Jews of Toronto: a history to 1937 (Toronto, 1979), 12—13, 16—17, 23, 25. S. J. Birnbaum, “The history of the Jews in Toronto,” Canadian Jewish Times (Montreal), 29 Nov. 1912, 24 Jan. 1913. David Eisen, “Jewish settlers of old Toronto,” Jewish Standard (Toronto), 15 Dec. 1965, 1 Jan. 1966.

Source: Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online © 2000 University of Toronto/Université Laval



J.G. Joseph & Co. - Toronto - 1866


Example of the work of Judah George Joseph of Toronto, Ontario.







Fiddle pattern salt spoons, 3 3/4" (9.5cm) in length and weighing 12 grams each.


The history of the growth of Toronto Jewry falls into two periods. The first, the Western European immigration, runs to 1881; a new influx began about that year when the Russian persecutions drove hundreds of thousands of Jews to American shores; while the economic conditions of Austria and Poland and the Roumanian persecutions contributed towards swelling still higher the number of immigrants to the new land.

One cannot say with any degree of certainty when the first Jew settled in Toronto. If there were any Jews in Toronto before 1838, no recorded traces of them are left. It is, however, very unlikely that there were any Jews in that city before that year for several reasons: first. one of the earliest settlers, who has but recently died, could not recall the presence of any Jews before that year; and secondly, in the religious census taken in 1846 the number of Jews is given as twelve, all of whom can be accounted for by assuming that 1838 saw the arrival in Toronto of the first two Jews. It was in that year that there came to Toronto, though perhaps not simultaneously, J. G. Joseph and H. A. Joseph.

When the first Jews set foot on Toronto’s soil barely four years had elapsed since its incorporation from the town of York into the city of Toronto. The population of the city did not exceed 12,000. Yonge Street, today the heart of the business section of the city, could not at that time boast of more than 104 buildings.

Judah George Joseph and Henry Abraham Joseph, the first two Jews who came to Toronto, were distantly related. They were both descended from an Anglo-Jewish family which had originally come from the Netherlands .

Judah George Joseph was born in England in the year 1798, and in 1830 emigrated with his family to the United States. He settled in Cincinnatti. where he engaged in the optical business. Not many details are known of his life there. He saw greater opportunities in Canada, and here he came in 1838 to settle in Toronto which was then commencing to establish itself as the most important city on Lake Ontario. He engaged in business at 56 King Street East (south side), east of Leader Lane. His advertisement of 1840 reads thus: ”J. G. Joseph, Optician, Spectacle and Mathematical Instrument Maker, Jewellery, Watches, and Silverware made and repaired to order.” In a few years Mr. Joseph became one of the prominent business men of Toronto and was respected and liked by all who knew him. He was a typical English Jew with dark hair, side whiskers, and dark, pleasant, gold bespectacled eyes.

Mr. Joseph was also an active communal worker. In 1849, when there was barely a Minyan – the congregational quorum of ten Jews – he laid the foundation of the present Holy Blossom Synagogue, which, however, remained in an unstable condition till seven years later. In that year J. G. Joseph and Abraham Nordheimer deeded to the embryonic community a piece of land on Pape Avenue, south of Gerrard Street, to be used as a cemetery – still used as such by the Holy Blossom Congregation, though now very much improved.

Mr. Joseph’s life was not very eventful. To the end of his days he continued to live in contentment and peace, held in great esteem by his friends and acquaintances. His untimely death on May 17, 1857, was mourned by the entire community. He was survived by his wife, two daughters and one son, his youngest son, Edward, having died before him.

Henry Abraham Joseph was a native of Sorel, Quebec, and came to Toronto in 1838, where he engaged in the fur business at 70 Yonge Street. In the fifties he became a hat and cap manufacturer with an establishment at 60 Yonge Street, while in 1860 he turned a money-scrivener.

Mr. Joseph, like several others of his coreligionists, had the misfortune of being unmarried when he settled in Toronto and, there being no Jewesses in the city at the time, he intermarried. This was the cause of his subsequent drifting away from Judaism, which does not, of course, imply towards Christianity.

Source: The Jewish Times - Article written by S. J. Birnbaum - 1912



J.G. Joseph - Toronto - 1852


J. G. JOSEPH & CO.
WHOLESALE IMPORTERS OF WATCHES, JEWELLERY AND FANCY GOODS
This firm is among the oldest houses in the above trade in Toronto. They have been established over 28 years, and since they first commenced to the present time the business has steadily increased, until it is now second to none. For a number of years the firm confined themselves entirely to the retail branch of their business. To purchase an article from them was a guarantee of its genuineness, and this, on account of the difficulty those not acquainted with the trade experience in judging valuable articles, established their reputation. Within the last five years they have added the wholesale business to their retail, and by conducting it in the manner that has won for them so favorable a reputation as retail merchants, they have been able to increase it, until they have now their wholesale warehouse separate from the retail.

THE LONDON AND PARIS HOUSE
The retail branch is situated on King street, three doors east of Yonge, and is considered one of the best business stands in the city. The firm have fitted it up in the most elegant and costly style. The first floor extends some 85 feet in depth, and contains one of the finest stocks of watches, fine gold jewellery, silver ware, electro-plate and general fancy goods in the Province, the second floor is approached by an elegant winding staircase, and is fitted up as a show-room for cricketing and archery goods, croquet, bagatelle boards, and various other games and fancy ware. This may be considered, and really is, among the handsomest stores in the city, and Toronto may feel proud of it, as there is nothing nearer than New York to surpass it. The rear portion is fitted up as a workshop, where are manufactured every description of silver ware, jewellery, &c. We believe this is the only firm in Toronto who manufacture their silver cups, &c., for presentation, on their own premises and under their own immediate superintendence. This is a branch of business business in which they particularly excel. We particularly recommend all who visit the city not to leave without going through the establishment, to show which always affords pleasure to the firm.

THE WHOLESALE DEPARTMENT
The firm have had erected at No. 47 Yonge street, corner of Wellington street, a splendid three-story brick building, with cut stone front and plate glass windows, which they devote to their wholesale business. The establishment is fitted with every convenience for carrying on business. A member of the firm visits the best markets in Great Britain and Europe twice every year, and purchases all goods direct from the manufacturers, and not from commission houses. Watchmakers and jewellers throughout the Province may therefore rely that they will always be supplied with reliable articles, as new in style, and at as cheap rates as can be done by any other house in the trade. To Messrs. Joseph & Co. may be given the credit of establishing a first-class legitimate trade in watches and jewellery in Toronto, and thereby keeping much of the trade of Upper Canada from Montreal houses. In the article of watches, they only import those made by the best manufacturers. From their practical knowledge of the trade, they are enabled to discriminate between those of good and bad makers, and are thus enabled to supply superior watches at a price lower than those of unprincipled makers, who seek to establish a reputation by putting on their watches names of manufacturers who never made them. They have won the confidence of the trade of Canada West so thoroughly, that in almost every town they now have customers whom they supply. They are agents for the best English and Swiss watchmakers, and furnish the goods at the same rates as if buyers imported them direct. They also import largely of French fancy goods, clocks, electro-plated ware, Britannia metal goods, etc, and we may safely say that the trade cannot find a more reliable house to deal with.

Source: Toronto as a Market for Western Canada Merchants with Descriptive Notes of the Principal Business Establishments in the City - 1866



See: http://www.925-1000.com/canadiansilver_01.html

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CHARLES E. REDFERN

43, Government Street, Victoria B.C.



Charles E. Redfern - Victoria BC - 1869


Charles E. Redfern - Victoria BC - 1878


Chas. E. Redfern - Victoria BC - 1890



C. E. REDFERN

Mr. Redfern came to the coast some twenty-nine years ago, and has since been engaged in his trade of watchmaker. He was elected Mayor of the city in 1883, and served two previous years as Councillor. For fifteen years Mr. Redfern has supplied the city with standard time. He placed a large dial in position above his store, operating it by machinery placed some seventy-five feet in the rear of his building. Mr. Redfern is the owner of the building he occupies, which has a frontage on Government street of twenty-two feet, and seventy-five feet depth. He has a large and commodious workshop in the rear of his shop, in which he employs five skilled workmen in the manufacture of fine jewellery and repairing work. He carries a stock of some $40,000, and deals only in solid gold and silver jewellery, handling nothing in the plated goods line, except table ware. Mr. Kedfern was awarded the contract for the new City Hall clock and bell, lately put in position, which were manufactured by Messrs. Gillett & Johnson, of Croydon, England.

Source: Victoria Illustrated - 1891


Theft of $4,500 Worth of Jewels Reported from Victoria, B. C.

San Francisco, Cal., Sept. 1.—From Victoria, B. C., comes the news of a jewel theft that is mystifying the police there and Charles E. Redfern is seeking to recover goods valued at $4,500. The mysterious part of the disappearance is that the members of the firm are not certain just where
the jewels were when taken. They were supposed to have been placed in the safe when the place was closed up the night before, but of this Harry Redfern, who closed the store, is not certain. It is presumed that their absence from the stock failed to attract his attention when he put the goods away and that they were purloined in some manner during the rush hours of the afternoon.

The list of missing gems includes 11 fine solitaires, three twin diamond rings, a three-stone ring, four five-stone rings, two cluster rings, a circle ring, a three-stone ring with platinum tips, a tiger-head scarf pin with a diamond set in the mouth, and a set of earrings. Some of the rings were stamped inside “C. E. R., 14k.” This store was robbed three years ago and the loot was found hidden under a building.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 8th September 1909

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CARON BROTHERS

151-157 ouest, rue Craig, later, 233-239, Bleury Street, Montreal


Caron Freres - Montreal - 1911


Caron Freres - Montreal - 1914


Caron Brothers - Montreal - 1920


Caron Brothers - Montreal - 1920


Caron Brothers - Montreal - 1920

An example of the work of Caron Brothers:






The mark of Caron Brothers


Example of a Caron Brothers souvenir spoon:






Example of a fraternity badge:





Caron Bros., Montreal, have obtained judgment against B. Ryan, Stellerton, N. S., for $183.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 4th August 1909


A. L. Caron, of the wholesale jewelry firm of Caron Bros., Montreal, has been appointed president of the Montreal Technical School.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 6th August 1919

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KENT BROTHERS (AMBROSE KENT & SONS Ltd.)

For information regarding Kent Brothers of Toronto (Ambrose Kent & Sons Ltd.) see:

Kent Brothers of Toronto (Ambrose Kent & Sons Ltd.)

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WILLIAM HENRY NEWMAN

Halifax, Nova Scotia


NEWMAN, WILLIAM HERMAN, jeweller, silversmith, and businessman; b. 1829 in Königsberg, East Prussia (Kaliningrad, U.S.S.R.), son of J. W. Newman and Catherine –; m. first Amelia –; m. secondly 5 Sept. 1865 Charlotte Louisa Cromartie (d. 1868) in Halifax, and they had one son; d. 18 Dec. 1894 in Dartmouth, N. S .

Like several other Halifax jewellers and silversmiths, including Peter Nordbeck*, William Herman Newman was born and probably trained in Germany. Nothing is known about him until 1854 when he was working in Boston as an engraver with the jewellery manufacturer H. D. Morse. Another young Prussian, Julius Cornelius, also worked with Morse. Newman and Cornelius came to Halifax, apparently together, in 1855 and soon were in business together on Hollis Street. Their partnership was dissolved on 28 Feb. 1857; Cornelius set up business across the street and Newman continued in their old location. By 1859 he had married and was able to buy land for his business on Granville Street, where silversmiths had located since at least the 1830s.

Throughout his career Newman both imported and manufactured jewellery (he would stress manufacturing less in his later advertisements). He imported a variety of jewellery, silver, clocks, watches, and optical goods. At his death jewellery and watches would account for 70 per cent of his inventory, clocks and optical goods 12½ per cent, and sterling and electroplated silver the remaining 17½ per cent. Newman repaired and made to order gold and silver jewellery, chains, “hair pieces,” and masonic emblems. Several gold-fields had been discovered in Nova Scotia from 1858, and provincial jewellers often used native gold. A locket and a brooch both known to have been made by Newman are of Nova Scotian gold and stones. Unfortunately, since jewellers did not sign their work, attribution is rare and it is difficult to judge Newman’s work in this field.

A new market for gold- and silver-work developed from about 1859. A sudden and rapid increase in the volunteer militia made rifle-shooting competitions popular, and gold or silver medals, frequently made locally, were offered as prizes. Newman made at least two, and John McCulloch and Cornelius in Halifax, William Neilson Mills of Pictou, and probably other craftsmen also made them. Newman’s most remarkable piece of silver, indeed one of Nova Scotia’s most noteworthy, was made for this market. In 1861 New Brunswick had offered a prize cup for an intercolonial shooting competition, and in 1862 Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia followed suit. The Nova Scotia cup was the grand prize at a match held at Truro on 10—12 Sept. 1862. Newman’s creation of this cup, which he did not sign, is established by contemporary accounts. In presenting the cup, Major-General Charles Hastings Doyle* described it as a “beautiful specimen of native talent and art, designed and executed by Mr. Newman of Halifax,” and the Halifax Evening Express and Commercial Record, noting that he had displayed the cup in his store window, stated, “To Mr. Newman alone belongs the credit for designing and executing this superb piece of plate.”

The cup is 17 inches high and elaborately decorated. The ornate base rises to a three-tiered stem, on the bowl are the provincial arms in local gold, surrounded by Nova Scotian wild flowers, and the lid is surmounted by the figures of a bugler and a rifleman. The flowers, although not a traditional motif, were popular with local artists at the time. Nova Scotians Elizabeth Bessonett and Maria Frances Ann Miller [Morris*] sent water-colours and lithographs of wild flowers to the International Exhibition in London in 1862 and McEwan and Reid of Halifax exhibited a chair with carved flowers. Newman may well have got the idea for the motif from them or from press reports of their work.

Numerous other pieces, most of them spoons, with Newman’s pseudo-hallmarks have survived. In Britain hallmarks were a sequence of symbols, required by law, that precisely identified the maker, silver content, assay office, and year. Where such laws did not exist, many silversmiths used various patterns of similar symbols to assert the quality of their work. From 1840, perhaps earlier, virtually all Nova Scotian silversmiths used the same pattern of pseudo hallmarks: the maker’s, or retailer’s, initials or occasionally full name; the sovereign’s head; the first letter of the town; and a lion passant. This convention demonstrates that Nova Scotian silversmiths were aware of themselves as a community of craftsmen. Newman was part of this group since the pattern of marks exists on about two-thirds of his pieces or sets that are in three public collections. The convention broke down in the 1870s; therefore most of the silver with Newman’s marks probably dates from his early years in Halifax.

However, a silversmith’s name or initials on silver is not necessarily proof that he made it. Increasingly after mid century the old arrangement by which silversmiths were craftsmen who designed, made, and retailed their own work was disappearing. They were being replaced by a few “makers to the trade” and merchants who retailed their work. Marks on silver were increasingly those of the retailer rather than the maker, and the makers came to be hired industrial workers rather than craftsmen. Indeed, after 1860 the category of silversmith disappeared from the Halifax directories. Newman was able to adapt to these changes in the silver trade and became a merchant. Two surviving examples of silver with his initials also have what appears to be David Hudson Whiston’s mark. Whiston was one of the more important makers to the trade in Halifax in the 1870s and 1880s. Newman, at the time of his death, had accounts with M. S. Brown and Company in Halifax [see Michael Septimus Brown*], S. and A. Saunders in Toronto, and James Eastwood in New Glasgow, N.S., all of whom made silver or jewellery. By 1890 Newman also imported electroplated ware and possibly sterling from England, the United States, and Germany.

After becoming successful as a merchant, William Herman Newman diversified his interests. In January 1874, a month before he became a British subject, he began to buy real estate on Hollis Street and over the next 16 years he was involved in ten transactions in Halifax or Dartmouth. In 1885 he built a large four-storey stone building which housed his business and gave him considerable space to rent. Three years earlier he had bought land in Dartmouth overlooking Halifax Harbour. Here he lived in an attractive house with beautiful gardens and a private wharf. Unlike many silversmiths in Nova Scotia and elsewhere in Canada, Newman had adjusted, and even prospered, as the silver trade was consolidated in fewer and fewer hands.

Brian D. Murphy

William Herman Newman’s work survives in several public and private collections. The PANS holds two examples and the Nova Scotia Museum in Halifax six or seven; in the Henry Birks Coll. of Canadian Silver at the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa) there are four sets totalling 25 teaspoons as well as two single items, one of which is the Nova Scotia Provincial Prize Cup (Birks 24230).

Halifax County Court of Probate (Halifax), Estate papers, no.4615 (mfm. at PANS). Halifax County Registry of Deeds (Halifax), Deeds, 125, nos.568—69; 192, no.71; 210, nos.1443—44; 211, no.477; 223, no.173; 227, no.1324; 252, nos.500, 752; 253, no.575; 269, no.1475; 270, no.632 (mfm. at PANS). PANS, Misc. “A,” architecture: Dumaresq (mfm.); Photo Coll., Notman Studio proof print, no.35183 (W. H. Newman, with child); RG 18, A, 1, no.144; RG 32, M, 191(A), no.19; WB, 37, no.380. R. G. Haliburton et al., Report of the commissioners of the International Exhibition of Nova Scotia (Halifax, 1863). N.B., Militia, Report (Fredericton), 1863: 7. British Colonist (Halifax), 5 March 1857, 1 April 1858. Colonial Standard (Pictou, N.S.), 19, 26 Aug., 2, 16, 23 Sept., 21 Oct. 1862. Evening Express and Commercial Record, 8, 10 Sept. 1862. Halifax Herald, 19 Dec. 1894. Morning Chronicle (Halifax), 16 Sept. 1862, 19 Dec. 1894. Novascotian, 11 Sept. 1865, 2 March 1868. Boston directory ... (Boston), 1853—55. DCB, vol.X (biog. of M. F. A. Morris (Miller)). R. [A. C.] Fox, Presentation pieces and trophies from the Henry Birks Collection of Canadian Silver (exhibition catalogue, Ottawa, 1985). Halifax directory, 1858—59, 1863, 1869—70, 1890—94. D. C. Mackay, Silversmiths and related craftsmen of the Atlantic provinces (Halifax, 1973). N.S. directory, 1864—65, 1890—97. Harry Piers and D. C. Mackay, Master goldsmiths and silversmiths of Nova Scotia and their marks, ed. U. B. Thomson and A. M. Strachan (Halifax, 1948). Jim Burant, “The development of the visual arts in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from 1815 to 1867 as an expression of cultural awakening” (ma research essay, Carleton Univ., Ottawa, 1979). J. E. Langdon, Canadian silversmiths, 1700—1900 (Toronto, 1966). J. P. Martin, The story of Dartmouth (Dartmouth, N.S., 1957). J. M. and L. J. Payzant, Like a weaver’s shuttle: a history of the Halifax-Dartmouth ferries (Halifax, 1979). J. P. Edwards, “The militia of Nova Scotia, 1749—1867,” N.S. Hist. Soc., Coll., 17 (1913): 65—108. Mail-Star (Halifax), 25 June 1975: 12.

Source: The Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online © 2000 University of Toronto/Université Laval



Example of the mark used by William Herman Newman of Halifax, Nova Scotia:




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WILLIAM BRAMLEY & Co.

4, Dollard Lane, Montreal


Wm. Bramley & Co. - Montreal and Quebec - 1920


William Bramley, Montreal, has just recovered from a painful operation.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 25th March 1903


William Bramley and Allan Cameron have gone into partnership as manufacturing jewelers in Montreal, under the style of Wm. Bramley & Co.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 28th May 1919

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ADAM ROSS

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Adam Ross was born at Edinburgh in 1787, he served his apprenticeship under William Marshall II of Edinburgh. Following the completion of his term he left Scotland for Halifax, Nova Scotia.

He was recorded in 1813 as working as a silversmith and metal gilder in Granville Street, Halifax, NS.

In 1814 he was noted as a member of the North British Society.

From 1818 to 1822, he was in partnership with Daniel Macdonald at Granville Street, Halifax, NS.

Adam Ross died at Halifax, NS, on the 27th November 1843.


An example of the work of Adam Ross:







Fiddle pattern dessert spoon, 7" (7.7cm) in length, weight 33 grams.


Other noted variations of the marks of Adam Ross:





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HENRY GRANT

Muir's Buildings, 303, Notre Dame Street, Montreal


Henry Grant - Montreal - 1871

In 1882 Henry Grant was noted as being located at 26, Beaver Hall Terrace, Montreal.

By 1889 the firm was styled Henry Grant & Son, and located at 72, Beaver Hall, Montreal.

Thomas O'Neil, 12 years of age, was arrested on Saturday last and remanded for enquete, charged with having stolen four rings from H. Grant & Son, jewelers and opticians, Montreal.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular and Horological Review - 4th October 1899

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BOLT & Co.

White's Lane, Montreal


Bolt & Co. - Montreal - 1890

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L.P. DUFRESNE

88, later, 92, Joseph Street, later, 1924, Notre Dame Street, Montreal


L.P. Dufresne - Montreal - 1875


L.P. Dufresne - Montreal - 1882


L.P. Dufresne - Montreal - 1884

Established in 1869. By 1884 L.P. Dufresne had relocated to 1924, Notre Dame Street, Montreal.

Note the 'LPD 18K' mark in the illustration of the ring.

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