The invention of silver plating by fusion—Thomas Boulsover of Sheffield (1704-1788)—A world of knick-knacks—The Sheffield silver-plating process—Early Sheffield plated productions—Joseph Hancock—The rise of the Birmingham and other silver platers—The commencement of the great period of Sheffield plating—Contemporary silversmiths and their art.

It was in the year 1743 that a fortunate accident led to the discovery that copper and silver could be fused together, and happily the value of the momentary happening led to the further development of the process and the final perfected invention of plating silver on copper which laid the foundation of a great and flourishing art industry which brought wealth and renown to Sheffield and extended to other centres. The old method of plating continued with various improvements for a hundred years until superseded. During the years 1750 to 1790 some of the best examples were issued and a stream of fine work duplicating the silver plate of the period, and not excluding examples simulating earlier Queen Anne styles, was poured out. Its excellence of craftsmanship and its cheapness not only won the approval of the English public but attracted the attention of Continental buyers, and contemporary with the catalogues of Joseph Wedgwood issued in French and other languages we find that the Sheffield and Birmingham silver platers similarly issued illustrated catalogues with designs showing what they were producing.

Thomas Boulsover of Sheffield (1704-1788).—According to some accounts Thomas Boulsover was a button maker, a spur maker or a cutler, probably he was all three, and employed in the making of these and other metal articles then manufactured at Sheffield. He is spoken of as an "ingenious mechanic." He was probably a practical workman who had a small shop where articles were brought for repair. It was in connection with the repair of a knife handle which was partly copper and partly silver that owing to an accident in the soldering the copper and the silver fused together. Although to his credit he immediately realized the possibilities of his discovery, he was possibly too poor a man to do more than carry out further experiments in a small way and make buttons and snuff boxes and minor articles by his process. His name is sometimes spelt as Bolsover, but it would appear that in the records at Sheffield he registered under the name of Thomas Boulsover and Co., which is possibly more correct; although in days when duchesses spelled their title as "dutchess" matters of a letter or two were not considered very important even in names.

The following extract from the Derby Mercury, September 17, 1788, is an interesting obituary notice of Boulsover:

"On Thursday se'night died at Whitely Wood, near Sheffield, Mr. Thomas Bolsover aged eighty-four. This Gentleman was the first Inventor of Plated Metal: which like many other curious Arts was discovered by Accident. About the year 1750 (at which Time he kept a Cutler's Shop at Sheffield), Mr. Bolsover was employed to repair a Knife Haft which was composed of Silver and Copper; and having effected the Job, the cementing of the two Metals immediately struck him with the practicability of manufacturing Plated Articles, and he presently commenced a Manufacture of plated Snuff Boxes and Buttons. Consequently from Mr. Bolsover's accidental Acquirement, the beneficial and extensive Trade of plated goods had its origin. He has been justly esteemed one of the most ingenious Mechanics that Sheffield can boast." The name Bolsover, says the writer in the Derby Mercury, suggests a Derbyshire origin.

There is little doubt that among the earliest articles to which Boulsover turned his attention were buttons. Silver was in the time of Boulsover being sold at approximately six shillings per oz., and, in view of the cost of solid silver articles, the invention of a presentable process that would lessen the cost came at an opportune moment. It must be remembered, too, that there was a duty of sixpence per ounce upon silver. In 1784 there was an additional duty of sixpence imposed. In 1804 the duty was increased to one shilling and sixpence per ounce, and it is interesting to note that in 1815 by 55 George III, cap. 185 the counterfeiting of the King's head duty mark was made a felony punishable by death. Nor did the invention, although coming at a ripe moment when economies were desirable, seem likely to receive financial support; for the establishment of an industry on a great basis, for the very same motives which necessitated economy, prevented capital from being embarked on what might have been a hazardous enterprise. At that time the country was in a disturbed condition. In 1742 Walpole's administration came to an end. His fall was occasioned by his foreign policy, which was based on friendship with France. He was succeeded by Carteret. His "Drunken Administration," as it was termed, was not likely to instil confidence in the country. He cared solely for foreign politics. "What is it to me," he said, "who is judge, or who is bishop. It is my business to make kings and emperors and to maintain the balance of Europe." In 1744 France declared war against England, and preparations for war were made in America and India. In 1745 Prince Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender, landed in Scotland, was given a public banquet by the ladies of Edinburgh, defeated Sir John Cope at Prestonpans, and marched across the border and through England as far as Derby. His troops must have passed through Sheffield, and with civil war in the heart of the country, and at his threshold, Boulsover no doubt quietly pursued his vocation and added to his experiments. He made snuff boxes and buttons, and patch boxes, and possibly buckles, and waited for a better day.

It is interesting to notice the inauguration of our two great china factories about this date. Derby was not likely to commence a new industry with the Pretender rattling his sabre in the city in 1745. But we find Worcester commencing operations in 1751, followed by Derby in 1756. There is stated to have been a political significance in the advent of the former. It appears that in the cathedral city in spite of its loyalty to the reigning house there was a growing Jacobite influence. It was thought that the establishment of a factory would enable the Whigs to win the election contests which had gone to the Jacobite party. But we do not remember to have heard any such association with Sheffield in regard to the establishment of the Sheffield plating industry. It seems to have been purely a trade venture and supported by local influence and capital.

It is not generally known that for a long period Sheffield has made use of Swedish iron for the manufacture of the best steel. Nor is it public property that "Made in Sheffield" frequently meant that razors, knives, surgical instruments, scissors, etc., were made at Solingen in Germany, and sent as "blanks" to be finished in Sheffield. The Master Cutlers of Sheffield cannot have been aware of these happenings. We speak of pre-war days when we have seen at Solingen much that should shame Sheffield.

In the early knife handles illustrated (p. 51) the sheet is very thin, and the design is stamped and both halves of the handle soldered together. The thin pointed steel blade is characteristic of old examples. It had not yet arrived to the stage of the trade mark with name of firm "made in Sheffield." There is a fault in design. The object of ornament is to be seen and admired. When these knives were set on a table, the head of Shakespeare in the medallion was upside down. This is a small detail, but details such as these were carefully studied at Sheffield at a later date and ornament used to its fullest capacity.

In regard to the particular design of the head of Shakespeare. There is a reason for its existence. It comes straight from the days of the great Shakesperian revival by David Garrick, where in 1741 he acted Richard III for the first time. Quin and Cibber were outshone by this new actor, who drew the fashionable world of St. James's to his little house in Goodman's Fields. He became an idol. In 1742 with Mrs. Woffington he acted in Dublin for a season and
created a great sensation. In 1747 he was joint lessee of Drury Lane Theatre. A Chelsea figure represents him as Richard III and, in complement to the new worship of Shakespeare who had been forgotten for a hundred years. Addison had omitted him from his "Account of the greatest English poets," and Steele did not include him in his essay "A Dream of Parnassus" in the Spectator. Sheffield, quick to seize an idea of marketable value, stamped the little medallion of Shakespeare on her knife handle with an eye to fashionable demands of the day.

Buttons were also a strong feature in early days, and continued as a leading feature to the end of the Sheffield plated period. Firms were established in London who carried on this branch till quite a late date. It is stated that a plated button was the first article made by Boulsover. In Ireland John Roche, of Usher's Quay, Dublin, also produced buttons in this style. The designs were stamped according to order. The illustration (p. 51) shows the type with copper shank firmly soldered on to the back. Possibly Army buttons of the same date were similarly made. Collectors have a field here for search and research.

Wine labels, or as they were termed, "bottle tickets," offer, if not great variety of style of decoration, certain curious indications as to the wines and liqueurs they were intended to label. We illustrate a label used for "Madeira." But some of the others were for wines either now known under more familiar names or forgotten altogether, such as: "Shrub," "Bucellas," "Xerez," and others.

The patch boxes (illustrated, p. 55) show the type of work executed in the early days. The plating was carried out on the exterior; the interior of these examples is bare copper. The left-hand example shows in its ornament the swirls and curves of the rococo style which Chippendale adapted and spiritualized in its translation. The right-hand specimen owes something to Dutch influence and to tobacco boxes which were common at the period. It is a genre subject, with the figure of a man standing and a lady reclining on a sofa. The middle patch box is in tortoiseshell and silver, and represents the fable of the Fox and the Crane. The sides and base of this box are plated, and, as in the case of the others, the interior is copper.