Apologies for not getting ’round to making this posting until now, but it’s taken me a while to sort myself out about things. Anyway, as I said last time, after spending some time in London during the mid-19th century James Richard Gaunt returned to his native Birmingham, and is recorded in the 1881 census as living at 317 Camden Street in Hockley:
Ref. RG11/3005, f. 80, p. 6
As will be seen his occupation is given as “Button Manufacturer Manager”, which looks to fit with his grandson’s assertions that he became manger of Firmin’s factory (even if John R. Gaunt did say this was the London works at Whitehorse Yard rather than the Birmingham factory). His eldest son Charles his listed as being a “Clerk”, and it maybe that this was also with Firmin. Certainly Lynette Carey says in her piece on ‘The J. R. Gaunt Collection’ that Charles was “apprenticed to Firmin & Son Ltd” when he was 16, and John R. Gaunt also has it that, like his father James, Charles “was also employed at the firm” (i.e. Firmins). The only way to be sure of any of this is, of course, would be to find confirmation amongst Firmin’s own archives – something for the future perhaps!
What happened after 1881, however, is the most interesting part the Firm’s history, and also perhaps the most important as it was during this period that J. R. Gaunt & Son appears to have been founded. As btns had noted in an earlier
post to one of the other Gaunt threads, a date of 1884 has been quoted elsewhere, including on the Dix, Noonan and Webb
website (though they do seem to have confused James Richard Gaunt with his grandson John Richard Gaunt). Nevertheless this does appear to be the ‘accepted’ date for the establishment of J. R. Gaunt & Son, and this is used by John R. Gaunt in his article where he even goes as far as to say “In 1884 they [i.e. James Richard and his son Charles] both left Firmins and bought a small factory in Clifford Street”.
In respect of the supposed foundation of the Company in 1884 then I have been trying to look at some relevant trade directories for this period, though up to now the information I have is far from conclusive.
Kelly’s Directory ... of Birmingham, with its Suburbs, for 1883 does not seem to have any entries for the firm of J. R. Gaunt & Son, as one would expect if they were not founded until 1884, and the address of 33 Clifford Street in Lozells, at the its junction with Furnace Lane, was at that time in the occupancy of a butcher called William George (I understand from btns that Gaunts are also not listed at this address in the 1884 Kelly’s Directory).
The next trade directory I have personally been able to look at so far is
Kelly’s Directory of Birmingham, with its Suburbs for 1890, by which time we do indeed find entries for Gaunt in the alphabetical Commercial section, the Trades section, under both ‘Button Makers’ and ‘Military & Naval Ornament Manufacturers’, and in the Streets section at 33 Clifford Street as “Gaunt J.R. & Son, military ornament & button mfrs”. Charles Gaunt is listed separately in the Commercial section as a “military ornament ma.”, with a cross reference to “see Gaunt J. R. & Son” (more on this another time). Interestingly the main Commercial section entry has “late with Firmin & Sons, London”, which would seen to substantiate the claim that J. R. Gaunt did work for Firmins. By using this in the directory, of course, it looks like he was also trying to bolster his own reputation on the back of that of his former employer:
The Post Office London Trades’ Directory for 1891 also has entries for Gaunts under ‘Button Manufacturers’ and ‘Military & Naval Ornament Makers’, with the first of these actually saying “25 years with Firmins, London”, echoing the entry in the Birmingham directory but this time indicating James Richard not only worked for Firmin but that he would also that have begun to do so with them sometime in the mid 1860s – which is certainly when he looks to have been in London:
This “25 years with Firmins, London” is noted by Peter Nayler in his
Military Button Manufactures from the London Directories 1800-1899, though I have to say the way he also has “Firmin & Gaunt” together appears to be a little misleading as it suggests at times they were one firm - which as far as I can see they weren’t. Unfortunately there is still currently a gap in things as far as the trade directories are concerned, something I am hoping I can try and put right by a visit to Birmingham’s Central Library later in the year. At present I have only seen directories from 1883, before Gaunt’s supposed establishment, and from 1890 onwards, when they are clearly at the Clifford Street address. I believe btns has looked at ones from 1884 and 1888, with similar results. Crucially however he has found suggestive evidence that indicates even if Gaunts were founded in 1884, it was only later that they actaully moved to Clifford Street. I’m sure he’ll make his own posting about this, but once we can find some trade directories for the period 1885-1887, this too will hopefully shed some more light on things.
Regards
Martin