Meer Jones & Co

[Rob Miller]

Thank you btns, that is amazing information with regard to dates.

So they were "Merchants", what does that mean, dealers rather than fabricators?

Rob

[btns]

Originally Posted by Rob Miller

Thank you btns, that is amazing information with regard to dates.

So they were "Merchants", what does that mean, dealers rather than fabricators?

Rob

Strictly speaking a merchant is a person whose job is to buy and sell products in large amounts.

The Birmingham industry was highly specialised.
They may have had their own dies sending them to small shops to produce badges or found a company owning dies and willing to supply a batch under the merchant's name.
They may have ordered shanks from another company and have them fitted by a third one.

The building is still there and has the same name as on the poster (Ruskin Works in the Ruskin Building)
They may have operated from one of the courtyard buildings.

The bankruptcy is a personal one. He may have sold the company before he went bust. Note that he is listed as 'manufacturer'.

The usage of the firm's name may have continued after 1924.
I once researched a button with a backmark designed and produced years after that company had gone bankrupt.
Now, that was quite a surprise.
I found that the former director had continued trading from his home.
He had added 'trading under the name of' to his directory entry.
The directory entry disappeared 11 years after his company went bankrupt.
I have also found (another) new company registration with the owner stating he had been trading under that name for 8 years.
I never found any evidence.

It is nice to use firm dates for firms .
Reality is a lot murkier.

[Rob Miller]

Leigh, have you received the poster yet, I would be very interested in seeing a close up scan of the 3? Devon badges please.

And there appear to be 3 Royal Arms or General Service badges shown, what Regiments are they listed as?

Rob

[leigh kitchen]

Hello, I have the poster, I took a number of photos but they weren't up to scratch - I need to iron it as the paper's split and lifted and curled back along folds.
I'll get a grip and get it sorted.

[Keith Blakeman]

I never noticed previously that the poster illustrates the Middlesex Regiment 'Footballers' badge.

[leigh kitchen]

The Devon, Royal Arms and the Middlesex Footballer's badges.

In some cases accurate representation of cap badges are shown in other cases crests.


The illustrations include the Tyneside Irish S/T and the Pioneer Bns collar badge.
Identical representations of the Royal Fusiliers badge are shown for the 2nd, 26th and 27th London's (the latter two side by side) and of the Royal Artillery "gun badge" for the RFA and RGA side by side.
The Northamptonshire Regiment badge is the "long key', flag on central tower badge.

[Rob Miller]

Thank you very much Leigh

Rob

[leigh kitchen]

I'll steel myself and get to work with the electric iron.

[leigh kitchen]

Unfortunately the images have'nt stored in the order in which they were taken, from top left to bottom right), but here goes a total of 39 images:

[leigh kitchen]

.....

[leigh kitchen]

......

[Rob Miller]

The Middlesex Regiment badge with "The Royal" scroll is odd, was there a discussion on that honour being given after the first war?

Rob

[leigh kitchen]

Not that I've ever read or heard of - the poster's interesting but by the look of it not exactly a reliable source of accurate information.