Beilby and Co

Greetings,

I recently happened upon another backsaw while traveling. This one is an 8-inch Beilby and Co. saw. This is a German Steel saw.

I cannot find much information on Beilby and Co. but what little I found seems to indicate this is a Birmingham rather than a Sheffield saw.

Is that correct? Any idea of its age?

Thanks much,
Joe

Here are some photos:

 

Thanks, Ray.

What you found squares with the information contained in this online thread: http://swingleydev.com/archive/get.php?message_id=126196&submit_thread=1

I wonder if the Beilby & Co. stamp was used earlier, later, or at same time as Thompson, Griffin, Beilby & Co.

Thanks again,
Joe

 

I remember Simon commenting at one stage that Kenyon once truncated the partnership name on a saw because it was simply too much/expensive to get on the back.

This particular partnership would certainly come into that category, although you would expect that one of the first names in the list would be the one on the saw.

The age is about right if this practice was rife around this time.

Fred

 

....and I have a "Thompson Griffin & Co" saw, (with no direct mention of Beilby)
see http://www.backsaw.net/index.php?option=com_jfusion&Itemid=58&jfile=showthread.php&t=327

So we have existence data on;
Beilby & Co (who is included in " & Co " ??)
Thompson Griffin & Co (is Beilby included in " & Co " ??)
Thompson Griffin Beilby & Co ("& Co" likely includes Leonard and/or Dawes)

Interesting to speculate on the sequence for these marks, and if indeed they are all related.

 

Thanks for these responses.

I came across a couple interesting items that could perhaps provide clues.

There appears to have been a Birmingham saw maker named Thomas Beilby.

First, T. Beilby, Birmingham saw maker shows up in a bankruptcy notice dated 14 March 1818 in the Huntingdon, Bedford & Peterborough Gazette. I did not read the notice but saw reference to it by going to the "Genes Reunited" website, where I "searched" for T Beilby saw maker in the British Newspaper archive. (I stumbled upon the "T Beilby" somewhere in one of my many Google searches)

Second, the British National Archives website contains the Will of Thomas Beilby, Saw Maker of Birmingham, Warwickshire dated 11 September 1827.

Since both of these websites require payment to see the actual documents, I did not proceed to that extent.

Might it be reasonable to speculate that perhaps Thomas Beilby was the owner of Beilby and Co. that went bankrupt in 1818 and then perhaps he partnered with Thompson Griffin & Co. to form Thompson Griffin Beilby & Co.?

If that is a reasonable scenario, could Kiwi's Thompson Griffin & Co. saw and my Beilby & Co. saw predate 1818--thus making them nearly 200 year-old saws?

Joe

 

NB -
1: Thomas Beilby, sawmaker, of Birmingham is the *petitioner* in this above bankruptcy notice, ie he seeks to make other folk bankrupt.

2: Beilby's will shows him dying a genuinely rich man, with plural property, shares in the canal company & so on.
(edit)
3: Beilby dies in Nov 1826; Thompson (before) September 1829; Griffin late July 1830.

 

Interestingly non-identical 10" open-handed backsaws by THOMPSON GRIFFIN BEILBY&Co . . . . .