Where and how would I find details of when a cutlery business started in the 19th century? I am interested in L & C Glauert - their trademark was Patriot, under a crowned eagle's head. I believe the company may have started in the late 1870s, or in the 1880s, but is there anywhere I could find out for sure?
Tweedales is the cutlery bible and has all the information re Cutlers. Or pop into the Hawley collection at Kelham Island, one of their volunteers will help you
From my copy of Tweedales Directory.
Johann Ernst Louis Glauert was born in Germany in about 1847 and came to England as a young man. Louis married an English wife, Amanda nee Watkinson (c1852-1925), who had also been born in Germany. By 1876 Louis had founded L&C Glauert at Burgess Works in Cambridge Street. His partner was his brother Carl (later Charles) Glauert. The business was a merchant and exporter of steel, tools, and cutlery, employing four men and three women in 1881. Carl died on 29 January 1891 aged 43. Thereafter Louis (who lived in Kenwood Road and became naturalised in 1893) was the sole partner. A brief profile of the firm appeared in The Century's Progress (1893).
Burgess works moved several times - to Green lane, then Love Street- but by 1895 the firm's address was Wallace Works, Furnival St. The trade mark was a crowned eagle's head (picture) above the word "PATRIOT", which emphasised Glauert's new allegiances. The business operated until 1919, Louis Glauert died in that year on 10 March aged 72, leaving £3,835.
The family was distinguished, Elsa Glauert (b 14 May 1892) graduated from Girton College, Cambridge. One son Ludwig Glauert (1879-1963) became a noted Australian naturalist and museum curator. Another Hermann Ludwig (1892-1934) became a Fellow of the Royal Society for his work as an aerodynamicist. In 1934 he was walking on a common at Farnborough and paused to watch army engineers blowing up tree stumps. A stray chunk of wood hit his forehead and killed him.
Thank you for your reply, Angela - although I knew about the company, the details you have provided I certainly didn't know, so that is most useful. I am Carl's great grand daughter; I only know the most basic personal details (marriage and date of death) about him, so I'm trying to find out as much as I can about his time in England. Finding details from Germany is even harder. Last year I came to Sheffield (I live on the south coast) and visited his grave, the location of which I had only discovered a short time before. Should there be any more information out there about him, I would be most grateful to receive it. Best of all would be a picture, but that is probably asking too much!