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Trades, Industries & Manufacturing
- Brass Trade
- Button Trade
- Carpet Making
- Ceramics and Pottery Industry
- Charcoal
- Chemical Industry
- Coins and Minting
- Engineering
- Glass Trade
- Gun, Sword and Weapons Trade
- Iron and Metal Trades
- Jewellery, Decorative and Toy Trades
- Mining
- Needle and Fish Hook Trades
- Pewter Industry
- Rope Industry
- Textile Industry
- Tools, Machinery and Equipment
![3953-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/3953-02-150x150.jpg)
Silversmiths and Silverware in late 18th and early 19th century Birmingham
Image: Silver caddy spoon, probably by Samuel Pemberton, c.1800. The delicate design is created by a filigree technique… read more »
![2082-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2082-0-150x150.jpg)
Sir James Timmins Chance: Engineer
Image: James Timmins Chance at the age of 80, from the bust by Hamo Thorneycroft R.A. John… read more »
![3739-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/3739-0-150x150.jpg)
Sir Richard Arkwright: Industrialist
The art of portraiture was changing during the Industrial Revolution. The expansion of commerce and industry in… read more »
![3739-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/3739-01-150x150.jpg)
Sir Richard Arkwright: Industrialist
Image: Portrait of Sir Richard Arkwright (1789-1790). Joseph Wright of Derby, Oil on Canvas. Text: Olga Baird… read more »
![3330-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/3330-0-150x150.jpg)
Smith and Phillips, Gas Engineers, London
Advertisement, Men and Things of Modern England… The New Illustrated Directory… (Birmingham, M Billing, 1856)
![3975-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/3975-01-150x150.jpg)
Snuff Box
Inside view of Tortoiseshell snuff box, which is particularly suitable for piqué work (inlaid gold) with its… read more »
![3988-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/3988-01-150x150.jpg)
Snuff Box
This silver box is engraved with a bright-cut decoration, similar in design to several Samuel Pemberton toothpick… read more »
![2927-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2927-0-150x150.jpg)
Stock & Son, Glass and Lead Merchants, Birmingham
Image from: The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of Modern England, 1858 The mode of making… read more »
![653-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/653-0-150x150.jpg)
Taking Snuff
Image: Portrait of Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, on the inside of an Enamel snuff box celebrating… read more »
![4448-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/4448-0-150x150.jpg)
The A.V. Suvorov Medal
Image: Count Alexander Suvarow, Liberator of Italy. 1799. Designed by Conrad Heinrich Kuchler. Image from: Birmingham Assay Office (25)… read more »
![2022-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022-0-150x150.jpg)
The Brass Industry and Brass Workers in Birmingham
Caption: Brass Door Furniture from William Tonks and Sons, Catalogue of the Various Kinds of Work (Birmingham, 1880), p 318.… read more »
![4732-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/4732-0-150x150.jpg)
The Burne-Jones Windows at St Philip’s, Birmingham
Image: Cathedral Church of St Philip, Birmingham. The photograph shows the extension to the chancel of 1884 at… read more »
![2032-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2032-0-150x150.jpg)
The Chance Family: Merchants and Glassmakers
Image: Front cover of Chance Brothers & Co., Limited, 100 Years of British Glass Making 1824-1924 (Smethwick and Glasgow, Chance… read more »
![1274-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/1274-0-150x150.jpg)
The Cyclops: Addressed to the Birmingham Artisans, Anonymous
Image: Ironfounder, The Book of Trades or Library of Useful Arts, Part II, third edition (London Tabart and Co,… read more »
![1309-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/1309-0-150x150.jpg)
The Ditherington Industrial Complex
Image: View of the main mill from the east showing the Shrewsbury Canal and the single-storey building… read more »
![4924-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/4924-0-150x150.jpg)
The Ditherington Mill Industrial Site, Shrewsbury
Image: Ditherington Mill showing the malt kiln built by William Jones following the end of flax spinning in… read more »
![3684-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/3684-0-150x150.jpg)
The Early Brass Trade
Caption: The brazier was one of the specialised workers in the brass trade. He made kettles, pails, candlesticks… read more »
![4439-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/4439-0-150x150.jpg)
The Infinite Uses of Glass: Chance Brothers, Glassmakers of Smethwick
Image: Hyper-radial single flashing light. Typical Illustrations of the Lighthouse Work of Chance Brothers and Co. Limited Birmingham… read more »
![2917-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2917-0-150x150.jpg)
The Manufactures of Birmingham and Sheffield
Image: Dain, Watts and Manton, Patentees and Button Manufacturers, Birmingham Image from: The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and… read more »
![3386-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/3386-0-150x150.jpg)
The Orgins of the Corkscrew
Image: Two Corkscrews Manufactured by Charles Hull, Birmingham c. 1865 Patent Power Corkscrew The Simplest Out! Well adapted… read more »
![4427-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/4427-0-150x150.jpg)
The Origins of Carpet Making in Kidderminster
Image: House on Mount Skipet, Kidderminster. This photograph shows a house before restoration in the 1980s which was… read more »
![3115-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/3115-0-150x150.jpg)
The Origins of the Brass Industry in the Midlands and Birmingham
Caption: Image of a brassworker with a crucible from The Useful Arts and Manufactures of Great Britain, second part… read more »
![2079-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2079-0-150x150.jpg)
The Spon Lane School, 1845
Image: The Spon Lane Schools, Smethwick built by Chance Brothers, Glassmakers (1845) from an original design in watercolour.… read more »
![1765-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/1765-0-150x150.jpg)
The Staffordshire Potteries Directory: An Account of the Pottery Manufacture
Published in 1802, this Directory is one of the first written accounts of the pottery towns, Tunstall,… read more »
![2936-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2936-0-150x150.jpg)
Thomas Felton, Glassware Manufacturer, Birmingham
Image from: The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of Modern England, 1858
![5234-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/5234-0-150x150.jpg)
Thomas Lombe (1685 – 1739)
Image: Old Silk Mill, Derby. John Keys, Sketches of Old Derby and Neighbourhoods(London and Derby, 1895) Two brothers were… read more »
![2911-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2911-0-150x150.jpg)
Tipping and Lawden, Gun & Pistol Manufacturers, Birmingham
Image from: The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of Modern England, 1858
![3972-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/3972-01-150x150.jpg)
Toothpick box
The hidden hinge and decorative features are typical of neo-classical designs.
![180-1](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/180-1-150x150.jpg)
Toys in Birmingham
Image: Button made from Shell, Copper, Glass and Brass c. 1790-1800. This example shows both the intricate nature… read more »
![2078-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2078-01-150x150.jpg)
View of the Alkali Works, 1862
Image: View of Chance Brothers Alkali Works, Oldbury (1862). James Frederick Chance, A History of the Firm of Chance… read more »
![2075-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2075-01-150x150.jpg)
View of the Chance Brothers Glassworks, 1857
Image: View of Chance Brothers Glassworks, Smethwick (1857) from a print. James Frederick Chance, A History of the… read more »
![3966-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/3966-01-150x150.jpg)
Vinaigrette
This image shows the inside of the vinaigrette. The outside shows an image of a hare hiding… read more »
![3968-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/3968-01-150x150.jpg)
Vinaigrette
This image shows the intricate inside of a vinaigrette based on the design of a watch case.
![3967-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/3967-01-150x150.jpg)
Vinaigrette
The image of a hare hiding in reeds derives from a hunting scene in a vignette produced… read more »
![2958-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2958-01-150x150.jpg)
W. Standley, Spur Manufacturer, Walsall
The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of Modern England, 1858
![2305-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2305-0-150x150.jpg)
Water Power and the Cotton Factory: Richard Arkwright at Cromford
This factory was built by Sir Richard Arkwright in 1783-84 just outside Cromford. He built the mill in an… read more »
![2074-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2074-0-150x150.jpg)
William Chance: Public Figure
Image: William Chance (died 1856), from an oil painting by Thomas Philips RA, John Frederick Chance, A… read more »
![2887-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2887-01-150x150.jpg)
William Middlemore, Wholesale Sadler, Harness Maker, Currier, Birmingham
The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of Modern England, 1858
![2934-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2934-0-150x150.jpg)
William Spurrier, Electro Silver Plate Manufacturer, Birmingham
Image: William Spurrier, Electro Silver Plate Manufacturer, Birmingham Image from: The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of… read more »
![2935-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2935-0-150x150.jpg)
William Spurrier, Electro Steel Plate Manufacturer, Birmingham
Image from: The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of Modern England, 1858 ELECTRO-PLATING The process of… read more »
![219-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/219-0-150x150.jpg)
Work and Labour
Image: Charcoal burning in the Wyre Forest. Two charcoal burners in front of their hut, with some of… read more »
![272-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/272-0-150x150.jpg)
Work and Labour
Image: Mr G Taylor, an employee at Lowe’s Rope and Twine Manufactory, Bewdley, is shown with hemp fibres… read more »
![4008-0](https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/4008-0-150x150.jpg)
Works Fire Engine
Image: Photos taken about 1950. The works fire brigade was formed in 1848 and this example of a… read more »