A good quality  cut-glass and cast-brass hanging lamp attributed to Osler & Faraday Ltd due to recognisable design patterns but apparently unsigned. England circa 1910-20

ht.76cm/30in diam 37/13

Faraday & Son, London 

• Robert Faraday was the brother of  Michael Faraday the well known pioneer scientist of electromagnetics.
•  Robert ran a gasfitter’s and lighting company in Wardour Street from as early as 1823
• After his father’s death his son James took over followed by his grandson Harold in 1875 when the company became known as Messrs. Faraday & Sons
• The firm’s entries for the Electric Light Fittings Exhibition in Edinburgh received a favourable review in The Art Journal of August 1890
•  In 1919 F & C Osler, specialising in chandeliers, and Faraday’s merged to become Osler and Faraday Ltd, working from Wardour Street until 1925.

F & C Osler, Birmingham & London

• The company Osler was established in Birmingham, 1807 by Thomas Osler

• The business really began functioning in 1831 when his sons Abraham Follett & Thomas Clarkson took over and the company.

• Specialising in crystal glass chandeliers they opened a showroom filled with the best stock on Oxford Street.

• In the latter half of the 19th century Osler found success in India due to the countries wealth and efficient shipping links.

•  The name F & C Osler was first recognised on 14th July 1906 when the children and grandchildren of Follett and Clarkson became the first directors.

• From 1911 the demand for simple clean pieces of glass was lost, however the demand for light fittings made entirely of metal was flourishing.

• This coincided nicely with the opportunity to acquire a lighting company named Faraday & Son Ltd in 1919 and the company became Osler & Faraday Ltd.