Elkington & Co. (England) silver plated wares

Elkington & Co., a silver and silver plate manufacturing

company, was established in Birmingham, England by George Richards Elkington

and his cousin, Henry Elkington in the 1830s. The company was renowned for

introducing commercial electroplating, having recognized the potential of using

electricity in the plating process. Prior to this, they had registered several

patents. However, it was only after acquiring the patent for Dr. John Wright's

process that they opened a new electroplating manufacturing business in

Birmingham in 1841. The company was initially named G.R. Elkington & Co.

but changed to Elkington, Mason & Co. in 1842 when more... Josiah Mason became a

partner. Josiah Mason encouraged the company to expand its product line to

include affordable electroplated jewellery and cutlery, in addition to their

existing large pieces. In 1861, the partnership with Mason ended, and the

company continued independently as Elkington & Co. until 1963 when it was

acquired by British Silverware Ltd. which later became a subsidiary of Delta

Metal Co. Ltd. Elkington & Co. received various Royal Warrants of

appointments, including an Imperial and Royal Warrant of Appointment from the

emperor of Austria. The company was highly successful and considered one of the

premier silver plating producers. One of their notable works is the electrotype

copy of the Jerningham Wine Cooler displayed at the Victoria & Albert

Museum.

Elkington & Co. was a Birmingham silverware company producing fine silverware and silver plate. The business was founded in 1815, by the uncle of George Richards Elkington (1801-65). On his uncle's death George Richards Elkington became the sole proprietor and took in his brother Henry Elkington as a partner, changing the name to G. R. Elkington & Co. The business took out patents for the plating of articles in 1836, 1838 and 1840. In 1842 a third partner, Josiah Mason, joined the firm and the name was changed to Elkington, Mason, & Co. until 1861, when the partnership with Mason was more... terminated.

The greater durability of electroplate together with its affordability meant that it steadily ousted pure silverware, especially for the more functional items such as tea and coffee services. The company licenced the process to a number of manufacturers, including Christofle & Cie of France.

By 1880 the company employed over 1000 workers at premises in Birmingham, and had a further 6 works.

The company received awards at the great international exhibitions from the 1850s onwards for its excellence in artistic quality and fine design and held Royal Warrants from British Royalty including Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra, King George V, Queen Mary and King George VI. Elkington & Co. supplied plated wares to the luxury dining sections on board the Titanic and other ships in the White Star Line fleet.

By 1900 the Elkington monopoly of electroplate diminished as the original patent rights expired, and this period witnessed the enormous increase in output of other Birmingham, London and Sheffield manufacturers.

The firm operated as Elkington & Co. from 1861 until 1963 when it was acquired by British Silverware Ltd. which also had the Mappin & Webb brand. During World War II the company had stopped producing plated wares, and moved into copper refining which continued when it became a subsidiary of Delta Metals Group in 1955.

The original Elkington Silver Electroplating Works, in Newhall Street in Birmingham, became the Birmingham Science Museum in 1951, until its closure in 1997. less...