DESIGNERS, CRAFTSMEN, SILVER MANUFACTURERS AND ENGRAVERS
BOLTON, Michael Allen Born in 1938 and given the opportunity of redundancy in his early thirties, he became a potter and parttime ceramics teacher. However he was bowled over by an exhibition of jewellery and taught himself to make jewellery and silver objects. His silver has an earthy medievalism that is immediately recognisable. Michael died in 2005. See pp.106-13. BOUCHER, Thomas James Born in 1897, in the 1950s Tom was the resident craftsman in the School of Silversmithing and Jewellery at the Royal College of Art. He died in 1988. BOWEN, Christopher S Born in 1954, he studied at London’s Sir John Cass School of Art from 1972-6 and was awarded a Goldsmiths’ Company travelling award. He undertook part time lecturing. BRAY, R Andrew Born in 1938 he studied at the Canterbury College of Art from 1954-60. While there he designed the 1960 Ascot Gold Cup for Asprey. He studied at the Royal College of Art from 1960-3. He established his own studio and workshop in Kent where he designed and made ecclesiastical, domestic and corporate silver. He also undertook industrial design for companies such as Ronson and Kitchen Devils. He lectured at the Canterbury College of Art. BROOKER, Albert George of London registered his mark in 1945. Specialising in ecclesiastical plate, he also taught at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. His last mark was entered in 1948 and the latest work we have encountered is a condiment set dated 1962. N.B. His mark ‘AGB’ in a rectangular punch is often confused with Gerald Benney’s of ‘AGB’ within a punch in the form of three conjoined overlapping circles. BURNETT, Gordon Born in 1951, he studied at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen. He returned to the School as a design lecturer, his special interest being in CAD/CAM technology. He produced a mace for Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, and a Freedom Casket for Nelson Mandela. BURR, Clive Born in 1953, he studied at Loughborough College of Art, High Wycombe College and from 1976-9 at the Royal College of Art. He established a workshop in London with some fellow graduates after the RCA and has been London based ever since, making both jewellery and silver. His workshop moved to the Goldsmiths’ Centre in 2012. See pp.114-19. BURT, Leonard William Len Burt worked as a craftsman for Omar Ramsden until he established his own workshop. In the 1950s he made up quite a number of Eric Clements’ designs. BURTON, Jocelyn Convent educated and destined by her parents to read modern languages at Cambridge, in 1967 she fell in love with an artist, abandoned university and studied jewellery and silversmithing at Sir John Cass School of Art. She did not complete the course but undertook an unofficial jewellery apprenticeship and studied silversmithing at evening classes. She established her central London studio in 1970 and as at May 2014 is still designing silver and jewellery. See pp.120-7. BURTON, Michael Rowland Born in 1949, he is the brother of Jocelyn Burton. In 1968 he studied at Yeovil Technical School of
508
Art before moving to London to train as a silversmith at the Sir John Cass College from 1969-1973. He established his workshop at Martock, Somerset. Michael died in 2011. BUSH, Frederick C Freddie Bush was born in 1920 and in 1934 became apprenticed to William Comyns as a silver modeller. He returned to the company in 1945 after he was demobilised at the end of World War II. From 1959 he was a craftsman with Wakely and Wheeler and later spent 11 years as a designer, chaser and specialist modelmaker and silver workshop manager at Asprey’s. He died in 1998. CAIN, Brian R Born in 1931 and served his apprenticeship with Wakely and Wheeler. He studied on day release at the Central School of Arts and Crafts with contemporaries John Bartholomew and Lew Marlow. Payne and Son of Oxford and George Tarratt in Leicester retailed some of the pieces he designed for Wakely and Wheeler in the late 1950s. Cain later moved to CJ Vander where he was the company’s design manager. CALVERT, Ian Born in 1938, aged 13 he attended the Gravesend School of Art. He became apprenticed to RE Stone in 1954 and also attended evening classes for design at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. In 1957 he attended the ‘Skills Olympics’ in Madrid and won first prize in his category for silversmithing. After National Service, he returned to Stone’s, but later took a position at Wakely and Wheeler. In the early 1960s, Tony Laws and Ronald Stevens, two students from his Gravesend days, who had just graduated from the Royal College of Art, approached him. They had established a workshop in central London and asked Ian to make-up their work. Later joined by Keith Redfern, the four established the Silver Workshop Limited a design and manufacturing company. This continued until 1972 when everyone went their separate ways. Calvert established his own business; being a superb craftsman, this was very successful. As well as making, he undertakes some design work. His son joined him from 1999-2011. See pp.456-7. CAMPBELL, John Born in 1943, his father took him to museums and art galleries and encouraged him to attend pottery courses at the Whitechapel Art Gallery. In his early teens he made a mould of one of his tin soldiers, melted some tin on the family gas stove and made another. This was quite an achievement for someone so young, and from such beginnings John knew he wanted to make things not in tin, but precious metals. On leaving school at 15 he attended the pre-apprentice silversmithing course at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. In 1959 he began his apprenticeship with Langfords, whose workshop then employed 6–8 people. In 1964 he moved to William Comyns & Sons Limited, a silversmithing company with 50 employees. In 1969 he changed to Nayler Brothers Limited, but was ‘moonlighting’ in a workshop he established in his parents’ garden shed. From 1971-3 he worked for Christopher Lawrence. In 1973 he became a full-time silversmith working on his own account. The business expanded and in 1977 he took a workshop in London’s Clerkenwell. Further growth resulted in another move in 1985, this time just a few miles to the east in Shoreditch. At this time John realised that the interest in reproduction silver was waning and that the public wanted a contemporary product. However, his retailers warned him about being too radical, so he designed what he calls ‘a half-way designer collection, which was not “whacky”, but was certainly modern’. He called it ‘Appetite’. It proved very
Ian Calvert was working at the bench for years making-up the designs of others. It was a task at which he excelled and he was always in demand. In later years he began to design and make-up his own work. This jug is one of his creations. Constructed from eight main pieces that are then expertly soldered together, the result is a very fluid piece. Indeed, it looks as if it could waddle across the table to those who were thirsty. Height 25.8cm. London 2011. Courtesy The Pearson Silver Collection. Image supplied by Ian Calvert. 509