William Dowler & Sons Whistle Manufacturer History and Timeline A. Strauss

Part III a (See Part I & II William & George Dowler

1862 Listings of Railway whistle makers

History and Timeline of ‘William Dowler & Sons’ Whistle, Button & Military Ornaments Manufacturers. In 6 Parts.


Intro
This article (Part III a) focuses on the Birmingham Whistles,
Military Ornaments and Button manufacturer William Dowler, later ‘William Dowler & Sons’. It is the continuation of the first article, and an on going research of 15 years, some of the first finds were posted here in 2008 and in the Wikipedia
and in 2015- 2016 a revised article about the family which established their business in 1776.
See Link, William & George Dowler which presented
the family’s history and work.

George Dowler had the bigger manufacturing plant and
manufactured whistles which were advertised but not identified to this day, continuing the family’s plants & manufacturing business up to 1870,
it was ‘Willian Dowler’ who was the bigger Whistle manufacturer, He started working independently in 1853 and took over the family’s assets in 1876.
In fact seeing the whole picture we can say that since 1853 William took an independent path and only in 1876 after legal fights gained control of the other various family plants and assets which George was running up to 1870.
Thus between the years 1853 – 1870 There were two different manufacturers;
one is Dowler – Birmingham, the other W. Dowler -Birmingham.

Continue reading William Dowler & Sons Whistle Manufacturer History and Timeline A. Strauss

Georgian Period Whistles, Cast Iron Whistles. A. Strauss

Georgian Period Whistles, British made whistles in the Pre Victorian times were a theme I was interested in for over a decade, New antique whistles surface here and there and throw light on the development of ‘Professional’ Round whistles, time line and makers, of which little is known about. *
But these certainly give a new perspective to the term IRONMONGERS in the 17th 18th 19th century who were making whistles, and which later became more Brass Founders I believe.
Before I put many of the thoughts, comments & observations on these,
I share some of mine and others, Needless to say all very rare.
Starting with a Trio of Military whistles from my own collection,
most possibly by J. Dixon of Sheffield very early 1800, These include few amazing features for the whistle student and scholars who have a keen eye.
The sound  is of each one is outstanding, (I am tempted to say the best I heard ) Interestingly the trio forms the sound of a triad chord,
I will edit and add comments  later.(There is a LOT to be said and learn)

_

 


=
Continue reading Georgian Period Whistles, Cast Iron Whistles. A. Strauss

Acme Whistles Registered 1911. Emblem Snail Whistles & Variations. Avner Strauss

Acme Whistles Registered 1911 Emblem Snail Whistles & Variations, Button Style with Embossed emblem Sides.

These whistles were registered by ACME WHISTLES,
J. Hudson & Co. Birmingham in 1911 They are similar to button whistles in having an emblem embossed on cap, and are all made of nickel plated Brass.

Acme Whistles History

 In the photo, top to bottom: Tudor Rose, Shamrock, Rose, & Thistle
 It is the first addition of Acme Whistle 3 registered designs with emblems embossed on caps.
The Shamrock
Reg. design #578510 Model # 616
The Thistle
Reg. design #577844 Model # 617

The Rose
Reg. design # 576579 Model # 618

The Tudor Rose at the top is smaller, has a shorter Cap & beak, very rare, Martyn Gilchrist the great whistle scholar, wrote in his book
More Whistles (2005) Pg. 11, That ‘it was lodged but it is believed none were ever produced’. Mean while I discovered two variations so it was produced but probably in a VERY LIMITED one time edition each time.
It has only two known versions one with P. 608282/ 12 on side cap and one without embossed number.
All of the first edition bubble tops of this series are rare, some stamps & emblems are rarer.Excerpt from Acme Whistles Catalogue showing the 3 models.

The Symbols (From Wikipedia)

A shamrock is a young sprig, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity.

The thistle has been the national emblem of Scotland since the reign of Alexander III (1249–1286) and was used on silver coins issued by James III in 1470. It is the symbol of the Order of the Thistle, a high chivalric order of Scotland.

The white of York and the red of Lancaster are joined together to make The Tudor rose, marking the union of the two houses and the beginning of a Tudor reign. The Tudor rose was used as a symbol of peace and today it is used as the symbol of England, just as Scotland uses a thistle,
Wales a leek and Ireland a shamrock.

THE MANY VARIATIONS

These Registered designs were unique to Acme whistles (see exception* ) and were popular for at least 25 years ahead in different additions and variations. Without going into all the details I will mention that there are dozens of variations, and in GENERAL they vary at 3 main features :

THE TOPS 4 TYPES

1) Bubble top
2) Humpback Tops
3) Humpback with Groove (Implied to whistle by wiring technique)
4) Flying V top (See photos below)

THE CAPS

All the three show with these variation:
Early with reg. design number embossed on cap
Later no number NO number embossed to cap
Number embossed to cap at one side
The Tudor Rose Early with 1912 Patent stamp on cap
with or without number (Only on Tudor Rose,*)

THE STAMPS 

The Acme Registered,
The Acme Registered with arched emblem name ( Rose, Shamrock, Thistle)
The Acme Registered and England above the Tooth grip.
No Stamp at all
There may be one having both the emblem name and England, I had not seen one yet.

Dating the variations between 1911 to C. late 1930s I believe,  is not an easy task,
but one can rely on the various Tops & Stamps.
The price of whistles in these
whistles varies a lot and the earlier bubble tops first edition is over 100 USD if to judge by the last ones observed on eBay.

NOTE that a whistle can find a Whistle with a BUBBLE TOP and any of the Caps & Stamp variations which more than triples the variations.
Here is the Tudor rose on left (One or two known**)
and on the center and right BOTH ARE Shamrock with two different stamp variations.
So a full set of three Bubble tops
1)  Numbered on side / the name of the emblem at front /
2) Another set : Bubble tops / no number on side / and the name of emblem on front / ETC.
There are at least 5 variations of a FULL Trio Bubble tops set
A complete early edition would have 15 whistles 5 sets of three bubble tops
(as in Postage stamps )/ and that does not include the tudor roses,
and and there are still  3 other style tops (None bubble series)

The Tudor Rose Close
Here one may see number P-608282 -12
1912 Patent 608282 on cap  and England above tooth grip Observed only on the Tudor rose

Closeup on a Thistle Bubble top and Number on side cap

Another previously unknown earlier variation of  a Bubble Top Shamrock
surfaced October 21. Found not far from Birmingham.
Probably an earlier pre Registered design experimental model.
Here on right hand is the Beak front view. for comparison.
A close inspection of construction reveals the DISTINCT Tooth grip location right at the opening of  the beak upper lip, as in the 131 Barr St. I had the luck to discover in 2006, a previously  unknown one, which was a major find in research & study of Hudson’s escargots timeline. since then few more 131 Barr St. variations were found.
_
The bubble top at the top one is of older type. (Does remind of Black & Co.)
With a very short ‘neck’  under bubble and wide base.

So we can conclude that this is an earlier variation, Pre 1911.

Multi view of a ‘named’  stamped Shamrock on beak.
Flying V Top J. Hudson & Co. Patent # 214519 / 1924 Made 1924 onward
Reg. Numbered design embossed on side cap is an earlier 1920s  version Example of a later edition 1930s with Shamrock emblem,
no emblem name on stamp, no number on cap and
HUMPBACK Top(Hamp top).


Full set of POST 1924 series but still NOTE STAMP VARIATIONS ON FRONT
reflecting period variations 1920s 1930s

While writing I encountered the next whistle which was made earlier has a button like domed sides and has the same feature as the 1911 ones, the Feature of “Folded Beak” construction with a seam which can be seen  in the middle of the underside.
It was used by Acme since 1894, (Dixon used it as well at the same time including domed sides, one example found in 2018)

The whistle came in 3 sizes see catalogue excerpt below, here is the smaller one model number 61 and 1/2
It has a brass salesman tag with model number, and it is an earlier one since later they used Aluminum tags.
This type was made by Hudson & Co. Acme Whistles Ltd.  up to the 1970s. 

Catalogue excerpt showing the 3 domed sides lite construction snail whistles

These models were later developed and in the 1930s had 4 sizes
(061 & 1/2 size added ) and another ACME LOGO embossed emblem of THE ACME logo replace the plain domed sides.
Very nice whistles and again many variations, see catalogue for 4 sizes starting
with the same 66 & 1/2 Model as the smaller but now with The  Acme Logo side.

Made in 4 Sizes 1930 Catalogue

There are few more themes of embossed sides button style snail whistles by ACME WHISTLES LTD. ( J. Hudson & Co. ) of which the dog head is the most famous but I will discuss this at some other time.

  • In 2005 I discovered a previously unknown similar Button style whistle with bubble top made by Alfred De Courcy, It was identified with the help of Mr. Gilchrist by the unique ‘beak’ – mouthpiece, construction which has the seam of the beak only at one side, Later on few more appeared and I realized they had few variations as well starting c. 1910s, all pre 1927 and made for the U.S.A market.
    ** A similar one, the Tudor Rose in silver not stamped Acme and with a wire loop
    top was observed and more common, I had nor examined it carefully yet.
    All rights for photos and article reserved to the author. 2019.
    You may contact us via this Facebook page 
    or via  info@avnerstrauss.com

Antique Whistles Ancien Sifflets Museum Appeaux, Appeau Merle

מוזיאון משרוקיות

Samuel Auld The Greatest Glasgow Whistle Maker. A. Strauss

Samuel Auld started making whistles in the earlier part of the 1870s, after Joining Westwood (See another article about a previously unknown maker J. Westwood which I found)  Auld partnership with Westwood at Globe Brass foundry  248 Gallowgate st. (Both were the sole partners dissolved on July 20 1877 and announced legally 31 October 1877.
Very few are known to exist, and each one is numbered on the side.
These are the only numbered police Snail whistles of this era.
The original numbering suggests that there were about 300 made
Highest known number is 369, as of now 3 or 4 are known to exist.

Samuel Auld Glasgow 19th Century Double Snail Whistle, Whistle Museum

In 1877 Auld started his own Company on the same street (no. 240 later he would own and work from both 240 and 248) by 1878 he was listed as a well known Continue reading Samuel Auld The Greatest Glasgow Whistle Maker. A. Strauss

The First Known Dated Metropolitan Police Whistle 1821

Early ‘Bobbie Whistle’, Whale-Bone Pea Whistle Pre Metropolitan Police Constable Whistle from Hill’s Family.

1821 Early ‘Peeler’, ‘Bobbie Whistle’,Whale-Bone Pea Whistle Pre Metropolitan Police Constable Whistle from Hill’s Family.  The next email and photos I quote word for word with some private lines omitted, is from Mr. John Hill Noted for his Great Articles about Historic Places and Cultures among others.
I received it with answers to my questions, I chose to put Some technical and Family history in Bold letters.

Dear Avner

What a pleasant surprise it was to receive your friendly and interesting email. And what a treat it was to discover your fabulous website on whistles – it is absolutely wonderful – congratulations!

 My father said it belonged to his great-great-grandfather who was a “Hill” who lived in London and was one of the early “Peelers” (also called “Bobbies” – after Robert or “Bobbie” Peel) or the specialist police set up on the suggestion of Sir Robert Peel in 1814 in Ireland and, in 1829, 1000 men were formed into the “Metropolitan Police Force” who were regularly referred to as “Peelers”. It apparently belonged to him and he carried it while at work. I was lucky enough to inherit it from my father.

We don’t know much about this distant ancestor as the family history seems to have been broken when my grandfather, Alfred Hodson Hill (1887-1977), moved c. 1910 to Montreal, Canada. Before that, his father (who was a silversmith and son of the “Peeler” who owned the whistle) and family moved to Sheffield from London at some unknown date in the 19th century.
That is about as far as the family stories go.

How lovely to hear back from you! I only wish my father was still alive – he would have been so excited to find someone so interested in his family heirloom.
It truly is a unique whistle – i have been very fond of it since childhood and always impressed with the fact that ti is undoubtedly unique.

The whistle is, as you know, carved in the shape of a whale in
(presumably) whale-bone – but maybe from sperm-whale teeth or walrus ivory – I wouldn’t know how to tell the difference – can you help with this? Also, would it be useful for me to gently rub it with mineral oil – or do you have another suggestion – or, should I just leave it alone ?

One blows through the mouth of the whale to make it whistle. It does have a dark brown “pea” (roughly 8 mm. in diameter) inside the whistle, and the hole (where the sound comes out) does not contain a reed or anything other than the original piece of whale bone – with a sharp-edged hole cut into it.

It is just about exactly 8 cm long, 3cm wide at the widest point, 2 cm high
at its highest point (on the top of the whale’s head),
and about 1.5 cm wide at the narrowest place
.

1821 Whale Bone Pea Whistle early pre Metropolitan Bobbie whistle, whistle museum archive

It still has a good-sounding loud, piercing whistle –
I still use it occasionally to call guests from a little cabin we have about 80 metres from our home.

Cheers
John

If I may add I believe the maker was a very fine skilled  craftsman who hopefully made other whistles as well. It is also notable that it is a PEA WHISTLE.

Whistle Museum all rights reserved.
Contact: info@avnerstrauss.com

Trillerpfeifen, Signalpfeifen, Tonpfeifen Museum

Police Button Whistles, 19th Century Police Button Whistles. A. Strauss

 Police Button Whistles from the Victorian area. A.Strauss

The next police whistles include the majority of known Police Button whistles which were found, some are not included either because of poor condition or since I did not keep Pictures of. Now as I start to carefully compare button whistle construction and button makers I am making progress in identifying makers, after years of research soon to be more.

Dewsbury Button police whistle
Continue reading Police Button Whistles, 19th Century Police Button Whistles. A. Strauss

Dixon & Sons Round Britannia Metal Whistles & Model #49. Part I.e. A Strauss

Dixon & Sons Round Britannia Metal Whistles & Model #49.

James Dixon  started making Britannia Metal (Invented c.1770) whistles Before 1850, Here is a group photo of 16 round pea britannia metal whistles,
11 of which were positively identified as made by Dixon & Sons, two were later found in a German (Marked as such).
Some marked X still need a second close examination dew to newly discovered catalogues by other makers.

Model #10 was made in two sizes, a distinctive Dixon’s Flushed Pillar Top Finial.
See the two sizes made in the group photo above top right is the larger model and 3rd from top left the smaller. This model was made in two sizes, but other earlier versions are noted;

Continue reading Dixon & Sons Round Britannia Metal Whistles & Model #49. Part I.e. A Strauss

Dixon & Sons Animal Head Whistles. Part I. c. A. Strauss

Dixon & Sons Animal Head whistles. Part I. c. A. Strauss

This is part of a very long article to come, Here you can see the First part.
to Part I.a Round Whistles 

James Dixon & Sons Dog Whistles, Dog’s Head whistles Models #17, # 16, #29 From his 1883 catalogue.

Dixon started making Animal head whistles c. 1850, by 1883 there were at least
6 Dog’s head models and 5 Boar’s head whistles.
All appeared in Catalogues as Dog Calls.

Dog’s Head Whistles

Pointer’s head whistle was made in 4 materials :
Ivory,
Bone &
Britannia metal
Pressed Metal

The fipple was called TONGUE and made of Ebony wood, Glass eyes were used. 
Ivory Dog whistle Dated 1853 (Courtesy of whistlecollection)

Price List & Drawings animal head whistles, Used Dog Calls, taken from J. Dixon & Sons 1883 Catalogue.


 Above Model #16S. Model #16S in Ivory, Small size, under 2 inch

Model #16 Ivory Middle size.

A Dated Example, Dec. 24 1864 Model #17
Large size with Ebony tongue-fipple.
Model #19 was the same as #17 but made in Bone
Both large size and Window up.We have no record of a model #18.

It may well be that by 1883 they stopped the production of  model #18
which I believe was the same as model #17 but in BRITANNIA METAL.
( Pewter & Britannia Metal Dog head whistles are the more commonly met with, and were made in England & Germany. T. Yates made many variations and it seems very likely that Dixon & Sons made these as well, but it is a subject I still have to carefully check in order to make a definitive conclusion. Note that there are Britannia metal models mentioned in the catalogue excerpt which had not yet surfaced or identified, If you suspect you do have one, kindly send a photo)

Dixon & Sons, Model #17 Large, Ivory Ebony Tongue and glass eyes.

4  Dog head models had window down
Model # 16S very small in Ivory
#16 Ivory window down Middle size.

Model #29 was made in pressed horn, Window down
angled body.

#30 was the same as #29 but in Britannia Metal.
An actual example of #30 was not yet seen by the author.

Boar’s  Head Whistles
All 5 Models with window downward.

Dixon & Sons Whistle Model #24, Pressed Horn.

Boar’s head whistles were used in 5 models,
pressed horn (M#24)
Pressed Horn with White eyes (#25).

Three Models of the Boar’s head were made in Britannia metal with ebony tongue, 3 sizes small, middle, & large (#26, #27, #28).
No actual example of the Britannia metal ones has yet surfaced.

Full article in 9 sub-parts and links;

James Dixon & Sons Whistles & History In the 19th Century. A. Strauss
The full article is in 9 sub-parts. 
Part I (6 chapters)

1) Brief History and data (19th Century)

2) Early Period Round Whistles and ‘The sheffield Mouthpiece & Fipple’ I. a.,
3) Round Ivory & Horn I.b.
4) Animal Head Whistles, I.c.

5) Round Brass & German Silver Whistles. Signal Whistles and ‘Pig nose’ Whistles
I.d.
6) Round Britannia Metal Whistles & Model #49. Part I.e.
Part 2,   More whistles by Dixon & Sons, including
7) Beauforts,
8) Extractors, combination whistles, Shooting Gudgets and other combination whistles. II. .b
9) James Dixon & Sons Other Rare Whistle Models & Designs. II.c. 

Article, Photos and content by Avner Strauss, all rights reserved ,
no part of this webpage is to be used without the explicit permission of the owner. Email : info@avnerstrauss.com
Comments & question are welcom.
Whistle museum.


 

James Dixon & Sons Whistles & History In the 19th Century. Avner Strauss

James Dixon, Dixon & Son, James Dixon & Sons Whistles, A Brief History of Whistles in a Few Parts. Avner Strauss

Under construction, kindly drop in occasionally for updates.

                                        Whistle Model # 55 by Dixon & Sons

INTRODUCTION

Recently I have been digging through layers of “modern archeology”, specifically of whistles in the 19th century. Decade by decade, I have been “peeling” off the layers to reveal earlier dates. Identifying and discovering new whistles and information is a fascinating and rewarding subject for me to engage with. Discovering the first examples of dated escargots, the Bean Police, or Stevens model #27, are just a few examples. Likewise, discovering previously unknown whistle makers and bringing to light new information was a great reward for years of researching. Each discovery leads to new understandings, which, in turn, lead to an ever-increasing interest. I take great pleasure in sharing my thoughts and findings and wish to someday open a real whistle museum as well as publish my research, thus making everything even more accessible.

Dixon & Sons was one of the four large whistle makers in England up to 1880. While T. Yates and Stevens, and W. Dowler, the other three makers, were large, Dixon was, by far, larger. The family’s history and products are well documented and I can turn the attention of readers to one of few books. Here is a link to a PDF of one of them. In what follows, I shall concentrate on whistles and give a short overview of their history.

I started my research after coming across the 1st known TNT whistle stamped by Dixon (2006). I now know there are two of them. After I posted my first bit of research about Dixon on Wikipedia, someone noted that it should be erased as it is doubtful that a company by that name ever existed… Today, there are already hundreds of articles and photos, as well as many other resources. However, the subject of whistles is relatively still little-researched, and therefore I hope this text will contribute to collectors and others interested in whistles.

Here is an old post I wrote about Dixon (it includes mistakes, but since it was archived somewhere else, I cannot revise it): http://archive.is/RuZZb

The article shared here is, hitherto, the most comprehensive essay about the subject of Dixon & Sons whistles. There are, of course, many whistles I know of and did not include, as well as many that are still waiting to be discovered.

The full article is in 9 sub-parts. 
Part I (6 chapters)

1) Brief History and data (19th Century)
Part I.a. Round whistles by Dixon & Sons;
2) Early Period Round Whistles and ‘The sheffield Mouthpiece & Fipple’ I. a.,
3) Round Ivory & Horn I.b.
4) Animal Head Whistles, I.c.

5) Round Brass & German Silver Whistles. Signal Whistles and ‘Pig nose’ Whistles
I.d.
6) Round Britannia Metal Whistles & Model #49. Part I.e.

Part 2 (3 chapters)
More whistles by Dixon & Sons, including
7) Beauforts,

8) Extractors, combination whistles, Shooting Gudgets and other combination whistles. II. .b
9) James Dixon & Sons Other Rare Whistle Models & Designs. II.c. 

As a rule, my observation is that many whistles made as DOG CALLS did not use a pea. (A.S*)
A small collection of 41 whistles was given by the Dixon family in 1938 to the city of Sheffield, and was exhibited at the city hall. There are many whistles which Dixon made during the 19th century and are not among these.

You may take a CLOSE look and note that 27 are ROUND WHISTLES, and 6 more are round whistles combined with shooting gudgets.

PART I

The James Dixon & Sons Company was a family-run business for 170 years (up to 1876) and was located at Cornish Place for over 180 years (up to 1992).
James Dixon was the Founder company established 1806.
James Dixon later  Dixon & Sons were one of the major British manufacturers in the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. They were well known as manufacturers of pewterware, electroplated Britannia metal, silverware, and electroplated nickel silver. Their product range included hundreds of items for domestic use in the kitchen (inc. bowls, cutting-tools), and the dining room (e.g. tea services, cocktail shakers and mixers), and items like candlesticks for general household use. They were also a world leader in manufacturing shooting accessories through the nineteenth century, and exported powder flasks in large quantities to America. While Dixon & Sons were known for their whistles, all of their products were of outstanding quality. Continue reading James Dixon & Sons Whistles & History In the 19th Century. Avner Strauss

Stevens & Sons Round Whistles & Some Special Ones, Part C. by Avner Strauss

Stevens & Sons Whistles (Part C)

Part A 
Part B
Part D

Contents 

Dating Metal Plates on Stevens Whistles by periods (4 periods) 

A Historic Whistle Discovered,
And few important dated ones. 

EARLY round whistles Pre Mid. 19th Century made
by or attributed to Stevens & Son

The Numbered Whistles (Whistle Models) & Numbered with Plates

THE ARTICLE IS STILL under construction


Plates found on whistles by Stevens & Son- Sons 
dating and examination of plates & examples

The common plates can be devided into 4 groups and periods. * and **
Here they are in chronological order:
Continue reading Stevens & Sons Round Whistles & Some Special Ones, Part C. by Avner Strauss