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

A Military Round Pea Whistle 18th to Early 19th Century Design Masterpiece. A. Strauss

A Round Pea Whistle, dating c. 18th century to early 19th century,
An outstanding example of a design using various geometrical elements
forming a uniquely sculpted design.
From the country were Stradivarius made his violins in the 17th & 18th Cent.

Materials: Gun Metal (a type of bronze – an alloy of copper, tin, and zinc )
& painted extra hard wood.
L: 69 mm Continue reading A Military Round Pea Whistle 18th to Early 19th Century Design Masterpiece. 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.

Trillerpfeifen, Signalpfeifen, Tonpfeifen Museum

James Dixon & Sons Part I. a. Round Whistles. A.Strauss

PART I.a. Underconstruction

ROUND & ROUND PEA WHISTLES

This part starts with metal whistles (one wooden) excluding Britannia metal made whistles which are to be uploaded later, and continues with Ivory,
Horn & Stag horn made whistles. Materials & Identifying features for Dixon whistles would be discussed later. The Part dealing with round whistles terminating with an Animal Head can be viewed here, Part I here,The begining of Part II. a., Here.
Dew to the length PART I of the article was divided into 7 parts, all posted.

Dixon’s whistle’s timeline divided roughly to three periods over the 19^th century;
Early – Pre 1835 Dixon, Dixon & Son
Middle – 1835 Dixon & Sons
Later 19^th Century c. 1865 – 1900

The earliest whistles Dixon made were round whistles.
These were very sturdy cast or machined from one metal rod with no hole at top, the drilled hole came later, I believe the early ones were made mostly for military use. and later quality was upgraded in terms of materials and designs for the elite, sportsmen, and later for railways.
A very early type: A special knot was used to tie a lanyard to the whistle’s top;
This whistle uses the “Sheffield Fipple” (a term I coined here) which is discussed in details, in a later paragraph here, and the round metal band below mouthpiece which may well be unique to Dixon (to be verified).

The next photo shows another very early Dixon on the left with the same features but a different top design, mushroom like.
A very early type beside the ‘next generation’

Continue reading James Dixon & Sons Part I. a. Round Whistles. 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

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

Stevens & Sons History of the Whistle Maker & His Whistles Part A. A. Strauss

Stevens & Sons Whistles & History. Avner Strauss

Part A (Underconstruction)
General History, Addresses, Richard Porteous importance and inventions, Railway and more adv. Stamps time line and a glimpse at few whistle example
from many more to be discussed in more details in part B , C, & D , as interlude.

Whistles
Part B – Tube whistles SNT & TNT
The First Two Notes Tube Whistle,
The first SNT (Single Note Tube) with two windows ,
The Invention of the Partition, & TNT (Two Note Tube) Stevens & Sons
Part C – Dating Stevens & Sons Whistles, Dating Stevens’s Whistles,
Round Whistles & others, retailers & Much more.
Part D – Bell Whistles and the discovery of the inventor

John Stevens 1779 – 1861
James John Stevens 1807-1881
James Stevens Jr. 1840 –1911
Warwick Alan Stevens 1842– 1924
Richard Porteous 1802-1881

Company History
John Stevens was Born in Birmingham 1779 and came to London to start his Business in the early 1800s, He started as a maker and supplier of agricultural
Implement maker, supplying the army with Shovels & pick axe handles,
during the Napoleonic wars. Soon after the wars he moved into Gas pipes making supplies and engineering, and into Railway supplies which was a fast growing business which he got into influenced by his wife’s Brother who was an agent for railway supplies.
In the 1820s, 1830s he was mentioned as having connection to George Stephenson . ( Inventor of the Locomotive, the miner lamp and “Father of the Railway”)
The company grew fast with his son James John Stevens joining and expanding the firm taking part in the Great exhibition of 1851 and 1861 so in the pre Glasgow branch (1865) they already had close to 70 employees while the new SIGNAL WORK kept growing after his father the founder John Stevens died (1861)
James moved with his family to Glasgow in the 1860’s.

Stevens & Sons c. 1865 James John Stevens age 58, and two sons James Stevens Jr.age 25 & Warwick Alan Stevens age 23. [other sons which seemed to be less involved in the family business are Leicester Bradney Stevens 1851-1914 and Stafford Evan Stevens 1845 – 1866 who died at the age of 21 are not in photo]

John Stevens Tombstone * at Norwood grave 3817, square 47
(d. December 4 1861 )
other burials at
the grave are
James John Stevens ,
Caroline Matilda Stevens
(d .19th Nov 1871),
Anna Maria Stevens
(d. 26June 1858 )
and Stafford Evan Stevens
(d.12 March1866 )

General note and observation with some reservation: At the time period, there were no whistle makers per se but rather brass founders iron mongers and Arm makers, Kitchen ware manufacturers Button makers and other goods, who made whistles as a “side line”, Today whistle collectors and scholars relate to some as Whistle Makers. This article here concentrates on the general Company History and whistles made or attributed to Stevens & Sons and less in many other aspects ( There are many details ) of the family Biography.
See my article about 19th century Whistle Makers.
It is also important to understand that as manufacturers and factory owners had rarely a shop of their own and were dependent on orders from retailers, contractors and companies, this explains that rarely an actual manufacturer name is stamped and many times a stamp of the retailers,
companies or inventor appears.

Stevens & Son, were one of the 3 great whistle makers up to 1860s.
And by the 1840’s were manufacturers of mostly Railway related goods:
The railway Times Magazine Vol. II 1839 Adv. by Stevens & Son
We can Learn about the diversity of products and projects Stevens & son were manufacturing in 1839 : GAS-ENGINEERS, OBELISK, Black Friars road :
Gas works for railways, manufactories, Cast Iron tanks, Liquer backs, Steam Boilers, cast main pipes for gas, steam or water, improved coke ovens, drying stores, and steam Kilns for grain constructed and erected in any part of England. Wrought- iron tubes and gas fittings of all kinds, brass and gun metal castings, Chemical apparatus, Experimental machinery, etc. etc. Plans & estimates for the above.
One may note which of the above relates to whistles.

From huge iron constructions to Railway Signals and smaller Scales, Hand Lamps and of cource whistles which were not mentenioned in advertisments. Below you can see part of a Scale made at Darlington works and a Hand Lamp made by Stevens in the 1840s .

Here is a historic whistle, heavy gun metal made of one rod and a screw mouthpiece, early whistle before size and weigh were reduced designed by Porteous and made by Stevens C. 1920s, 1830s. A previously unknown whistle found 2015 which employs the first known compound round Mouthpiece .
Part C has a lot more on this whistle and many more, as wellas the next one.

* Photo Dan Wood

Continue reading Stevens & Sons History of the Whistle Maker & His Whistles Part A. A. Strauss

Charles Parker, A Birmingham Whistle Maker History and News about Dowler & Sons A.Strauss

Charles Parker B. 27 Februar 1800 – D. 1852 was a maker of professional whistles in the first half of the 19th Century in Birmingham. He was known as Charles Parker Junior and the son of Charles Parker who was in the same business as Button Maker, Brass Founder and Military Ornament Maker.

His BOT receipt pre 1850 reads;
Bot of CHARLES PARKER
Late Merry Parker & Merry
Manufacturer of Naval and Military Ornaments
Gilt & Plated Buttons
INVENTOR of the IMPROVED LETTER CLIP
AND RAILWAY WHISTLE.

The 3 next Short SNC – short single note conical whistles were a Parker Design
The one on the right side is Parker’s work William Dowler( & Sons) Kept
making these up to later 1890s,

Continue reading Charles Parker, A Birmingham Whistle Maker History and News about Dowler & Sons A.Strauss

Category: Pre Mid 19th Cent. whistles