Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Sally-Ann Taylor
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the librarians and archivists of the Local
Studies Department
of
Sheffield
City
Libraries
and of Sheffield
11
CONTENTS
Page
List of Tables
IV
List of Graphs
List of Plates
vi
List of Abbreviations
vii
Introduction
Chapter 1
viii
An Introduction to the History of the
10
33
Inventions
1870-1889 i)
34
ii)
1889-1914
i)
Raw Materials
Mechanization and New
43
50
Designs
ii)
Chapter 3
Raw Materials
59
74
Evaluation
i) Trade Patterns and Levels
75
77
Chapter 4
79
Industrial Structure
122
III
Page
Chapter 5
150
and Membership
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Industrial Relations
180
181
195
213
Employment
Chapter 8
i) Hours
214
222
iii) Health
229
243
266
i) Workers
ii) Manufacturers
Conclusion
288
317
Appendix 1
325
Appendix 2
331
Appendix 3
351
Biographical Notes
390
Appendix 5
Wage Data
410
Appendix 6
Residential Location
412
Bibliography
415
lV
LIST OF TABLES
Page
1.
336
337-8
339
340-1
342-4
Survived, 1871-1906.
6(i),(ii),(iii),(iv).
345-8
Characteristics of Limited
349-50
410
9.
411
1870-1914.
10. Average Weekly Earnings ln a Sheffield Cutlery
411
Firm, 1901-1914.
11. A Sample of the Location of the Private Houses
412
414
and Razors.
2.
Sheffield 1893.
3.
282
4.
282
5.
282
43t~
282
332
of Cutlery, 1871-1906.
2.
378
379
1898-1912.
4(i) U.K. Exports of Cutlery and Hardware to the
380
381
382
383
384
8.
385
9.
1907-1912.
Imports of Cutlery to Canada, 1906-1911.
386
10.
387
11.
388
12.
389
Vl
LIST OF PLATES
Following Page 149
1.
2.
3.
Grinding, c.1900.
4.
Glazing, c.1900.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Packing,[n.d.]
10.
11.
Works~
1897.
12.
13.
14.
vii
H.W.
I.L.P.
L.G.
Lloyd
L.R.C.
M.O.P.
N.A.U.L.
N.&Q.
S.Pollard, History
S.C.L.
S.D.T.
S. I .
Sheffield Independent.
T.H.A.S.
Webb Mss.
W.W.
Y.B.E.S.R.
viii
INTRODUCTION
The characteristics of the Bri tish economy In the years
between 1870 and 1914 remain a matter of dispute among historians.
Much
controversy
revolves
around
the
question
of whether this
debates
of
the
time,
special
attention
has
Reflecting
been
paid
to
Britain's place in the world economy, and the loss of the previously
unchallenged position of 'first industrial nation'.
It is generally
Newer compet-
In the
form of both
methods.
of
latter,
In
respect
the
plant
particular
and
business
criticism has
inevitable,
elsewhere.
'natural'
outcome
of
economIC
expansIon
recently,
production.
historians
have
marginalised
older
of
forms
attention
away
from
the
'real'
abe~ation
which
course of industrial
units
of
standardized products.
frontier
production,
manufacturing
long
runs
of
the
Craftsmen were
losing their skills and their determination of the form and speed
Commensurately there was formed
of production.
homogeneous and class-conscious labour force.
a more
lX
industries.
They
neglect
more
detailed,
regional
case
and
were
even
industry
serving the
demand for small quantities of goods with detailed and often high
qual it y speci f ications.
small-scale
factors,
units
of
of
craftsmen,
outworkers
and
terminolQgy.
The
form of production was not simply the result of the various states
of the labour market, demand and technology, but the outcome of a
whole range of wider social and cultural traditions.
A study of the Sheffield cutlery trades providEs
further
investigation.
on
high
quality
goods,
with
growing
standardized,
mass-produced,
German
as
in
ideological
preferences
of
specialized,
quality
was
rational
policy
choice.
No
competitor
the
account
of
G.I.H.Lloyd
'largest
these
ln
village
trades
1913,
quantitative data,
si tuated ln,
has
which
lacks
ln
to use an oft-quoted
England'.
been
No
undertaken
although
perspective
comprehensive
since
source
for
any
of
that
of
invaluable
assessment
of
2
More recent studies
comprehensive fashion.
part
of
the
'light
metal
Rarely
has
the
single
product,
collective
consciousness,
few
was the only uni fying factor - strictly local shared values and
understandings, stemming from past experiences.
Secondly, this thesis attempts to analyse the way in which
national debates impinged on the consciousness and day
experiences
of
this
community.
When
mediated
through
to day
local
xi
Similarly, as
attitudes
to
local
conditions
contemporary
generalizations
have
debates,
often
proved
resulted
so
In
quite
historians'
inadequate
as
unique
conceptual
methods
of
an estimation of the way in which such concepts as labour aristocracy, entrepreneurial failure and choice of industrial techniques
have to be modified, if they are to remain as useful tools in the
assessment of these trades.
Perhaps
one reason
for
Instead, material
Of particular
Self-employed craftsmen
the
industry
qualitative,
as
and
whole.
totally
Moreover,
inadequate
to
quantitative
Papers.
Although
committees
tended
to rely on
unrespectable' or
submerged I
A detailed
the Sheffield
Federated Trades Council and the Webb Trades Union Manuscr ipts
which are sufficiently complete to allow a reasonably accurate
insight into the labour history of the cutlery trades.
XII
Recent
are broader,
larger
tools which have a cutting edge: saws, files, sickles, scythes and
7
shears.
For the purpose of this thesis, the definition IS
limited
to
those
trades
which
manufactured
lie
with
the
industrial
sprIng
and
table
structures
of
the
trades
involved, and the social and economic status and outlook of their
workers.
Similarly, heavier
edge tools have been excluded because they merged more easily with
the engineering trades over this period, and increasingly identi fied wi th
rather
than
that group,
with
the
economically,
cutlery
trades.
In
the
identity
of their structures,
aspirations,
xiii
Footrotes
2.
See, for exmple, J.B. HiITEMJrth, The Story of Cutlery: Fran Flint to Stainless
Steel, London, 1953; R.M. Ledbetter, 'Sheffield's Industrial History Fran About
17m, with ~ecial Refererce to the PJ:Ueydale Works', ~1.A., Sheffield 1971;
P.C. Garlick, 'The 9leffield Cutlery and Allied Trades and their Markets in
the 18th crr.f 19th Centuries', M.A., Sheffield, 1951.
3.
4.
5. See cwendix 2.
6.
For exmple, D. Linton (ed.), 9l8ffield and Its Region, Sheffield, 1956, p.297,
"the local usage confines tile term 'cutlery' to fixed handled knives, sprirg
knives, scissors and cut throat razors".
7. Working Party REpOrts: Cutlery, Lcrrln, H.M.S.O., 1947, p.1. The term was mfined
as foll(J\'.JS: " a) Toole, dessert and tea knives, carvirg knives; butchers; palette,
shoe and tool knives; steel
~rirg
Knives,
i . e., pen, pocket and clasp knives, prtrers. c) Scissors, incltXi.irg surgical
scissors. d) Lcrg-handled razors." The 1624 Act of Ircorporation , Wlich
estoolished the Cutlers' Crnpany as a self-regJlatirg body, irclt.rled within
the jurisdiction of the new cmpany, makers of "knives, blams, scissors,
shears, sickles, cutlery wares and all other wares or mart.Jfactures rre<E or
wroujlt of iron or steel", M. Walton, 9leffield: Its Story and Achievarents,
Sheffield, 1968, p.72. A sllnilarly broad mfinition was ciJqJted in the Final
REpOrt of the First Census of Proc:lxtion of the U.K.,
Cd. 6320, p.207.
CHAPTER 1
She ffield' s
isolation and
..
distance
the
small
capital
but
great
skill
required,
the
divide
separated
masters
and
men;
social
and
economlC
ions were drawn up which protected and cemented these values and
customs,
regulations which
understanding
and
ways
of
seelng
but there is an
illustr ious
her i tage:
the
frequent
ci tation
of
the
"She ffield
3
thwitel" mentioned in Chaucer's Reeve's Tale typifies this belief.
However, ln the 14th century the industry was not yet localized; it
was present in various towns and practised by many village blacksmiths,4 whilst
carried
on
as
dual
occupation
In
conjunction
with
farming~
all
the neccessary
wrought
iron manufactured
from local Iron and charcoal, water power, and 'natural draughts'
harnessed to aid combustion in bloomery furnaces~ Such
physical
from
the
local
century, iron ore was imported from northern Europe, and by the
18th century the use of these high quality ores was far outstrippIng that of domestic supplies, reflecting a preference, even at
this ear ly date,
Rotherham,
because
which
the
facilitated
cutlery
the
trades
were
9
importation
exercIsIng
of
Iron ore,
considerable
but
local
which steel of a more uni form carbon content was produced, which
was thus capable of receiving a more consistently and evenly high
temper.
cutlery
therefore,
assured
by
breaking
more
up
than the
even
these
inside.
carbon
content
and
temper
and
was
then
steel;
for
the
best
cutlery
the
process
would
then
be
the
allocation of
precIse
steel
for
the
it was to be an
11
Moreover, the expense of blister stee1
to
match
the
further
refine
blister steel, to produce the even more costly crucible steel. 12
Although these developments entailed the use of different raw
more
ganister
endowed
and coal,
with
the
necessary
and access to
components:
ample
local
inconsistent wi th
the
super lor
raw
rather
than an attempt to
and
predictable
supply
of
power,
soon
production,
explain
the
another requisite
tenacity
of
the
trades
for
ln
cutlery
Sheffield.
location
localization,
of
the
cutlery
trades
ln
Sheffield,
their
di fficul t to
local work force. Al though these quali ties were in themselves the
product
of
geographical
remoteness
and
industrial
localization
particular
skilled
manner,
pool
of
creating
talent.
major
highly
localized,
Sociologically,
the
but
highly
traditional
dual
or
compensated
for
the
decline
of
Sheffield's
purely
physical properties, but also came to shape and direct the form of
the
industry.
attracted
to
region was
inventions
being
bought
there
as a matter of course,
for
nowhere else could the same reserve of skilled labour and supervision be found.,,20 Similarly,
diversify
the
industry,
thus
these
new
keeping
developments
it
buoyant
helped
and
to
further
roads in the 1700s, the sole outlet for Sheffield's goods were the
chapmen
cutlery
17th
and
Lon d
. t . 21 By the late
reac h Ing
on In cons 1. dera bl e quan t lIes.
century
Sheffield
manufacturers
were
selling
their
goods
difficulties: the nearest river port was twenty miles away, and the
sea a further sixty miles, and despite the persistent agitation of
the Cutlers' Company, the centre of Sheffield was not linked by
canals to sea access until 1819. 22 However,
1750,
cutlery firms were exporting their goods direct to the continent. 23
Although
as
ear ly
as
improved
substantial
cost
fundamental development.
25
reductions,
Despite
which
the
proved
to
indifference
be
of
the
the
predilections
and
understandings
which
developed
were
so
materials
As illustrated above,
strengthened
obsessions
with
the
quality of the
the
trades.
Be fore 1624,
developed
according
In
to
the
the
late
type
17th
of
century,
cutlery.
In
with
powers of detailed super v ision of the trades: laws and penal ties
were drawn up which were intended to ensure the quali ty of the
product and the skill of the craftsman, whilst revenue was assured
through the fees obtained from penalties, and the granting of marks
. . t e d upon,29
an d f ree d oms. Th e ru 1e 0 f ' one man, one t ra d'
e was lnSlS
whilst deceitfully made or marked goods were outlawed, and searchers appointed by the Company to hunt them out.
30
So from an ear ly
ent upon the production of, and a reputation for quality wares.
Their desire to monopolize the trade in such goods is illustrated
by their regulations which barred 'foreigners' from participation
in the Hallamshire trades, and also ban the sale of cutlery parts
31
to non-Hallamshire men.
This abliity to retain exclusive control
of the industry through such guild restriction which regulated both
the form and standard of production, was a privilege the loss of
which many cutlers would find it extremely difficult to accept.
The next specialism to develop was the subdivision of the
processes of production entailed in the manufacture of a particular
product:
became
for
example
separate
table kni fe
forging,
gr inding and
hafting
operations
occurred
first,
ln
the
mid-18th
century,
but
the
distinction between the forger and cutler was not widespread until
after 1800, and even later in some trades.
which
speeded
up
production,
but
This specialization,
retained
an
ever
perfected
any branch of production were both few and inexpensive, but the
skill required in such handicrafts was commensurately great. 34
Whilst the huge variety of goods which were manufactured meant that
production processes varied almost ad infinitum, the following lS a
broad outline of the techniques involved in each stage of product.
35
lone
For his trade, a forger needed only a reheating hearth, hand
bellows,
an
anvil,
enormous dexterity,
hammers
and
fuel,
but
the
craft
involved
Forgers of small
blades worked alone, whilst those who forged larger table blades
employed a striker, who wielded the hammer.
first heated up
~nd
blade shaped, and then cut off from the rest of the bar, a process
known as 'mooding'.
to which
third heating the blade was smithed over, its shape corrected, and
The blade would then be hardened and
and then
brittleness
the
elasticity.
of
retempered or hammered
and
blade,
improve
its
to reduce the
durability
and
tensile
and,
furthermore,
in estimating the
trade,
36
the
needing
to
be
unusually
was a power shaft with revolving drums, which were connected to the
spindles which carried the grindstones that they drove, by means of
leather belts or 'bands'.
light,
were
grinding
the
process,
coarsest
and
sandstones,
behind
them,
used
the
1n
the
smaller
preliminary
smoothing
and
Gr inders of large
stones ran in metal tanks or 'trows', which were set into the floor
and contained water which kept the stone wet, thereby stopping the
blade from overheating, and keeping down
the dust.
(See Fig 1 )
The
fine~glazing
Balancing
the
wheel,
dealing
with
'crocus'
the
polish was
velocity
and
hazards of the stone, the dust and flying sparks, giving the blade
a smooth surface and good cutting edge, made grinding an equally
skilled, but more hazardous and injurious trade than forging.
Finally, a cutler or hafter assembled and adjusted the various
portions of the kni fe.
knife,
he
needed
oil,
drills
for
and di versi fied by the huge range of handle mater ials that were
Fig.1
splash or
squatting
board
I
front
saddle
band
running
in gate
I stone
frce
kit
I
/
/
I
I
side I
board
plate
I
bolster
wedge
horsing
I
bear~take
band or
be~t
available,
from
of-pearl.
wood
or
celluloid
to
lvory
and
mother-
of wood or
blade,
basic
'tang'
fi t ted into the handle) by bor ing holes into the tang and
wood, through which Wlre was passed, its stub being hammered flat
on a small anvil or 'stiddy'. The wooden handle was then glazed and
buffed.
var iations on
this process,
was
the
of
the
In Abel Bywater's
subdivision of
expensive
items,
and
lower
quality
commoner goods,
workmen,
craftsmen
of
the
a
two
labourers,
noble
and
ignoble
that
production
it was
was
so
his
individual
skills,
In
their
independent
status.
The
alien
to
these
trades.
Where
manufacturer
owned
the
premises, some men would devote most of their time to his work, but
most rented space by the week, and worked on orders from manufacturers allover the
town,
including
premlses.
10
In addi tion to these pr i vately owned works, there were the 'public
wheels',
independent
was
production
Advantages of such status were not so much financial or occupational, as manual work was still necessary, and profits were small, but
social: a small master was on the first rung of the ladder to large
employer
status,
and
even
as
The
he
atmosphere
entry so easy,
Considerable
mutuality
This
of
the
independent
craftsman.
"The
SIX
townships
of
distrust
of
'outside'
and
reputation
for
cutlery
11
officers
to
nominate
and
elect
their
successors,
thereby
allowed
restrictive
factors,
regulations
to
and
finally
abolished them, despite the protests and outrage of the associations of freemen and journeymen.
conflict as
guild
that
the
labour/capital
in
which
an
increasingly
traditional
values
acute
and
Although evidence
can be found which suggests increasing capi talization, the handicraft processes and mentality remained influential.
It has been said that the early 19th century saw an lncrease
ln the number of larger, more integrated firms at the expense of
12
1S
seen
as
the
emblem
of
rely too heavily on the use of trade directories, which give undue
emphasis to the
estimating
the
masses
huge
outworkers
who
could
not
lies in the
quanti ties
of
of
goods
were
still
obtained
the
large
from
out-
contractors.
In
1844,
the
factory
one
door
and
comes
travel
finished.,,54
out
Near ly
about
the
at
another
all
town
the
converted
items
several
of
times
into
knives,
cutlery
before
made
they
at
are
root
still
been
Ii t tIe
interest
for
However,
there
pract-
appears
to
'60s,
symptomatic of a
although rooted
could be manipulated to
.
61 was no t
accommodate considerable capitalist growth an d expans1on,
simply
but
to
the
some
resul t
of narrow-minded,
extent,
the
product
of
economIC
judgement.
finest
13
. d 62
th lS
perlo.
Manufacturers benefitted from a system according to
which men could be directly employed, laid off as trade expanded
and
contracted,
allowing
them
to
lncrease
productive
capacity
63
64
labour
products
range
of
Moreover,
within
could
the
be
inadequately
quali ty work,
such poorly skilled men were the first to be laid off and, out of
desperation,
often
began
independent
production,
making
the
shoddiest goods,
at
the
lowest
possible
67
prices,
There
was
agaln
undercutting
considerable
other
agreement
amongst both manufacturers and men that they were "not suffer ing
simply from production exceeding a natural demand, an ev il which
consequent embarrasments always correct; but from an undue production forcing a demand, at the expense of quality, to the permanent
injury of both the manufacturers and the workforce.,,68
For all of the workforce,
handicraft
producer,
nor
simple
wage
earner,
meant
that
they
receive neither the total value of the work they produce, nor a set
wage, but a gross sum from which numerous deductions were made for
69
rent, power and wastage.
Payment was according to complicated
and only spasmodically revised piece price lists, in which payment
and deductions for the huge variety of different patterns, Slzes
14
educated
An increasing
number could neither read nor write;74 children were being employed, often by their parents, from an ear ly age in the least skilled
trades; 75 cutlers were said to show apathy and disaffection towards
religion,
despite
their
former
strong
connections
with
local
However,
their
skills
Predictably,
numerous,
it
skilled
and
was
and
status,
these
and
men,
confident,
the
who
who
need
were
to
maintain
still
dominated
them.
sufficiently
working-class
responses to the changes of this period, and ensured the characteristically traditional framework of policies and action.
The status divisions between workers were based on a variety
Some commentators have based their deliniat ions on
of factors.
production processes, marking out the better paid and more skilled
trades of forger and grinder as an elite.
Such a categorization
15
compensated
for
between the type of product being made: razor makers were generally
bet ter
paid,
better
fork makers.
to be
found
produced, a view evidenced by the presence of large wage differentials in all the cutlery trades.
79
In
the
sprIng
knife
trade
In
1840, a few men earnt 40/- per week, the majority 16 - 22/-, but
some earnt as little as 12 - 16/- per week: "In the better and
finer articles, some may earn 30s. per week, but in general the
. 1 yow.
1
,,80 Th us, concern for quali ty of work,
wages are exceSSIve
status, independence and guild-inspired craft exclusiveness were to
some extent heightened by the creation of a stratum
workers from which to defend them.
validity
of
traditional
concerns
of work and
well-illustrated
by
pr inciples and aims of the cra ft unions in this per iod who,
virtue of their continued power and conviction,
the
by
were a further
and
the
between
submerged
with
the
the
two
types
increased
of
skilled
inclusiveness
men
of
were
the
further
freemen's
associations,
and
attacks
on customsry
rates
of
the
late
18th
century, disputes became quite commonplace for the first time. One
of the earliest strikes, in 1787, centered around the efforts of
the table knife workers to stop the new practice of thirteen items
83
being counted as a dozen,
whilst In 1801, the first of many
16
principle.
84
These
strikes
all
precedent,"
there
followed
further
prosecutions
and
the
combinations
of
employers,
were
hesitant
and
to reflect "that
and
regulations.
strict
these
terms
of
small
societies
reference
of
were
the
formed
old
within
Cutlers'
the
Company
application
of
apprenticeship
rules,
the
importance
of
17
were anxlous to prevent changes which would blur the tradi tional
distinctions between skilled and less skilled men, particularly the
92
reduction of wage differentials.
They regretted the demise of
the guild based unity which had once bound together masters and
men, and saw in this change the cause of all the problems which
afflicted the industry.
which
they
considered
it
and when
and most
of two plans
communi ty
workmen,
masters
In 1820, a
and
poor
law
It lasted only
four
such community
months,
regulation
failing
as
did
later
attempts
at
because
95
viable
option,
because
of
the
unity
of
markets
had
entailed
consequences
that
far
the opening
beyond
up
of
labour
their control or
based on common values which were largely the result of shared past
experiences
18
and understandings.
understandings
In
A link,
particular,
and
the
decline
In
wages,
profits,
and,
most
spl.~ing
the end of
guild regulation allowed the entry into the trades of many "needy
adventurers,
just
whim,
but
an
by explaining their
necessity;
economic
the
handicraft
of
unregulated
competition
and
unskilled
labour
which
are
realized to be
fundamental
to the
understandings
producers,
and
economIC
masters
and
f the
men;
compulsion,
In
their
'disreputable'
which
linked high
abhorrence
factors,
of the
merchants
and small masters, and in their belief that such production would
ruin Sheffield's reputation and, with it their own prosperity.
19
Footnotes
1.
P.
Abercrombie,
Sheffield:
A Civic
Survey
and
Suggestions
for
technical work,
Social inherit-
J.D. Oxley,
Industry, 'T.H.A.S,vol.7,1951,p.1.
Sheffield,
1906,p.4.
For example,
it is said that
A.
McPhee,
1814,' typed
enumerated
transcript
in S.C.L.,1939,p.9.
No cutlers were
Ibid,
pp.10-12.
Cutlers
were
present
ln
London,
Ipswich,
20
7.
G. I . H.
Lloyd,
G. G.
T. 11 . 1'. S .
vol . 8 , 1 96 3 ;
R . A.
Mot t ,
' The
Wa t e r mill s
9.
M. W.
F linn and A.
1850,
Birch,
Industry
Before
Yorkshire Industry',
Y.B.E.S.R~vol.6,1954,p.173.
from
filled
with
Chests
high
quality
iron ore and charcoal, sealed, and heated in a coal furnace for
five to nine days, after which they were opened and allowed to
cool
for
furnace
eight
only
days.
The
completing
process
eighteen
was
to
thus
twenty
long
one,
conversions
per
year.
11. K.C.Barraclough, 'The Origins of the British Steel Industry',
p.6. The following costs were estimated for steel In 1842:
type of steel
cost of production
._-.e~ ton
_______________
__
selling prIce
..__ per t.on - - - - 4
31
12
48 - 10 - 0
39
55 -
0 - 0
46
62 -
0 - 0
London,1984, p.31.
12. K. C.
Barraclough,
Museums
crucible
Information Sheet,
pots,
along
with
No.8.
other
Blister
steel
requirements,
was
heated
In
(depending
on
In 1842, the
21
43 - 7 -0, selling at 63.
13. K. C.
Barraclough,
' Crucible
Steel
Manufacture' ,
p. 2;
K. C.
A Brief History of
Timmins,
'The
Crucible Steel
1976,pp.5-9.
Commercial
Industry',
Development
M.A.Thesis,
of
the
Sheffield
Sheffield
University,
number of steam
powered wheels
1-j70
133
1794
83
1841
40
50
1857
16*
80
1865
32
132
(*probably
an
underestImate, omIttIng
the
smaller
wheels)
22
system
which
ln
1914.
D.Smith,
The
Cutlery
Industry
1n
the
M. A. Thesis, Sheffield
University,1951,pp.85-6.
22. A canal was built as far as Tinsley in 1732, but this was not
extended the three miles to the centre of the town until 1819.
For
details
Nav igation,
Waterways
see
T.S.Willan,
The
Manchester, 1965;
to
the
Sea,
Early
History
A. W. Goodfellow,
T .H.A.S,
of
the
Don
vol.5,1943,pp.246-54;
G.G.
Kenyons and Roebucks vie for the title of first direct exporter.
24. For details see H.Smith, 'Sheffield: Road Travel and Transport
Before the Railway Age', Sheffield City Libraries Local Studies
Leaflet. The first turnpike trust in the region was opened in
1756 and by 1760, there were regular passenger coaches between
Sheffield and
London.
By
1787
coaches
also
left
daily
for
were
available
1S
illustrated
by
the
operators.
25. H.W.Hart, 'A Brief Survey of the
Events
Leading
up
to
the
23
Costs
of
Modes
of
Transport
from
Sheffield
to
Mode
Time Taken
---~-...,.---------
-"-
----~-------~------
---------1-
canal
8 days
28
road
2 days
34
rail
4 hours
20
1980.
the
trade
of
making
or
grinding
SClssors,
sickles
or
scythes."
30. Ibid., vol.II,p.9. A 1625 bye-law of the Cutlers'Company stated
that "No person to make knives etc. except he put Steel into the
Edges of them, upon pain of 1Os.
wares so deceitfully made
and the
24
P. Smi thhurst,
The
Penny
Magazine
Supplement,
p.666,
cited
the
following
slight yellow]
pale yellow
450
470
razors
pen knives
490
yellow]
brown
510
530
purple
table knives
pocket knives
scissors
555
bright blue
560
blue
blackish blue
600
37. Abel Bywater,The
Sheffield
Dialect,
1839,
springs
Sheffield,
pp.33-
4. His account of "i vvera thing ats dun to a pen kni fe throot
furst tot last", proceeded as follows:
Wa then o'st begin wit blade makker furst:
1st. He mood'st blade.
2nd. Then he tangs it.
3rd. Then he smithies it.
4 th . Then he hardens an tempers it, an he's dun we' t. Wa then
heast spring makker:
1st. He moods it.
2nd. Then he draws tuther end aht an turns it, an's just as
menna he'ats fort scale; wa then't blade gooas tot wheel tubbe
grun an sich loik.
1st. Nah, thah knots, we alis groind tang furst, fort mark to be
struckn, but ivverra bodda dus'nt.
25
heast
Cutlers
wark
al
bit
warst,
bur
0 think
0 can
mannidge.
1st. He sets scales tot plate.
2nd. Bores t'scales.
3rd. Foiles and fits em.
4th. Nocks em aht an marks spr1ngs.
5th. Rahnds springs, an hardens and tempers em.
6th. Then he rasps an sets his cuverin.
7th. Then he matches an pins em on.
8th. Tacks em dahn an dresses t'edges.
9th. Nocks em aht an scrapes t'edges at 1ron scales.
10th. Puts spr1ngs intot hefts.
11th. Squar'st blades an dresses em.
12th. Nails em in joints an sets em.
13th. If they'r stag they want heftin.
14th. (Missed out).
15th. Foils't
bowsters.
Dusn't
thah
know
at
after't
springs
1S
hardened
an
26
points in?'
Jooa Crocus: 'Wa mun
avver, let's just reckon hah menny toimes won part or anuther on
em gooas throo us hands.'
Jooa: 'Wa then, we'll begin wit blade makker, furst:
Blade makker
toimes 4
toimes 8
Cutlers or Setters ln
toimes 23
total
39
structure
had
changed
remarkably
little
by
1914.
See
now
the
employer
of
others.
And
ln
the
moral
dignity
mean only a man and a boy; a striker and an apprentice; but the
cutler was his own master: a freeman in truth. And that achieved,
nothing but a few years of patient saving stood between him and
the office of master of the Cutlers' Company."
43. John Parker, A Statement of the Population etc. etc. of the Town
of
Sheffield,
Sheffield,
Statistics of Sheffield,
1830,
London,
p.18;
G.C.Holland,
1843,p.62,p.68;
Vital
G.C.Holland,
27
and less than 1/10 from places more than 40 miles away. That
foreign cutlers came to Sheffield in large numbers in the 16th
and 17th centuries to escape religious prosecution in Europe, is
a v lew now broadly discredited:
see J. Oxley,
'Notes
on
the
Conflict
Society:
and
Compromise:
Comparative
Class
formation
ln English
Study
of
Birmingham
and
Sheffield,
'Occupations
ln
the
Parish
Registers
History
Review,
2nd.
London,1982,p.30.
46. Ibid.,p.31.
47.
E.J.Buckatzsch,
Sheffield
1655-1719 "
Vol. I ,1949.
By
1719
Economic
cutlery workers
formed
5m~
of
serles,
of the male
the
'18thC.
Trades', pp.23-27.
48. P.C.Garlick, 'The Sheffield Cutlery Trades',pp.16-17.
49. Lloyd, pp.158,445-6.
Trade
No employed Percentage
in 1851
increase
No. employed
in 1824
400
1 ,000
450
1,940
240
1 ,470
360
120
2,190
80
120
250
450
147
196
110
238
115
806
280
200
480
TOTAL
5,866
3,750
48
4,000
45
800
1,200
33
650
26
J_~0'400
----_.
44
44
28
A History of the
vol.1,Ph.D.
thesis,
Sheffield,
1976,pp.20-
the cutlery
trades,
focus on
"The manufacturers,
for
are
examp Ie,
Ltd.,
Under
Five
'The
Mid-Victor ian
Urban
Mosaic:
Studies
In
History Workshop
1833, V,
S.C.
on Manufactures,
pp.93,145. 6,000
other markets.
The
fluctuations
in trade
in the 1830s,
29
Diseases
of
the
Lungs
for details.
and
Sheffield,
1844.
71. P.P. 1824, V, S.C. on Artisans and Machinery, 5th Report, 1824,
(51), Adams, Bullock and Ward, p.404; P.P. 1833, IV, S.C. on
Manufactures, Commerce and Shipping, 1833,(590), J. Milner,qs.
11584-91 .
Index of Piece Rates 1810-1851.
I 1810
Trade
sprlng knife
1817-18
100
1831
75
80
1833
1835-6
1842
55
63-78
38
1851~
100
'I
table knife
100
fork
100
75-100
60
75
65
63
30-40 !I
I
II
razors
100
90
80
40
I
!
j
I
50 :
History,
p. 39;
D. Reid,
Monday
P.P.1833,
IV,
S.C.
on
~M=a~n=u~f~a=c~t~u=r=e=s~,____C~o~m~m~e~r~c~e~_a~n__
d
30
Report, p.3.
76. E. R. Wickham, Church and People In an Industr ial Ci ty, London,
1957,pp.35,38. Cutlers formed a stronghold of local puritanism
during
the
Civil
P.P.1843,X1V,
War,
and
J.C.Symons'
also
the
Report,
Dissent
P.P.
of
1865,XX.
the
1680s
J.E.White's
Report, pp.10,19.
77. G.C.Holland,
78. C. o. Reid,
Vital Statistics,pp.134-34.
'Middle
Class
Values
pp.34-5.
79. Average
Earnings
in
the
-.-~--~---------
Trade
-_ - .- -_._--,-_.-
,.
..
1850
1833
--'-~----"--~~---
21-35
27-40
grinders
27-40
27-32
hafters
18-27
17-27
21-31
18-35
grinders
20-40
20-40
hafters
15-25
16-30
forgers
26-30
24-33
grinders
18-50
21-48
setters-in
18-40
15-30
forgers
23
28
grinders
35
35
26
24
razor
SCIssor
lworkboard hands
London,
1860,
p.364;
J.Baxter,
'The
Origins
of
the
Social
War ',p.16.
82. J. Baxter,
123,265;
Shippinq,
p. 58;
Lloyd, pp.
-=S~.-=C~._~o:..:..n..:...-_M~a:.:....n;..:.u-=-f-=a;..:.c_t_u_r_e_s-L,_ _C_o_m_m_e_r_c_e_ _
a_n_d
qs.11574-6.
Freemen's
associations
were
31
83. A. McPhee, 'The Growth of the Cutlery and Allied Trades', pp. 512; Lloyd, p.241; See chapter 6, pp.194-5.
84. A. McPhee,
G. C. Holland,
Vi tal
Bullock, Ward, pp.401-3. The union comprised 401 firms and 600
masters, with 6749 of funds. See also Lloyd, pp.251-55, 45969.
87. Lloyd, p.268.
88. P.P.1833,IV,
S.C.
on
Manufactures,
Commerce
and
Shipping,
V. M. Thornes ,
She ff ie ld
J.Milner, qs.11606-10.
89. J. Mendelson,
W. Owen,
S. Pollard
and
The
first
pp .14-
as did the
The
History
of
Sheffield
Village,
Sheffield,
(eds~,
ln
32
92. See, for example, To the Journeymen Table Knife Hafters In the
Scale Tang Line, Sheffied, 1844, S.C.L.,M.P.3965.
93. Report of the Committee of the Journeymen in the Spring Knife
Trade Appointed for the Purpose of Taking into Consideration
the Propriety of Applying to Parliament for an Act for the
Better Protection of the Incorporated Cutlery Trades, Sheffield,
1821; see also Reply of the Committee of the General Grinding
Branches of Sheffield to the Earl Fitzwilliam's Speech at the
Cutlers' Hall, 15th September 1844, Sheffield, 1844.
94. P.P. 1833, S.C. on Manufactures, Commerce and Shippinq, vol. IV,
J.Milner,qs. 11616-7; J.Baxter, 'Origins of the Social War',p.
319.
95. J.Baxter,
\ Origins
of
the
Social
War',
p.311;
F.Hill,
An
33
CHAPTER 2
In
or
In
product
design.
The
best
possible
craftsmen.
with
raw
materials
and
the
manual
expertise
of
reluctance
and
vague
sense
of
shame
that
Sheffield's
valuable and hard won reputation for the finest cutlery was being
sacrificed.
durable,
poor
to appreciate the
value of new technology and to install new machinery apace with his
German and American competitors has been interpreted as important
ev idence in arguments which ci te 'entrepreneur ial failure' as the
major
reason
for
the
perceived
loss
of
vitality
inertia
was
believed
to
in Shefield:
be
the
In
and
even
Moreover, entrepre-
result
the drag of an
of
conditions
'ear ly start',
this more
to have
influenced the
34
it was
possible
to
make
an
honest
penny,
British
entrepreneurs were content to jog along In the same old way, using
the techniques and methods which their ancestors had introduced." 1
However,
value
commercial
of
abundant
cheap
reputation.
skilled
Production
labour,
had
been
and
founded
worldwide
on
these
foreign competitors.
Machine
.
forging processes were developed for steel forks and spring knIves,
but the method of 'flying'scissor blades from sheet steel, although
35
processes,
producing
shoddy
goods,
were
sacrificing
to
boast
their
communal
Sheffield's
reliance
on
traditional
production
techniques and associated with them, high grade raw materials and
Firms were anxious
skilled workmen.
to
state
(and
frequently
overstate) their use of "the latest improved j machinery and appliances",13 which allowed them tG conduct all operations on the most
advanced lines, but they were ever more eager to stress that this
was
In
conjunction
with
the
employment
of many
craftsmen
who
the
result of
inertia
and
even
the
dogmatic
basis,
and
that
the
industry had
fair
standardized
expanding quantities.
rational
for
goods
that
were
being
produced
In
ever
Sheffield to
rely
upon and
to
loudly expound
the
In
the world.
fine
36
craftsmen were both cheaper and more widely available here than
anywhere else,
quali t Y 'one
enabling
an
enormous
and
diverse
range
of
top
cheapness,
Labour-saving
machinery,
when
adopted
abroad,
was
normally to compensate for a lack of skilled labour, and necessarily resulted in the production of more standardized mass-produced
goods.
Furthermore, the best and most expensive cutlery still had an
appearance significantly different from that of cheaper varieties,
and whilst ever snobbery and prestige dictated a desire for the
best goods, there would always be a market for the best cutlery. 15
To a considerable extent the
market
made
important
demands
of
manufacturers, who were not free to change their modes of production entirely at their own will.
with
respect
to
the
exploitation
of
machine
technology.
machine~16
the trade mark 'Sheffield' and these were the type of goods which
most consumers had come to expect from the city.
This being the case, it seems that the Sheffield industry
applied itsel f to the communication of its special assets to as
wide an audience as possible, whilst also stressing the inability
of competitors to match or imitate these advantages.
The skill of
nor
no
man
uSIng
~2chine
can
37
Sheffield cutlers and the pride they took In their work: "Upon the
maintenance of this pride, the maintenance of Sheffield's supremacy
in the manufacture of cutlery largely depends.
are, and always will be, made by hand, and the qualities which are
necessary
to
this
system
are
In
Sheffield's
hereditary.
In
Such
contrast
respec t
to
f or
attitudes
In
the
felt
American
was
cutlery
In
marked
industry, where
In
who
can
make
19
devoured the men".
the
machinery
to
do
the
work
which
before
industry
should
progress.
for "drilling,
Many
manufacturers
would
have
far
too much
regard
for
been
suggested
that
various
the
problems
made
it
more
sensible
for
to delay
Th e
production
small
often
quanti ties
customer's
order,
techniques
and
of
the
goods
which
loss
of
made
of
a
the
speci fic
nature,
transi tion
to
has
with prototype
individual firms
.
d ou.
t 22
purchase until the various 'bugs' had been lrone
machinery
for
mass
to
of
the
production
38
whereby machines were used, but they were usually the inventions of
the individual manufacturers, operated on their premises alone, and
designed wi th highly detailed speci fications and hence a limi ted
usage.
continued
to insist upon,
and
their
"I f
the
final
needs
skilled
the blades will only open easily and spring back into the centre of
the knife with a click, if a cutler has seated each blade. Materials
such as mother-of -pear 1 and 1 vory are not sui table for machine
methods. The higher quality wares are likely to remain craftsmen's
productions".25
(l.~.;.r
'respectable'
that
and even
The clear
by
hand,
which
1S
the
system
adopted
by
all
respectable firms for their best goods, and in many instances the
commoner quali ties; secondly forging by machine, commonly called
"goffing";
thirdly,
flying
sheet steel, and fourthly the system of producing the blades from
common pig iron" .26
27
39
intense and
reasonably successful, albei t not the decisi ve force in the nonimplementation of new machinery that manufacturers often stated it
to be. Although the power of the unions had been a strong influence
28
In the 1840s, 50s and 60s,
by the 1870s, trade union policy was
little more
In strictly practical
pay~ent
and acceptance of
mechanization.
labour
force
was,
The
creation
of
an
level,
often
invol ved
Only recently it
was stated of cutlers that "As craftsmen, they have a great belief
40
In
the
value
of
practical
exper ience
as
the
power of some young fellow in a lab to sit down and without any
'know how' of the craft, work out answers to problems from abstract
principles - principles which they, Ii fe-long craftsmen, cannot
33
understand" .
As has been indicated, many manufacturers were at
this stage prepared to acknowledge and to continue to use these
skills instead of replacing them, often inadequately, by machines.
However, perhaps as a result of the exalted position given to
hand labour by most trade unionists, there was only a very slow
realization that hand labour could be subdivided,
degraded
and
sweated just as easily, if not more easily than under the impact of
labour saving machinery.
The very
further
thus
major
themselves able to
34
compete effectively without large-scale mechanization for so long.
Further evidence
of
the
awareness
found
of
Sheffield's
cutlery
Our ing
the bi t ter and protracted str ike in the scissors trade in 1876,
towards mechanization In order to
'
35 an d In 1886
'
counteract the restrictive prac t Ices
0 f th e unIons,
substantial
it was stated
that
the depression
41
reached 7000
to 8000
dozen per week and demand for them was so great that more new
39
machinery was installed.
Another such firm was John McClory and
Sons, who by 1888 were freely admitting to the production of cheap,
but decent and attractively finished goods, and even chastised the
elitism of the old-established houses:
"A
themselves
to
the
manufacture
of
the
more
expensive
as
they
wi th
lower
quali ty
trading responsibilities of
the
older
established
houses.
It
appears that for many of the older firms, there was a great loss
of prestige
reputation,
and
status,
almost
betrayal
of
their
ancestral
As
late as 1946 the Working Party Report on Cutlery still felt obliged
to
stress
that
it
was
lower quali ty
42
uniqueness
or
on minor adaptations, which overall, markedly improved the capabilities, operation and quality of the goods, but did not alter their
4n
basic form.
Typical developments included a rotary penknife which
kept its blades from the dust, 45 a blade
blades
to
their
ivory handles
which
prevented
any
'-,
I rnA
.
,-
r '';
42
.
47 case cu tl ery pac k age d'ln a tt rac tlve b oxes,
48 an d
unscrewlng;
guards.
firm,
49
and
considered
to
be
patented
further
by
the
fork
inventing
sign of the
firm's
alterations
of
design,
which
involved
considerable shi fts from traditional ways of producing or understanding a product, were undertaken with far more reluctance.
In
the same way that new machinery was often delayed, there usually
ensued a long delay between the patenting of a new product and its
commercial manufacture in Sheffield. There was no lack of inventive
talent or foresight amongst so many skilled and dextrous craftsmen
and practically minded manufacturers,
hollow-ground razor
for
example,
was not
attempted
on
large-scale,
it
was
difficult
manufacturers
claimed
were
excessive
prlces
for
work
on
new
but
they
43
when they were able to enforce their demands, but this ability
55
However, it seems unlikely
diminished as the period progressed.
that
the
greater
even In
unIons,
strength,
would
have
been
capable
of
single
handedly
designers of new products and patterns, and claimed that being the
inventor, they were the most competent judges of the amount of work
56
and therefore payment involved in a new design.
unions
The
believed that new patterns were being used as a method of bringing
down
the
pr ice
often the owners of all the necessary tools, and were reluctant to
recommence the labor ious process of learning di fferent techniques
in which, because of their advancing age, they believed it to be
impossible to attain such high expertise and therefore wages.
59
As
few old hands would learn new techniques, there were fewer craftsmen available to teach the new skills to the next generation.
However, manufacturers also seemed to be qui te content to
di versi fy along tr ied and tested lines, adding further variations
to the already bewildering range of available patterns.
By the
late 19th century, the number of patterns and designs in all shapes
and sizes was qui te astonishing and advanced
Sheffield's re-
almost
60
Attitudes
similar
towards
preoccupation
the
production
of
reputable,
high-
not won the sanction of their own usage as well as that of many
previous
generations
of
artisans.
For
employers,
financial
44
the
introduction
of
emery
grinding
wheels
which
replaced
grinders.
that the properties of the new wheel were so unlike those of old
grindstones, that to use it involved a certain amount of relearning
and adaptation.
and thus became very hot, sometimes causing the knife blade to heat
up and lose its temper.
it
It
these
advantages
the
wheels
were
rIsIng
forced
natural
The rise in the cost of ivory In the early 1870s inflated prices by
30 to 100%,64 and although in 1874 they began to fall again,65 they
rose t 0 new pea ks In 1875, 66 a
resu It
th e
compe tt
1 Ion
of
an
45
the prIce of hafting materials were once more forcing up the list
67
prices of cutlery.
The cost of Manilla shells rose from 160 to
68
240 per ton, in just ten months,
whilst ivory had doubled In
price between 1879 and 1883, until it was fetching 1,000 per ton. 69
The largest cutlery manufacturers attempted to keep their prices
down by combining ivory cutting, which was generally a separate
industry, with their cutlery production,70 but it was an impossible
task whilst an expanding market brought an ever diminishing supply
.
71
of Ivory.
Faced wi th
such
Celluloid
was first used in the late 1860s, vulcanite, ebonite and xylonite
72
were in wide usage.
Considerable quantities were used in the
production of cheaper cutlery,
firms
They
were
as
far
as possible,
retain a reputation
for
a fine
and
new materials.
Illustrating the readiness of the institutions of the trade to
encourage and support inventive and new approaches and initiatives,
the
Cutlers'
Companies
of
Sheffield
and
London
held
joint
and
IgIOUS firm in the trades, were at the forefront of these developments and were keen to broadcast their successes.
By 1879 they
74
were manufacturing "ebonite secure handle table cutlery"
in large
it would neither
crack, lose its finish, nor become loose, as bone and horn frequently did in hot climates, and it weighed much less.
The cheapness
46
to believe them.
purchasers who
would
always
want
vory,
horn,
bone
or mother-
the
consumers
Sheffield
were
for
most
Moreover, these
ready
and
able
to
cater.
If
traditional
materials were really a thing of the past, why were noted manufacturers still so keen to advertise their
presence
and
extensive
Moreover,
'the finest
of
cutlery
The
blades.
quality
and
durability of
Sheffield blades were felt to be the major factor in the fame and
continued prestige of the ci ty' s
products.
'Sheffield'
fatally damage her future trade. I f enough cheap steel was used,
Sheffield's
trading
Solingen
Conneticut,
or
reputation
and
as
would
it
become
was
akin
believed
to
that
that
of
foreign
'Sheffield'
Infact by
1886, the use of poor steel and its false marking were frequently
47
cited as fundamental
78
trades.
causes
of
the
depression
In
the
cutlery
as
an
unavoidable
consequence
of
the
increased
use
of
machinery, but were both despairing and indignant that the customer
appeared to know and care so little about these distinctions.
whole question of the type of steel
The
to
be
'respectable'
manufacturers
from
the
It
increasing right
until the end of the century: over 100,000 tons were turned out per
79
year.
Although the fast growing tool and crinoline trades
consumed a substantial amount of this output, the cutlery trades
remained an important outlet for steel-makers, absorbing "a much
greater quantity of steel than is generally supposed.,,80
Increased production did not however, appear to reduce the
cost of this expensive metal.
steel makers
steel
world,
making
with
cautious,
conservative
ways
and
the
removed
Their conservatism
may have been to some extent associated with their close relationship wi th the cutlery housed they
served.
Marsh Brothers,
for
outlook.
48
Furnace in Sheffield~3
speciality
steel
makers
survived
because
the
tool and
84
motto - quality first~6 The reputation of a quality steel manu facturlng firm could be made or broken by the approval or disapproval
of its cutlery producing customers.
Sons were
87
market
~urgical
instruments,
razors, scissors .... butchers knives and cutlery of every descr ip,,88
.
t lone
Even cutlery manufacturers who operated on too small a scale
to contemplate their own steel production,frequently stressed the
superior qualities of the steel they bought and used. This policy
of linking the notions of the best quali ty steel wi th the best
quality cutlery and then constantly reiterating the connection to
the buying public was aguably a conscious and sensible strategy on
the part of the Sheffield cutlery manufacturers.
Sheffield,
as
the
famous
It further helped
devait surtout
Thus,
qu' ils
priced
goods,
and
of
machinery
for
manipulating
lower
49
opinion of the trade, in public at any rate, was that such production was somewhat disreputable and discreditable, and that it would
do very little for the reputation or the pocket of the individual
manufacturers or the Sheffield trades as a whole.
cheap blades wi th
The stamping of
treated,
In
an
industry
noted
for
and
constantly
correctly or
falsely marked,
was
inevitably a
cause
for
wide-
91
allegations
which
were corroborated
Ironmonger~2
did
their
problem
from
by
The
utmost
was
to
that
Such practices,
marking
were
believed
depressed state of the trade, but also the decline in their wages
and
status,
as
skilled
unachievable on poor
workmanship
quali ty steel.
was
They
both
unnecessary
quoted
the
and
American
of
Bessemer
steel
which
were
sold
by
Sheffield
cutlery
speedily
Even
if
fine finish had been needed for a Bessemer blade, it was far more
di fficul t
95
steel.
for
50
Thus, such poorer quality raw materials like, and at the same time
closely related to mechanized production techniques, could- not be
separated
from
fears
of
deskilling
and
the
decline
of
craft
techniques.
1889-1914
i)
standardized,
neat,
middle
quality
item
which
than
sweated
handicraft
outwork,
ensured
that
both
to
anything
approaching
wholesale
transformation.
larger-scale
conversion
to
mechanized
techniques of
such machines by competi tors, and their use to capture the ever
expanding low
to
medium
quality
market.
German
and
American
razor and
making
51
whilst two men could only hand forge five to six dozen in the same
98
time.
By 1913, the Cutlers' Company was threatening to prosecute
(under the Merchandise Marks Act) anyone who used imported German
blanks
In
goods
which
they
marked
'Sheffield',
action
which
could
only
publicly questioned.
produce
The
poor
challenge
quality
thrown
cutlery,
was being
down
the
by
razor
producers, to manu101
facture a similarly high quality blade, was taken up with gusto,
but until the end of this period, arguments continued to rage about
. Id
t he merl. t s 0 f th e t wo sys t ems f or cu tl ery pro d uc tIon. 102 Sh effIe
manufacturers patented razor and scissor grinding machinery in the
1880s which possessed the additional virtue of making a neater
h requIure
.
d 1 ess f"InIS h'Ing. 103 However, as a 1 ways, th e
bl a de wh IC
machinery did not approach the levels of perfection which manufacturers required for best quality cutlery: the best razor blades, and
the edges of the blades of cheaper razors were still hand-ground by
104
craftsmen,
and it was not until 1910-15 that the heaviest razors
105
could be machine ground, or the 'shoulders' cut in by machine.
The production of razor blanks by hydraulic presses, did not make
significant advances in Sheffield until after 1903,106 whilst
machine table blade grinding only became widespread In Sheffield
107
and machine table and pocket blade forging not until
after 1911
108
1914
Thus mechanized production, whilst it was making str ides in
Sheffield was still both delayed and halting
certainly In comparison with America or Germany.
In
its
adoption,
52
reports must be
treated
wi th
caution.
"They
to take off.
The
trade
reports
from
Sheffield
In
The
of machinery in
the
trades
late
1860s
and
1870s,
yet
the
Sheffield
remained
and
pushing them towards their adoption, was evidence that the market
for cheap and medium standard cutlery was large, expanding and very
lucrati ve,
The demand
for
whilst
by
lower
quality
leading manufacturers,
for many
it
was
still
t0
an d pa t ronlzlng
aVlng
participate in such trade was reaffirmed by a trades unionist In
114
1892 : "Makers of the best cutlery are ashamed at the present
state of things, but they are so often induced to deal in these
common class of goods because they are ordered along wi th their
better quality. Except for that, some would not deal in that common
quality."
different markets were in existence, and that cheap goods were not
directed at the discerning American or European buyer; they were
53
only intended
for
"the
course of develop-
quality
were
standards
too
deeply
ingrained
In
most
it necessary to remind
demanded in commerce". 117
that this had to be the case; that so many consumers either could
not,
or worse still,
would
not
pay
the
prlce
for
superlor
increased mechanization
1890s
it
was
claimed
that
unions
not
only
prevented
In
the
with other
In limiting
the
The
there
was
acknowledged
to
be
much
less
time
and
work
54
issue
was
considerably
more
complicated
and
was
reduced the skills and status of craftsmen who sometimes left the
trade themselves, and often refused to apprentice their sons to it.
Thus, the position of the skilled craftsman grew stronger when good
trade brought general labour shortages, especially when Sheffield
was still attempting to maintain a reputation based on the work of
such artisans.
Overall however, manufacturers and their journals appear to
have exaggerated and overreacted to the supposed power of unIons as
a factor
In
forcing
It is of course
machine
forging
of
SCIssor
blanks,
introduced
not
into
so
caused manufacturers to declare that "the world will not wait until
55
were
blamed
for
the
difficulties
encountered
In
intended
employers,
high
to
benefit,
tariffs
and
than
foreign
tyrannical
competition
and
greedy
combined.
The
wise
wreckers."
foresight
as
125
for
example
justi fication,
shortage
of
the
razor
forgers
which
had
the
who
claimed,
with some
accompanied
t~e
importation
into
as
was
plainly
illustrated
In
the
unusually
busy
union policy as much as the fall in demand for labour following the
McKinley Tar iff and the development of machine techniques which
resulted in a surplus of labour competing for a declining amount of
work, and the low pay and conditions associated with such circumstances.
Thus,
when
trade
improved,
most
of
which,
congenial employment."
by
127
1900,
than
offered
the
"better
cutlery
paid
trades.
and
more
Whenever
possible, young men left the industry, and sons were apprenticed
128
However, the resultant worsenlng labour shortages
elsewhere.
56
preferably
Of Peachers patent
grinding machine it was stated that "a youth of average intelligence can feed machines which will grind 2,000 blades a day," 130
whilst another manufacturer installed machinery because it required
"labour of only moderate skill ... work that you could train any
steady, at tenti ve man taken straight from the street to do in a
. f perlo
. d . ,,131
very b rle
Union resistance to mechanization was therefore still firmly
linked with
efforts
to
resist
deskilling,
but
it
IS
doubtful
whether their power and practices were as instrumental as manu facturers sometimes suggested.
mechanization
of
American
cutlery
factories
allowed
are welcomed by the men because, whilst lightening the work, they
do not mean the reduction of wages.,,132 Machines
brought
better
it,
A variety of
57
to
be
the
apathy
of
the
di fficul t
and
economic
backwardness
of
the
conservatism
and
leve
of
tradition
which
made
it
IS
f twenty or more
years ago. To make matters worse, the absence of change for so long
a
time,
further
has
created
in
many
minds
that
fatal
value
IS
idea that
... no
possible .. it
is
impossible to get any novel ideas ... turned into practical account,
inasmuch as the workmen, unless their daily bread depends upon it,
136
cannot be induced to forge new pat terns. "
Even
A. J. Hobson,
a
leading
Sheffield
manufacturer
values of mechanization,
and
exponent
of
the
virtues
and
base,
dependent
upon
craftsmen
who
possessed
the
compromise
had
Association, on a visit
to Sheffield,
of the Sheffield
the critics had ever tried shaving themselves with a wholly machine
58
-made razor, or using a pocket-knife with stamped instead of handforged blades. If they had, they might not be so surprised at the
retention
of
human
skill
and
knowledge
ln
preference
to mere
supply of the real article ... and it is hoped that they will learn
to appreciate the value of quality.,,140
Moreover, it seems that there continued to be considerable
sense in perpetuating Sheffield's production and equally her lmage
as a producer of high quali ty cutlery.
mounted consistently throughout
value, common cutlery to a far greater extent than the high quality
141
products which the domestic industry was incapable of producing.
Sheffield continued to be virtually the only manufacturer in the
world
of
certain
hand~ade
specialities,
such
as
shear steel
carving forks, for which there was a good demand right up until the
142
1930s.
Many of the most successful Sheffield cutlery houses
still maintained that
continued
to
allegiance
the
high
quality,
largely
handmade
143
production, on which their reputation had been built.
'Artistry'
)
Mechanization,
which stifled decorative and diverse patterns, could well put paid
144
to this unique and respected aspect of the trade.
A reputation , a standard of quality automatically associated
with a trade mark, was believed by many Sheffield manufacturers to
be all-important.
with which machinery had been adopted in Germany, where there were
no traditions of high quality,
59
coming from the cast metal, had a demand in quantities for simple
patterns and they have made an improvement by stamping; if we had
taken up stamping at an ear ly stage we should have made a depreciation in our goods, and not so well have satisfied our customer~~6
This then, was firmly associated with the continued importance of
market demands and expectations of the Sheffield cutlery trade. A
huge range of good, specialised products was still expected by the
consumer,
and catered
Moreover,
many
for
by
the
large
consequently helped to create conditions favourable to mechanization - particularly the army and navy - where themselves often
conservative adherents to old,
obsolete,
highly
individualistic
never
be
needed
,,148
governmen t wor k .
aga1n,
as
there
1S
little
continuity
1n
for
found
large-scale mechanization
A scissor
60
The psychological
'hand
steel
firms
continued
to
manufacture
School
Metallurgical
Society
In
1892,
which
debated
"\~hich
was
recognised
that
prIce
had
become a major
factor in determining the type of steel used, it was still unquestionably agreed that shear steel should be used whenever possible.
William Wardley, representing the working forgers,
61
discussion,
some
of
the
extremely
famous houses,
antiquated
production
i tional practices to ensure the best resul ts were plainly illustrated: some firms still kept their shear steel bars for six to
eight
months
before
rolling them,
160
developments
possible
Brearley,
of
traditional
working
In
1912-13
which
understanding
Firth's
steel
disrupted
and
virtually
principle.
laboratories,
Harry
discovered
0 ne
flrm
sal. d
th a t
th e s t ee I was
"unsui ted for cutlery steel: it is too hard to work and is almost
impossible to gr ind,
u164
colour.
Firth's reached
similar
conclusion,
believing
that
any case,
knives
from
the
166
steel had replied "Bloody likely, it would be contrary to nature".
I ts unpopular i t Y wi th the cutlers stemmed from their inabili t y to
treat
the
machine,
steel
and
like
would
was
ordinary
not
react
steels:
easily
it
to
had
to
ordinary
be
goffed
hardening
by
and
Thus "neither the structure nor the compostion of the metal gave the
resul ts
rumours
were
spread
which
claimed
that
cut
168
from
These
new
steel.
62
However,
In
manager at
July
1914
Brear ley
did manage to
to
find
attempt
cutlery
further
tests.
"
results and were praised by Brearley: They looked well ahead; they
did not expect
towards
more
scientific
and
strictly
evidenced
by
developments
ln
the
scientific
testing
and
coo 1 lng
curves an d mlcroscopes.
acceptance illustrate the steady departure
'rule of thumb' techniques.
extention
of
the
application
of
artificial
far
hafting
This was
partly because their use had now been sanctioned by time, partly
because ivory prices continued to soar,171 but
also
because
the
handle did not effect the essential cutting quality of the cutlery.
172
1896 was the busiest year yet for xylonite and celluloid dealers,
and as prices escalated, new types of xylonite were produced which
173
were near perfect imitations of natural materials.
By
1905
Sheffield cutlery houses were using more imitation hafting material
than real,174 but the sheer demand pushed up celluloid prices by 10
175
to 20% between 1906 and 1907.
By 1913, the price of natural
materials was so exorbitant that they had been almost displaced by
substitutes, with only the very finest and most expensive cutlery
176
still incorporating real ivory pearl or horn.
However,
the
acceptance of this change by the industry would not have involved
too great an abandonment of its principles.
63
Throughout this per iod, raw mater ials and the way In which they
were crafted, remained a focal area of concern and debate within
the Sheffield
trades.
in themselves,
industry
to
such
changes
Nevertheless,
attitudes
within
were
extremely
cautious.
developments, they were only adopted when they had been sufficiently
tried and tested and most importantly, when they were understood to
be compatible with the commercial strategy and reputation which the
industry had created, and was attempting to maintain for itself.
There was considerable sympathy and common ground between the
older, more reputable manufacturers, who constituted 'the voice' of
the trades, and the craftsmen who spoke for the skilled workers and
Both appreciated the unique quality and reputation
craft unions.
built on these attributes. Unique quality and diversity of production marked Sheffield out from all its competitors.
Undoubtedly
this
traditional
reliance
upon customary
practices
to
ensure
appreciate
changing
conditions
demand
In
particular
clandestinely,
their prices, the ease with which this industry could be adapted to
cost reductions through division of labour and subcontracting, made
the purchase of machinery even less of an inevitability.
Thus, by 1914, the
However,
respectability
and
reputation
for
the
finest
goods
64
The
Sheffield industry
and
thus
managed
to
retain
its
prestigious
exceptional links with the past, which whilst suiting the temperament of its practi tioners, also enabled it to continue to mark
itself out from competitors, retaining a well-known niche and name
of its own.
65
Footmtes
1. D.H.Aldcroft, 'The Entrepreneur and the British Economy 1870-1914',
Economic History Review, XVII, 1964,p.133. For further discussion of this view,
see D. H. Aldcroft ,
D.Aldcroft and H.W.Richardson (edsJ, The British Economy 1870-1939, London, 1969;
H. J. Habakkuk, .Airer ican and British Technology in the Late 19th Century: the
Search for Labour Saving Inventions, Carbridge, 1962; D.Landes,' fechnological
6. 5.1.,9.1.1858.
7. P.P.1888,XXVI, Factory Inspectors' Reports, c.5328, p.37; J.Himsworth, The Story
of Cutlery, p.74.
8. S.Pollard, History, p.129.
9. Ibid.
10. Lloyd, pp.185-7.
11. Ibid. ~.187; 5.1., 24.5. 1884; 22.12.1884.
12. P.P.1865, J.E.White's Report, case 199 (p.43).
13. British Industrial Publishing Company, Industries of Sheffield: A Business Review,
Birmingham, 1888, pp.32, 39, 43, 92.
14. C. K. Hartley, 'Skilled Labour and the Choice of Technique in Edwardian Industry' ,
Explorations in Economic History, XI, 1974.
15. The Ironmonger, 25.7.1885, vol.34, a letter fran .Airerica concluded that although
there was no
l~er
limited de1land for certain high-grade, English goods, vklich are sold on their
traditional reputation, and command a price vklich bears very little relation to
the actual value of the goods as compared with correspcrding .Airerican makes
66
these fine goods however, will probably always continue to be sold, as there are
people WlO want thEm without any regard to price".
16. N.Rosenberg, Perspectives on Technology, Ccrrbridge, 1976, p.191; See also
S.B.Saul, 'The Market and the Development of the Mechanical Engineering Industries
in Britain 1860-1914' , Economic History Review, XX, 1967; R.Samuel, '1he Workshop
of the World', History Workshop Journal, III, 1977, p.55
17.
~nglish.
and
Brailford's
Illustrated
and National Service, Industrial Conditions in the Cutlery Trades, Report by the
Cutlery Council, H.M.S.O., London, 1947, p.4.
24. Pawson and Brailford, 1879, p.256; The Ironmonger, 22.1.1887, vol.37, p.124, a
high quality knife needed 60-100 "handlings" and "it has not been found profitable
by any machinery to reduce the nLJTber of these operations more than 10 or 20 per
cent in this branch of the cutlery trade." The Irrplarent and Machinery Review,
1.10.1898, p.23290, "The difficulty is in grinding, no machine having yet been
introduced for successfully accomplishing that operation; it requires intelligence,
and that camot be put into a machine".
25. G.P. Jones and H. Townsend, 'The Rise and Present Prospects of the Sheffield Cutlery
Trades', International Cutler, vol. 3, Feb 1953.
26. P.P. 1886, XXI, R.C. on the Depression in Trade and Industry, 2nd Report, 1886,
~&~715,
S.Uttley, q.1143.
27. Ibid., q.1144; P.P.1889, XIII, S.C. on the Sweatirq Systan, 3rd Report, 1889,
C.4715, S.Uttley, q.24844; P.P.1890, XV, S.C. on the Merchandise Marks A~1(1887),
1890, C.7586, C.Hobson, q.1204.
28. For excrrple, see R.W.Cavill, 'Personal Raniniscences of Cutlery fv1anufacture',
typed manuscript, S.C.L., M.P .184L, when a stean hCJTTrer was installed in Sheffield
67
in the late 1850s, "the table blade forgers in the to\'nl, believirx;) that their
living was endan;]ered by this new inventim, organised a rattenirx;! gan;] to
destroy the machine; hGt.iever, Mr. L8\'Bm ( its OItJIler) heard of their intentim ln
tiIre to
SLlTllUlS
the police and Yorkshire Dragoms. The g8rx;J was driven away
sufferirx;) nurerous casualties, and the machine was saved". See also P.P .1865, XX
J.E.White's Report, p.2.
29. B.R.Dyson, A Glossary of Old Sheffield Trade Words, pp.24,28.
30. P.P.1889, XIII, S.C. m Sweatirx;), H.F.Davis, q.25373; P.P.1829,XXXVI, R.C. m
Labour, 2nd Report, 1892-94, C .9795, Wardley, q.13960.
31. P.P.1886, R.C. on the Depression, Uttley, q.1214.
32. P.P.1889, XIII, S.C. on Sweating, Uttley, qs.24443, 24447, 24861.
33. H.C.Baker and S.Mitchell,
44. R.Floud, The British Machine Tool Industry 1850-1914, Cambridge, 1976, p.31.
45. 5.1.,7.5.1874.
46. 5.1.,23.1.1880.
47. 5.1.) 15.1.1880.
48. British Industrial Publishing Company, Industries of Sheffield, 1880, p.83.
49. Ibid., p.91.
50. Ibid., pp.35,91; Implement and Machinery Review, 1.7.1882, pp.4425-6.
51. J.B.Himsworth, The Story of Cutlery, p.144.
52. H.Tatton, Henry Tatton's Heeley Notebook: Sketches from Heeley's History,
Sheffield, 1986, p.8.
53.
S.I.~ 11.10.1873;
new
68
'91aw' knife, for eXffiPle, v.hidl was sellirYJ well in .tVrerica in the late 1870s,
caused disputes v.hidl were so intense that they were taken to court.
56. S. 1., 20. 10. 1873.
57.5.1., 21.11.1877.
58. 5.1., 2.2.1884, the secretary of the Razor Grinders Union, for eXffiPle, believed
that low payrrent was the principle reason for the LrpOpularity of hollow grindirYJ
armgst the Sheffield grinders; the work was considerably better rewarded in
Germany. Thus, vAlilst ever they were in a position of a skill v.hich still
crnmanded a good wage, there was no real incentive to learn further skills.
59. Ibid.
60. J.B.Himsworth, The Story of Cutlery, pp.56, 132, 136, shut knives, for eXffiPle,
r8rYJed from "pen and pocket with one to eight blades, fleans and scribers, clasp,
lock, budding, graftirYJ and com knives, sportffi'ffl' s and dlarpagne knives . wi th
roLnd, square and nick joints, nail-nick, 10rYJ nail-nick, notch hollow, stept8rYJ,
catchsides, spear and castratirYJ shape blades, iron and brass webbs, scale and
bolster shadows, equal ends, rOLlld reverse and flat backs, "Mlamcli ffe" and
"COrYJress" shapes".
61. P.P.1886, XXI, R.C. on the Depression, Belk, qs. 2839, 2841; 5.1.,16.11.1872.
62. See chapter 7, pp. 229-243, 'Health'.
63. J.B.Himsworth, The Story of Cutlery, p.65.
64. 5.1., 28.12.1872.
65. 5.1., 14.3.1874; 7.3.1874.
66. 5.1., 4.12.1875.
67. 5.1., 25.11.1882.
68. 5.1., 10.2.1883.
69. 5.1., 24.4.1883.
70. Joseph Rodgers and Sons ltd., Under Five Sovereigls, Sheffield, 1911, p.27;
British Industrial PublishirYJ Company, Industries of Sheffield, p.27; Christopher
Johnson and Co., Patterns and Price lists, 1873, S.C.l., M.D.2378.
71. 5.1., 5.5.1879.
72. S.Pollard, History, p.129; J.B.Himsworth, The Story of Cutlery, p.73.
73. 5.1., 5.5.1879
74. Pawson and Brailford, 1879, p.256.
75. British Industrial PublishirYJ Company, Industries of Sheffield, p.27.
76. Joseph Rodgers, Under Five Sovereigns, pp.25-27.
77. S. I , 1885, Such a techliqJe was that develqJed by C. Ibbotson, a well ~
cutlery manager, v.hereby strips of ivory or pearl were soldered on to WCXJden or
69
gy~
Sheffield steel
firms offered cheap steel, but their old custorrers \Alere reported as beirg
dissatisfied with its quality, preferring the original better quality steels.
84. J.G. Timmins , p.209.
85. Joseph Rodgers bought a water pCJlNered forge at Leppings Lane in 1890, rroved to a
tilt at Oughterbridge in 1894, and then to Middlewood forge in 1903. They also
produced their own cast steel fran 1894, and in 1907 boujlt the large Sheaf
Island works fran William Jackson and Co., Under Five Sovereigns, p.9.
86. Ibid., pp.9, 25.
87. G.Tweedale, Sheffield Steel and America: A Century of Commercial and Technological
Interdependence, 1830-1930, Cambridge 1987, pp.32, 97. G. Tweedale, Giants of
Sheffield Steel: The Men Mlo fv1ade Sheffield the Steel Capital of the World,
Sheffield 1986,pp.50-51; S.Pollard, Marsh Bros., p.33.
88. The Century's Progress: Yorkshire Industry and Commerce, Lmcbn, 1893,p.124. A
few other firms also carbined the production of steel and cutlery, for example,
Wingfield Rovbothams Wlo acted as general rrerchants, cutlery rrerchants, blister,
cast and shear steel makers, British Industrial Publishing Company, Industries of
Sheffield, p.109.
89. C.Pag~,La Coutellerie, vol.VI, p.1482.
90. See chapter 3, pp. 83-90.
91. Reported in S.I., 10.11.1879.
92. The Ironmonger, 14.2.1880.
93. S. I ., 10. 11 1879, one marufacturer wrote that respectable cutlery houses "continue
to use the sCIre fine brands of steel as those by vllich their reputations \Alere
originally fOLflCled, and the care and skill used in manipulation \Alere never so
great as at present".
70
5.I.~.5.1913;
"preparation and
71
T~s,
26.12.1901.
121. Ibid.
122. 5.1., 13.9.1913; 7.2.1914.
124. 5.1., 16.2.1897.
125. Quoted in 5.1., 12.5.1890.
126. 5.1., 6.5.1890.
127. S. 1., 1.9. 1900; 18. 1 . 1896.
128. 5.1., 1.9.1901.
129.5.1.,26.10.1912; 24.1.1913; 15.3.1913; P.P.1892, XXXVI, W.F.Wardley, qs.19244-5
19356; the Labour Gazette, Nov.1893, p.150; The
T~,
23.6.1897.
The
72
CWl
specialist machines. At
Neechcrn, Veal1 and Tyzack 's "mst of the machinery here is only i<nc.Jv..fl and used by
thffilSel ves, being the invention of me of the late principals", 9leffield and
Rotherhan Up-To-Date, p. 127 .
152. Ibid., p.126.
153. Ibid., pp.122, 135, 138; At Neemcrn, Veall and Tyzack's, it was stated that "the
first and mst essential factor in the production of reliable cutlery is, of
course, the raw material, and in this connection, it may be stated that from the
earliest period of its establishrent and subsequent progress of this house, none
but the very finest steel, specially hardened and tempered, by skilled craftsmen
for the purpose for which each article is intended, has been used - a policy
we
goffirg harrrers "t.huJ;Jed" a blade, whilst skilled hand forgirg "kneaded it like
clay".
73
74
Chapter 3
Opinions
of
wage
rates.
These
were
criticism
industry,
often
came
from
people
outside
voiced
and
the
city and
practised
such
'unrespectable', traitors to
peripheral and dated issues, yet unable to tackle even the idea
of faults and problems within their own procedures and beliefs?
There appear
sectionalism of the
industry In
this:
terms of both
the
acute
products and
in the policy of far reaching product di fferentation, specialization and quality production, which quite successfully insulated the firms who marketed such products, from the competition of
mass- produced
German
and
American
goods.
However,
such
strategy necessar ily 1 imi ted hor izons and made it di ff icul t to
branch out into a wider market, whilst inevitably also concent-
75
OR
. 1lza tIon.1
f specla
cutlery
trades.
Less
attention
was
directed
to
to
the
personal
sales
techniques
of
the
cutlery
1907~
As it
was the export market on which at tent ion was focused, in which
changes in demand and selling techniques were demanded, and in
/
exports
of
cutlery
have
to
be
treated
were
treated
independently.
remarkably widely.
Before
1898,
exports
fluctuated
1872, when export sales reached 5,000,000, and again in 1882 and
1889 wi th exports of 4,100,000 and 3,180,000 (see graph
2).
Troughs occured in 1879 and 1886 when only 300,000 and 280,000
of cutlery were exported, falling even lower to 180,000 in 1894,
4
with little improvement on that situation by 1898.
Despite the
amplitude of variation, the overall trend was towards a significant decline in the value of exports after the boom of 18724.
This
tendency
was
confirmed
by
manufacturers
who
gave
76
Cutlery exports,
when
classified
independently,
equalled
The peaks in
(125,000),
and 1885
(150,000).
Finally
(see graph 4)
of
the
early 1870s.
Similarly,
virtually
all
markets
peaks in 1872-3,
6
9 and 1885-6.
1880-2,
and 1888-9;
troughs in 1878-
Australia
was,
by
Australian
troughs
were
similarly
experienced
when
cutlery exports
America by
generally slumped: in 1894, 1898, 1904, and 1908.
this period, had ceased to be a top ranking importer of Sheffield's
cutlery, and by 1912, was importing
lesser
value
than Canada, S. Amer ica, Br i tish India, S. Afr ica or Germany (see
77
all imported under 10,000 of cutlery a year from the U.K. (see
graph 4).
Imports of cutlery into the U.K. rose sharply between 1903
and 1907, from 30,000 to 150,000, (see graph 7), but after this
date remained very stable.
Seasonal Trends in Trade
Seasonal trends,
although
they
could
be
disrupted
completely
important,
and
fairly
cutlery trades,
remember.
as
accurately
predictable
and
remained an
feature
of
the
demand from one year to the next, was a signi ficant factor in
dissuading
manufacturers
from
adopting
mechanized,
factory
production.
Trade in January was usually quite poor, unless the orders
from the prev ious Christmas had been so large that trade was
carr ied over into the New Year, or unless there was a general
upturn
in
trade
which
caused
retailers
to
buy
in
stocks.
changes
In
fashion
became
more
pronounced,
thus
making
In January
and
travellers
normally
start
their
however, by severe weather conditions, which made the transportation of goods difficult, and discouraged people from shopping.
The second quarter of the year was normally busier than the
first, as trade picked up, until the lull which occurred between
the summer and winter seasons, in May and June.
In anticipation
78
of the breaks, work would increase markedly before the Easter and
Whi tsuntide holidays,
state of trade.
When trade
was
as
employees took their vacations at the same time, did not become
general practice until after 1905.
drag on indefinitely,
when
throughout most of this period, the men did not really settle
down to their work again, until after the break for the Doncaster
Race
meeting
of
early
September.
There
continued
to
be
was
reasonable,
no
time
of
the
year
In the
From March,
for
example, Indian and Chinese demand fell off, as their hot weather
season approached, but orders increased from British and continental holiday resorts, and from the liner companies.
Similar ly,
In
the
quarter
which
ended
in
September,
whilst the
was
at
its
in
highest:
quarter
periods
the annual
would
see
79
fell.
The industry was normally slack In September, but picked up
in October, as the Chr istmas season began in earnest.
In the
three
weeks
of
making work
mounting
and
excessive
(being the
exertion
before
Inproved and
speedier
communications,
increased
orders were placed earlier, until what had at one time been the
busiest weeks of the year,
orders
dispatched
were
Christmas.
busiest
completed
November
months
of
the
and
and
December
year:
for
were
good
sale
well
before
Christmas
season
could
In
(facilitated as
he
understood
it,
by
the
longer
stage
were
most
ready
to
acknowledge
the
intensity of
11
By the
1890s
severe
80
competi tion
readily acknowledged.
Many manufacturers realized that they had been "too apt to sneer
at our German competi tors" ,12 as they,
after
as
the
1890s,
their
prices
increased.
Sheffielders
preferences
of
some
consumers
V8]
relied
for
upon
products
the
which
ue of 'craftsmanship'. Such
this
period,
whenever
'Sheffield~16
competition
was
therefore,
nften
defused
as
an
issue
which
Moreover,
once seen In
these
terms,
little
the commercial
dishonesty
of
some
traders:
nothing
more
81
such attitudes
reflected
to be necessary.
the
inability,
or
To some
at
least
expensi ve,
now
efforts
accordingly.22
to
research
market,
and
manufacture
paid considerable
attention
to
the
details
of
new
tari ffs,
trade.
Exports
to Canada
slumped
before
the
82
24
created increasingly
severe bouts of panic and despondency amongst manufacturers, 25 and
despair that even those markets which remained open were often
26
obstructed by biased customs pfficials.
However, whilst high
quality cutlery was generally exempted from such duties, it was
further useful valid ammuni tion to those manufacturers and men
who regarded such goods as the only type that Sheffield should be
manufacturing anyway. A correspondent in the Sheffield Independent,
realising that the proposed French tariff of 1881 would wipe out
Sheffield's exports of cheap cutlery, still fel t that "i t would
be no great evil,
chance
of
regaining her name for turning out cutlery that would stand the
test of any inspection, and for which the consumer abroad would
27
be glad to pay well".
The practical results of the debate on tarfffs were, however,
minimal.
some fresh markets (see forward), but more often the result was
poli tical debate.
This,
although heated,
detracted attention
from the internal problems of the Sheffield trades, and was never
about to result in the implementation of any practical policy.
The Free Trade versus Protection debate was the crucial
trade issue affecting manufacturers at two stages in this period:
in the late 1870s and
periods,
Issue.
broadly,
in which
In the 1870s,
between the
1880s
and
the
early
1900s,
the
same
Increase
the
prlce
of
British
exports,
and
remained
politically
commercially, as well as morally wrong, as well as
.
d'len t . 29 F ree Tra d
" an ever presen t h
lnexpe
e was
e I
p 'In prosperity, our sheet anchor in times of deep depression".30
Other
cutlery
Br i tish
manufacturers
were
similar ly
fearful
that
83
the
costs
of
imported
raw
mater ials,
particularly"
Swedish bar iron and hafting materials, would cripple the cutlery
31
trades.
When the question of tariffs reemerged to occupy the centre
of the
trade
remained
debate
supporter
Sheffield's most
ci ty' s
agaIn
leading
of
In
Free
prominent
the
1900s
Trade
cutlery
the
cutlery
principles.
manufacturer,
A.J.Hobson,
was
32
Callis,
continued
also
the
industry
of
the
the
local
influential
per iod,
Freder ick
The
trade
union
imposition
leadership
of
expressed
, 'I ar convlc
' t'Ions, 35 b u t suc h po 1 itical and moral commit ments
SImI
were
not
condusi ve
to
national competitiveness.
Similarly outraged, but vague and unconstructive in practical
terms, were the atti tudes of the Sheffield trades to fraudulent
marking
of
cutlery,
which
although
relatively
mInor
and
main
practices
involved
In
false
marking
were
the
of
quali ty,
such as
Bessemer
or
goods as
'hand made'.
pIg
'warranted
Iron
blades;
shear
steel',
false
or
indications of
'cast
Steel'
on
Originally,
feature
84
Company.
36
the
Increase
In
trade
39
Moreover,
'Sheffield'
and crucial.
goods
with
'pirated'
Sheffield
trade
marks,
and
the
whilst generally
the
the revelations
participating
trading
away
profi t,
were all
in
commercially
Sheffield's
communal
dishonest
reputation
practices,
and
for
own
their
illustrates the split that was developing between those manufacturers and men, broadly classified by contemporaries as 'respectable'
85
of a consistently
fine,
specialized
product;
To the
which were still her monopoly, and for this, a reputation and
trade mark were vital.
were anxious to
For, whilst a
to
done, and orders would once more flood into the city.
Attention was drawn to frauds within Sheffield by the trade
unions and the S.F.T.C. as early as the 1860s.
the S. F . T. C.
43
In the
1880s
ations.
uSlng
the
issue as
yet
another
line in
their at tack
on
2ne!
86
46
reputable
firms
too,
these
frauds,
along
with
the
products
marks
was
scandal
perceived
as
vital,
and
was
as
of advertising
used
kind
the
whole
this
as they
instead
of,
as
Thus in the words of one cr i tic, "the Cutlers' Company have been
more
In
favour
of
encouraging
[false
marking],
because
the
Cutlers' Company was composed of the very people which were doing
"t" 51
87
and the
and
outrage.
injury
done
It
by
was
man
"simply
to
his
suicidal
nearest
and
analagous
fr iend,
and
to
from
the
every
In fact,
the
Company
freely
admi t ted
that
they were attempting to draw a veil over the problem, as its very
discussion, and the lack of confidence that it would inspire would
55
further harm Sheffield's trading reputation.
However, the trade un1ons,
Discontent
They directed
Company
who
their
blamed
anger
at
foreign
the
trade
hypocr i tes
competition
for
in
the
the
trade
when their
own dishonesty and search for illegal profit were the real cause.
The Company was helping to rob Sheffield of its hard won reputtation;
it
was
Sheffield" .58
no
longer
the
"custodian
of
the
fair
name
of
times,
day.
wi th
Under
less
any
profi ts
than
circumstances
they
manufacturers
used
of
the
to pride them-
selves on having a good name, and when they died if they did not
have a
take
few
special
care
that
they
left
an
they seemed to
unblemished
reputation.
(Cheers). But of late a change had come, and we had in our midst
unscrupulous manufacturers and merchants who were not unwilling to
59
damage our good name in order to make a fortune for themselves".
The S. F . T . C.
succeeded
1n
forcing
the
creat ion
f a T own
Council committee to look into the issue, but they were indignant
that
the
Board
of
Trade
considered
the
88
done,
implicated In
the
partiality
the scandal,
of
many
manufacturers
who
were
and
became
another
forum
for
The
"with
indignation
by
those
working
men
who
loudly
to
and to
imi tating
the
example
of
Nero,
who
fiddled
whilst Rome
lS
1886:
the
landslide
Company
Liberal
63
railed
at
victories
the
unions,
indicate
citing
the
their
experienced~5
It was an easy
89
concept
to
understand
and
colonies
are
apply,
countries to our 10ss ... Bad trade, as we all know, is the result
66
of want of confidence in each other".
As so often happened at di fficul t periods In these trades,
'the past'
manufacturers
were
clearly
divided
on
this issue, but there was no hard and fast pattern to the divide,
such as old-established firms versus new firms, or large versus
small.
being freely
acknowledged
that
a
69
number
of
Evidently
"big
some
knobs"
were
manufacturers
wanted to use the celebrated trade marks that they and Sheffield
had earned, in order to sell their lower quality goods as well.
This was the aspect
trate on
the
The Cutlers'
the
and
the
public
thus
role of foreign
fraudulent marking.
Infact the
The
former
demanded
90
Their
Chamber
of
Commerce and the S.F.T.C., gave detailed evidence on the practicali tes
The 1890
Act
prohibi ted all goods with a misleading mark from entry into
' 76 and if no country of manufacture was stated on the
Brl' taln,
goods, it was taken to be that of the port from which they were
77
sent.
After this pronounced friction, there ensued a long period of
considerable harmony and joint action between the S.F.T.C. and the
employers'
organizations.
numerous problems which were found to exist with the new (as with
all prev ious) legislation, which meant that it was necessary to
hold talks and plan al ternati ve strategies,
improve it.
In
an
at tempt
to
result of the continued prominence that the S.F. T.C. gave to the
lssue,
procedures of conciliation
boards
of
conciliation
In
each
centre
of
industry,
a major
function of which would be to keep a watchful eye on the implementation of merchandise mark legislation.
who made the most practicable and constructive criticisms, and the
suggestions
which
formed
the
resolutions
finally
adopted
and
91
over, along very much the same lines as those which the government
would finally adopt many
emphasis
upon
the
years
enforcement
later.
of
the
Act
abroad
and
In
the
undertaken
by
varIOUS
prestigious
82
of
the
It
trades.
was
believed
. 1 a tIon. 84
Sheffielders to be the resul t 0 f recen t 1 egIs
many
by
marks
to Sheffield's trade,
the issue
continued, until the end of this period, to be seen from conflicting perspecti ves.
persisted
consideration to the
85
Sheffield's trade marks by foreigners.
The
trade
however,
In
gIvIng
continued
far
greater
use of
unions
To them,
and
increasingly,
poor
calibre
workmen,
whose
work
was
92
nonetheless
stamped with
the
firm's
prestigious mark.
Thus,
the
costly
Sheffield marks.
prosecutions
of
foreign
trades
who
used
and responsiblity,
and
In
fact, they were actually getting their supplies from the very men
they were asked to prosecute".
91
By the end of the per iod, false marking was once more the
major issue that obsessed the Sheffield cutlery trades.
Comment-
93. t
I
pay for proceedings under merchandise marks legisla t lon,
was the Cutlers' Company who this time established a "Sheffielc'
93
fact
and
f lrms,
as we 11 as war k
men' s aSSOCla
The money dona ted
helped in the prosecution of firms
97
Egypt and Russia.
as
far
afield as Germany,
W.F.Wardley,
who
were
persons
who
have been
102
purchase the goods".
misled by such
false
pretences to
..
94
to
compete
for
it,
especially
since
the
standard
of
goods
required could not always be produced for the price that was
103
The rumbling debate came to a head In 1900-1
being given.
when accusations of unpatriotism, as well as the making of
excessive profits, unscrupulousness and dishonesty, were levelled
at the men who sweated the cutlers and harmed the soldiers by
selling goods which, al though marked according to the standard
stipulated
in
the
consequent damage
made
to the Ii velihood
by
the
men
who
of the
appeared
before the 1908 Fair Wages Committee. The best firms would not
touch government work, much of which was made from poor quality
106
Bessemer steel.
The men continued to plead not only in the
name of commercial morali ty and honour, but also for the "fair
manufacturers who pay a good pr ice for ordinary work", but who
were "cut out of a contract because another emmployer is unscrup107
ulous".
The accusations reached a bitter climax when, In 1913, the
razor forgers' union, led by its secretary, Henry Reaney, took the
firm of Thomas Turner and Co. (whose head was the influencial exMaster Cutler and ex-Lord Mayor, A. J. Hobson)
The
of
hand
work
which
was
necessary
to
constitute
the
95
men
believed that the loose defini tion of 'hand forging' which had
been established in the court case, could be applied to virtually
any
blade
which
had
been
"tapped wi th a hammer",
and would
inundate markets
to be considered as an
This
tended
from
to
emphasize
and
cement
Sheffield's
isolation
The preoccupation
'-lith "The good name of Sheffield" was still evident in the 195b~~
as was
the
concern
of
working
cutlers,
who
criticised
the
in
1986,
the
government
revoked
legislation
allowed goods
to be marked
'Sheffield'
wi thout
any
indication that they had been imported, The Star reiterated the
same old
fears:
fought-for
and
1\
much-valued
reputation,
a reputation built on
,,115
merit ... what a windfall for the wideboys and fast- b uc k s..
the 'unrespectable traders' of the 1980s.
Closely associated with the importance attached to quality
and merchandise marks, was the widely held belief amongst many
members
unless
of
the
markets
Sheffield trades,
were
firmly
that
classified
to
the
96
supplied with nothing below the standard to which they had become
116
The Ironmonger was a particular vocal exponent of
accustomed.
the belief that Sheffield was losing trade because
of
the quality
the
cutlery,
particularly
the
Americans,
to
purchase
elsewhere;
infact this had started with the influx of poor quality Sheffield
cutlery which had flooded into America between 1862 and 1865. 118
Attitudes towards the decline of the once enormous (both
materially and psychologically) American demand,are symptomatic
of the way in which Sheffield manufacturers estimated and treated
such problems.
3rd.
the
Sheffield
Moreover,
justi fication,
J.D.Wing,
one
of
Wostenholm's
97
progress,
am
becoming
little of our fine knife trade. The Americans make a knife which
is apparently good enough for the average American.
Appeals by
fall
largely
customs
house
on
this
side .. l
remember
this
district
and
preeminence.
Rodgers
is
gone,
By
1907,
the
average
duty
on
cutlery
imported into America was 64%, pocket cutlery paying 78%, razors
129
55%, and table cutlery 50%.
Although other markets were
found, the sheer size and lucrativeness of the American market
was never forgotten, a contrast reminder of better times.
It had
been "a big market, the biggest in the world. Such orders as come
130"
from the U.S. cannot be expected from any other part of the glooe.
Thus, the cutlery trades gave undue emphasis to the demand
side of their trading difficulties.
Similarly illustrative of
this approach was their concern with a whole range of short term
and relatively superficial, short-sighted political reasons for
98
the
demand
from
sociological
details
were
adduced
to
account
for
said
to
be
caused
by
ladies
mastering golf and other outdoor sports", thus "they have neither
the time nor
the
inclination
for
sewIng,
was
~the
caused
the
bad
trade
which
accompanied the
market~~ it
seems certain that far too much attention was lavished on such
peripheral problems.
In contrast when it came to assessIng trade In terms of
internal dynamics of the cutlery trades, to the identi fication
and correction of prbblems within their own structure or approach
which were causing them to lose control of markets, debate was
far more muted.
Problems within the industry, which were detrimental to its
trading position, were believed by manufacturers to lie with the
intransigence and militancy of the men. They had forced up wages
141
'k 142
and prices in the 1870s,
and had conducted ruinous strI es
which had forced trade into the hands of compet i tors.
They had
143
refused to put in regular hours when trade was good,
and
had
144
restricted the supply of labour.
The American press, describIng
99
Sheffield
manufacturers
were very quick to contrast the mili tancy and supposedly high
earnings and standard of Ii ving of their men, wi th the frugal;
disciplined American and German workforces, whose long hours and
low pay were often ci ted as a major reason for the increased
competitiveness of their goods ln the international market. 146
However,
if trouble wi th
the workforce,
have
been
machinery was
goods,
149
However,
whilst much
cheaper
on the
greater
the
stabili ty
markets
as possible,
or both.
100
generally
different conditions were often experienced in different departments within the same week.
table kni fe
the
considerably
better
and
steadier
trade
than
the
smaller firms who were 'squeezed out' by those firms who developed
more varied markets and contracts.
as
contracts
By 1907, it was
single
basket.
trades
to
identi fy
or analyse
wide
reaching,
broad
it was easier
01
to
grasp
commercial
possibilities
allover
the
upon, and were quick to brag of their extensive trading connections, allover the world,161 whilst notable manufacturers boasted
162
However,
of their world-wide, fact-finding missions.
In
practical terms, few firms had overseas offices: only the oldest
and most prestigious manufacturers. There was little increase In
the number of firms who used these, or in fact, in the number of
163
overseas offices themselves, after the early 1880s.
Joseph
Rodgers,
the
Sheffield
cutlery
manufacturers
would
the
Britain
judgements
was
behind
of historians.
the
times
In
Aldcroft
techniques
found
and
that "I f
methods
of
production, she was even further behind the times in her selling
methods".165
was notorious
for
his
indi fference
"the Briish
to style,
his
the
individuality
of
tradition
for
the
conformity
102
The
Br i tish
firm
has
been
customer,
information
which
as
concerning
well
as
hindering
the
customer
requirements,
169
manufacturers' control of the situation.
free
flow
loosened
of
the
In various nations,
'push'
1 y. 174 Moreover, as we 11
they failed to market the goo d s vIgorous
as
branch
offices,
some
firms
used
travelling
salesmen
and
103
176
were obviously aware of the need for the most direct possible
means
of
communications,
when
in
to cut
transactions,
177
customers.
directly
and
deal
the
1890s,
their
they attempted,
'jobbers'
largest
out of
American
day is decidedly towards reducing the distance between manufacturer and customer, and perhaps we are somewhat behind the times
in not placing facilities in the way of bringing this about" 178
However, most Sheffield firms, because of their small scale,
and their highly specialized range of products, would always
179
experIence problems in selling their goods abroad.
They
had
made their contacts and reputations, by personal selling, as when
180
George Wostenholm made trips to America in the 1840s.
In the
small easily manageable domestic market, goods were still sold by
means of reliable travellers, who toured a certain area every
year, village by village, coming to know the various traders, and
their circumstances intimately.181
Such sales
techniques
were
soft options'
to which
British manufacturers retreated in the face of foreign competition,184 but because of the cultural links and values which made
Sheffield I s products and sale:J techniques most acceptable.
As
Ie
premi~re
noyau
de
185
la
client~le
qUI
reclame
les
latter
part
of
this
period,
quite
well
informed
about
104
was
however,
commercial
community
individual firms.
generally,
rather
than
the
efforts
of
by
was
variety
Manufacturers seem to
' gUI'd ance. 186
ac t upon th IS
The
also
of
extremely
commercial
active
In
organising
attache's,
on
the trade
invited
for
their
commercial
knowledge
and
contacts.
British ministers were amongst the most frequent and sought after
guests, because of their power over government contracts, which
were so important to the heavy Sheffield trades, and to a lesser
189
extent, the cutlery trades.
Diplomats were qui te frequent
at tenders,
as were
foreign
notables,
wi th particular emphasis
given to those who had contacts with those markets where Sheffield
190
already already had a foothold.
The tradition continued that
the chief guest would stay at the house of the Master Cutler.
Thus Kitchener stayed with A.J.Hobson in 1902, when "the socializing that went on formed a basis for making contacts which would
later be used to form business links".191
In
1893,
included
General
Roberts
of Kandahar,
Duke of
whilst
Rodgers'
the
192
principal
a signi ficant
part)
105
194
and
were
favour
of more
detailed trade returns: they were the main force behind the Board
of Trade's separation of hardware and cutlery export returns In
195
1898.
The Chamber also insisted upon the importance of
foreign language tui tion for travellers and manufacturers, and
196
subscribed to the University language school.
However,
cutlery
manufacturers,
when
left
to
their
own
dev ices and ini tiati ve, do not appear to have been so forwardlooking or enterprising.
enter ing
effort.
advertigments
in
the
press
to
and
no
gave
the
avail.
exhibitions
In
1872,
for
example, it was "observed wi th regret, that Sheffield, notwi thstanding the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce, appears
to be unrepresented at the [Vienn2) Exhibition".200
likely
Similarly in
and
the one
Suggested
their
ideas and
.
t
per t lnen
106
high
quality
cushion
product specialization,
themselves
from
the
competing
mass
produced
to
wares
still
was
the
indi fference
to
exploiting
with
great
energy.
King C.Gillette,
of
safety
razor,
which
required
vigorous
~ute
were
to
slow
salesrooms,
advertise
following
their names.
In
Rodgers'
example,
were
eventually
not
aggressive
reluctance
on
there
the
IS considerable evidence
part
of
cutlery
which
manufacturers
suggests
to adopt
procedures, and styles of cutlery which would have won for them a
Whilst German
wider and more enthusiastic body of consumers.
houses frequently gave free quotes in local currencies, Sheffield
firms still sent their price lists allover the world in pounds,
shillings and pence. 211 Little effort appears to have been ma d e
107
to
communicate
prestigious
In
firm
foreign
of
languages.
Christopher
In
Johnson
October
was
still
1877,
the
informing
Board
unstylish
9m~
packaging
was
another
criticism
which
As early as 1858,
Marsh Bros. were being informed by their agent in New York that
"Everybody In the trade nearly, now puts up spring cutlery In
boxes, and so far as I could ascertain, without extra charge. On
the shelves, our goods in bundles, beside those of other people
in boxes (making neat square bales) with handsome black gold and
green labels, do certainly look ... very 'old fogyish,,,.216
However, Marsh Bros. did at least remedy this: later catalogues
show samples of a variety of attractive labels which they had
217
adopted.
With regard to styles of their cutlery, Sheffield manufacturers were subjected to much criticism over their unreadiness to
abandon
their
old
pat terns
in
the
local
press,
apathy:
Amer ican retailers were said to have "sent pat terns to England
from time to time, but they appear to be indisposed to change
from old styles, until we have given up any idea of anything new
108
218
Nevertheless,
Brookes
and
Crookes were still boasting at the Calcutta Exhibition of 1884
that their gold medal had been won with items taken entirely from
221
stock - no new goods had been made at all.
The Times was
similarly critical of Sheffield manufacturers' tendency "to
manufacture what he has always been in the habit of doing, and to
sell to the colonies
what
he
can
sell
at
home;
whilst
the
of
the
Chamber
firms
to
of
Commerce
"obstinately
an
was
of
to ... old
adhere
assessment
aware
undervalued
the
styles
the
throughout
between
Wostenholms,
America
s~tout
New
the
the
1890s
framework
by
many
implemented.
Sheffield
The small,
showed themsel'/es
SheffiFld fir:-:1s
109
particular
demand.
Blanket
cr i ticism
of
failures to produce
227
neatly packaged, uni form and standardized goods,
pay insufficient
attention to the impossibility of combining such mass production
features wi th the
And this
viable
and
an
obvious
choice
for
Sheffield
distinction:
The
Times
nonetheless
evidenced
this
110
1.
2.
1re trffrfs rutlired in this ad the rEXt sa:tim are 1:E!::Ed en infonTBtien giv31
lLErE!
4.
Lloyd,
5.
Dlarter of ConTEree mirut~, .Jcn.18E36, S.C.L., L.D. 1r:os;2; P.P. 1006, XXI, R.C.
en tl-e C4JIL..::l8sim, S. Uttley, q .1155 ;
6.
938
c:pp=rdix 3, 1886.
gc:narally
m Lcrrur, PnsJErs to Q-Estims of Gru.p A, ~ .13-1 S.
7.
P. P. 1892, XXXVI,
o.
9.
P. P. 11386, XXI, R. C. m tl-n CEp:ressim, C. [Elk, qs. 2659. 2686, 21UJ, 2m3;
P.P. 1889. XIII,
still
"d~fy tiE
f(. C.
s.c.
10.
11.
aD<
p:!U
cE a:utellerie
Bl
Ih]leterre;
12.
13.
:ea
14.
llE IrrnT1!lJ2r lLBS partirularly reedy to criticise tI-E 9-effield cutlery trac:Es,
!:Ee
15.
dk:p1Er 2.
EiTEr~FO=E
~.171-2.,
of tlB
L~
am lJillian Lazmick
9:ille Cmpcrry',
~. 524-5.
also
I3ri tish fklim,' in TIE Dx:lire of the Sri tish Ea::rurry, Oxford, 1 ~6, p. 7,
"Foru...=>d to retreat fmn mrpetitim with rrESS prt:rl.o=d TTEth:ris, Gritish finrE
16.
Cee dlCpwr 2.
111
17.
u.ren
P.P. 18PJS, XXI, R.C. m tJ-r3 D:jJressim, C.8=lk, q.2659, ''It"ese tariffs are in
rTHlY caSL~, all rut prmibitory, ad IlDJld l:E mtirely
s:J,
d3TH"""d for spa:ial brads." 9:E aloo Charter of Dmrerce mirutes, Ppril, 1081 ,
S.C.L., L.D. 1986/2.
19.
20.
21
22.
~:rressim,
C. B=lk, q. ZiU7
g:TE
W3S
est:blisred in 1 UED,
to nuli tor i:J-e prqused m'nJ3S in tJ-e FI'ffrl1 tariff, uhilst its presicrnt g3Ve
evic::Ero= before tlE connissio"E uhidl discussed tl"E is9..E, in l:uth Lcrrbl crd
Paris, I1TIrtEr of [brrrerce mirutes, lre 1000, f-lpril 1881, S.C.L., L.D. 1906/2.
24.
Tariff barriers IJEre erecta::! agaimt British cutlery by ~in ard FbrbJ]3l (S.1.,
24.12.1892, Olarrer of CarrTEI'CB mirutes, 3J .l:n. 1893, S.C.L., L.D. 1986/4), by
26.
S. 1., 13.3.1870, 26.3.1870, cri ticiSll of bias arplayaj 'r::!y ATErican DJStam
officials; Olari"Er of CaTTTEI'CE mirutes, ppril 1881, S.C.L., L.D. 19B5/2, u-clear
WJrding of tJ-e Fnn:h tariff, uhidl invited rnstn..ctialist tactics by D..Btrrrs
of Ficials ; ibid., .Jcn. 1887, S. C. L., L. D. 1 986/3, rmst blatently, tl--e Arg3ltiniEll
5.1., 25. (j .1801, A. Vallcn:E , rill StatesTHl, 24.5 .19S2, "The lea::Ers of
SEffield's .in:iJstry
:ret::XJdTlise,
haj
I:EcaTE
a1
thru.J]l tlis m81ings Illi til crd kroillErl;]e of FrBlch aJlTTETCial policy.
expI't=s~3ed
His Vi8ill,
tU3VL"'S
calJlllli ty A series of excra ~ a-d letters in tJ-e S. 1., in Ct:t. crd r'bv. 1 077
tEUJ.E8l f1n.::Ella ad Drittain, bru...glt tile cti:Ete mfore a IJJid=r rJ.blic in
9leffield.
29.
112
?D.
S.L, 11.2.1806.
31.
S.L,2.1.1tE6.
32.
S.L, 13.3.1%.
33.
S.l., 5.3.191+;
:i+.
FCAllis , 9-effield llldar Free Tra::E, Lil:Eral leag...E, 9-Effield Brach, 19]3,
p.13; S.L,
9.3.1~.
29.12.1~13.
35.
35.
9:E chq)"tEr 1,
p. 6
121.
37.
Ibid., p .114.
30.
J=r~ ~rs, Lh..Er Five :avereiglS, p.15, 11. lli xfi8ld, I*~, p.5, "lh=
rETE
am
PIUJI'Gss."
39.
Uoyd, p .143.
40.
S.L, 23.12.1871.
41
TIE 1875 Trac:E r 'arks A::t, R. E. Lea::Er', The Cutlers' ColJHlY' vol. I p .123; Uoyd,
p.142.
42.
The 1t3E33 Patalts, Designs erd Tra::t= rBrks ret, R.E.Lea:hr, The Cutlers' Co;PCIl}' ,
m.
43.
5.1., 1/+.2.1887.
44.
45.
45.
5.1., 23.3.1026.
47.
P.P. 1892, XXXVI, R.C. m Ltr.cur, W.F.IL8rdley, q.19294, "gN8.ITITBlt slUJld li-Bist
that all gxds st-ruld tE plainly crd distinctly rrarked with tte rTrrufa:::turer's
nare, ETd W"EI'e rrr:d-1irEry
tm
him tEst, erd also liIlJld te m injLStice to tJ--e herd prui.cers, as at rrresent."
48.
5.1., 23.3.1f3Eri.
49.
5.1., 13.2.1 Bffi, to ITHl'J, it haJ bnJ IE an acceptEd article of faith tllat in 1[1+3
tiE I'Bster Wtler had pJJlicly d=stroyed bla.i:!s with false irdicatims of q.J3li tv
aTi firBj the 1hlJ oJlrri ts ICl.IY= SUrE of rrrrEy.
l::EEn taken L.ITEr a r-UJlic kt, 59 l:aJ.III, tte g:reral pLiJlic cmtiru::=d
tel~
113
XXI, R. C. m tJ-e rEpressim, R. Holmshaw ,qs .1239-40, 13lJ-E3, 1251-2, C. [Elk, qs.
265~) ,
Z745-6.
50.
P.P. 1006, XXI, R.C. m tJE ~sim, R.l-b1.rrffi-'3u, qs. 12to-2, 1233-5, 1242-3.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
S.D. T., 17.3.1 Bffi, a letter fmn ti-e r'Bster wtler, D-Erles [Elk.
56.
t1~
rra.:E: tJlat GenrEll gxds l.tEI'8 sold by 9-effield fimE as 9-Effield rraE; crd that
lL8I'e
nBrked with
m.an),
y;.j,
c.7506).
58.
59.
S. 1., 19.3.1 BB6 , a pLblic I1B3ting ad:tressed by t:I-e sE'cretary of tJ--e taJle iJlaE
fo~rs'
60.
rim.
fbIUJjl Co..rcil ~'linutes, Tra::Es Irq..rl..ry Crntnittee, 24.3.1886, S.C.L., C.A.B (8);
~e
l)..EinJSS
R. ELeaH-, Cutlers' Cmpcny, vol. I, p .128; S. 1., 9.9 .181lJ; this PJ li tical
divisim ICUlJ rl..sed mtimallyin, for exarple, tiE Irol crd D:Jal TraJ:~s Fevif3.JJ,
IEpJI'ted
62.
5.1.,14.10.1286.
63.
S.1., 26.10.1886.
64
S. 1., 25 3 .1886 .
65.
66.
S.1., 16.2.10BJ.
67.
66.
S.I., 2.3.1806.
69.
LqlXL:l(j
to its r:q:uinDiBlt
of a lliTTTli ttee of I~ry into fals= rTErkirg, (S.1., 24.3.1 eas) u.hilst
AlmrHHl 8.L,TJksbai<
UES
114
~:x:fs
(5.1.,
a platform tLlith t:re S.F.T.C. in t:re early d8'Js of tJ--e rEbate, (5.1., 19.3.18ffi)
uhilst RidlaI'd Uliott, F.P .Ra.ts:n, W.Parkin ad U.[\Jixm It.Ere all OJtspJken
qJlll--ents of false rrarl<irY:;J, (5.1., 8.12.1885) as
1.L8S
P.P. 189], >N, S.C. m iErclu-di::e r"Brks, C.I-tiJscn, qs.1::nJ-O; S.l., 13.2.1009.
71
72.
Thid.
73.
Thid.
74.
18JJ
76.
77
78.
OBITEr of Canre.rce lnirutes, D8:.1 007, 5.C.L., L.D., 19BG/3, Lp:n tJ1is iSSlE
tI-e S.F. T.C. stated that "cur inteI'L~ts are irr.:i:ntical, and IlE caTlJt afford
79.
80.
B1
82.
Pr.p,
a1
~'Erc.h:niise
f rB1-l=nt, e D.,
5.1., 24.1.1372,
EY+.
llJid.
85.
1rey crntin..El1 1::0 press for tJ--e apJlicatiOl of tiE 1007 kt thro.J:juIt tile WJrlc1,
ibid., 31.1 .1895, f'pril 11387, 31.1 .1889, Yl.1 .18g], Yl.1.1 GS'-4, S. C. L., LD. ,
19Eri/3 ,rd 4.
1'i5
86.
:ee dlqJt.er
B7.
5,
~.
185-6 .
18~19lJ,
27.6.1889;
88.
0T:rrtEI' of (bn rerrn min.rtes, 25.1.1 sm, S. C. L., L. D., 1 EBS/5, f-.E:echan, Veall ad
Tyza:k, rEorg= Wtler ETd 1lUTffi Ellis all pronise:f tEbJ..ffil :E25 ad rS50 to tJ-e
fLrd.
B9.
S().
5.1., 17.2.19lJ.
91.
S.1., 11.8.19J5.
92.
93.
S4.
95.
ltES
follalHf by f-'n::ID3.JJ
8al frur, tnth of wun !JEre steelm3kers, Wtlers' Carpcny, Prru:il rpJrts, 1911,
1912, 1913.
96.
TIJid.
97.
nJid.
98.
Thid., 1Yll+
99.
Ibid., 1 913.
1[lJ.
1D1.
Ibid., C. 3+.
1[12.
103.
~,
1911.
~m
of
CTE
104.
105.
S.1., 2.3.19]1.
1 06.
107.
100.
109.
S.F. T.C., Prn..lli rqrn-t, 1914, p.10, D.Parry, 200 Years of Sheffield Cutlery ~
Edge Tools,RlrtyVJ8Y,
S.1., 4.6.1913; G.6.1913; 7.601913; 25.3.191'+; S.D.To, 4.6.1913. 1986.
11lJ.
S.1., 25.3.1914.
111.
112.
113.
Intern::3timal Cutler,
[}::cE rf:J:~
1952, vol.2, m. 5 , p. 7.
r'By,
1914.
116
S2IVes
rrESS
~ru
StaiEsTar, 24.5.1952,
no
naTE,
tlT'l..I'e
tl~
qLElity of
tJ~i:r
cutpJt
~. 52-3
lnior DlEJTber of
U:JJ1TFl.....I'CE,
1956, p.4.
117.
11 B.
UES
IJ.ES
"alrmst exclLBiV21y"
G.TUEmale 9-uffield Steel, p.13J, the inpJrt.aL:e of t:I-E Amrican rmrket is also
evic.f:nRj by 8ruJkes ad CrUJI<es' 'Atlcntic lJ.brks', f1.Ib::re:rs' , Rlil~lphia
lJ.brks', crrf Graves styling of tl-Eir tu3iress as 'ATErian r''e:rchants'
121.
122.
E. q., S. 1., 1 0.12 .1 SA], 17.2 .18AJ, 14.2.1800, 1 B. 6.1881, 21.5.1 RD7; 3J.1 0.1875;
1 .1 .1 BID, 5.1.1 083; 5.4.1884, 1 0.1 0.1884 ;
124.
n-e
125. ld.rtLJllliamcn, I*XL ne31S I Excel: A 9-u:rt History of tl-e lhtlie l<nife, [n.p.],
197l+, p .1 5.
126.
Thid.,
~J .15-1 7.
127. ChristqJEI'
120.
.JjTI3CJ1,
S. 1., 29.11.1 093, F. Callis, p.1 [], u..hilst st:ressirg tl"'Et D..Itlery IUEeS hcd
cEvt=Jlq:Ed all sorts of otrer lL.c:rative rrmkets to TIf-Jla:e it, tllis r:rr.1Jhlet
irTJicata:i tJ~ camrll CIT'IEm ad interest in, as UEll as ITBTOry of ATEriccn
cerrrd, ut-en it p:Bffi tl"E q..estim "Lmt is tl~ Lrwe of sayirr;J that tre rr.rtlery
traE is pnrvj:EID-E
c ?"
U.0.
"
131. 5.1., 21.1 0.1 876, 28 .l~ .1877, 24.12.1 Q[JJ, 14.3.1 BF32, 3.1 0.1885 .
132. [.g., ~sh - ATEricallLBr, 5.1., 26.4.1898,14.5.1398; RBso - Turkish l:hr,
5.L,15.2.1879,28.6.19]2,3.3.1SOS.
133. E.g., 5.1., 16.2.1878.
1:?4 E.g., 5.1., 3.12 .187J , 31 .12.1892, 6.5.1893,17.2.1 899, 1.8.1 srn.
135. E.g., 5.1., 3.10.1805, 2.4.1892, 2.12.1892.
1?D. E.g., 5.1., 15.2.1 fJ96, 2.2.1 SUl
137. P. P. 1 8.%, XXI , R. C. m tJ-e Q:pressim, C. tElk, q. 2895; 5.1., 28.6.1872 ,
23.13.1879, 11 .8.18132.
e.~J.
142. S3e dlgJ. 2,42-3, 53-4 ; e g., 5.1., 26. 7 .18~; 20.9.1912; 15.3.1913.
1l~3
Eg., 5 1., 21.1 0.1 071, 11.4.1872 , 25 5 .1 872 , 1 5. 5.1 89:), 31. 5 .1 8~ , 2 9 1899,
p.10.
148. 5.1., 1 9.1 .1917, 22.2.1 073, 11.5.1 SUl
149.
533 dlEPiP..r 2.
150.
Ibid.'
151.
L-To-Dute, pp.
Irlilstries of 9Effield,
152.
au
~.32,
118
p.R.
15G. 5.1., 3.2.1SUJ, 5.1.1901,
12.1.1~,
5.11.191+.
157. E.g., S.L, 21.12.1878, 8.9.1003, 6.12.1902, 31.3.1%. In in! slnrt sharp
[Epressim of
1~,
prcsSl.lI'B, bJt 1:fE local t:ra.=E n:p:Irt, S. I., 25.5 .19JE3, I.J.EIred that "it is ctRlI'd
lLBS
ArErica, Africa, A..Jstralia ard Ca-ai3, as th3y are at lure; and in all trese
dista1t rrmkets tJ-e h::n.:urchle I'EpJte of 918ffield a..rtlery is SLBmira:1 by every
articl~";
162. ::lEffield
llJiu.
167.
~e
alSJ rt Kirby,
n-e
p.o.
[h~ ad
!Evelq:JTBlt', p. 53+.
169. C. K.in:ElI:E~JBr, Ecrrunic ['1I'O.Uth in FI'CJTI3 crd Dri tam 1 J51-1 g-.iJ, Carbridg=,
rBsSB~h..BI3tts, 1964, p.149; P.fathias, 1118 First Irrl..Btrial
19fJ3,
11\].
latim, Lcnn,
p.41~.
cn:j
S.C.L., rBrsh.241-9.
119
172.
exp=dfl:eS
'n-e
S.]. r',JicI-ulas,
CNerseas
~'Brketirg
n. D.
Cc+e
rITe
CDlmj
Veall
['Eajl(JTl
cnj Tyza:k Ik:d a emtroct with tl-Eir ag:n1s in tI-e S. err! W. Irdies, WTI UEre to
BLqJly 1::J-eir g::rr:js for tJtre2 years, at 1o;~ rnrnUssim, tut uhJ again,
p=nnitted to sell
ltEre
not
176. S.C.L.,
r~.D.
2377.
177.
[;. TlJ..ESrl:lle,
SiL:l81, p.171.
170.
slock,
CIJ:'t:i=rs
iEJ3JS8
Bxp3 ISeS
IJEITcJlt
tJ-eir
tm::E
IJBl
pay1TBlt
t.J-En
UEI'e
larg3 finn,
tJ~
t.t-eir
tJ~ir
tillS
plLE
rutsim
expTI38S
U.K.
9~ffield
1 fIJ.
G. TIJEffjale,
181.
C.Jj I a:n, Travellers i timry for tl-E W. of Erglcrd, 1005 ad 1914, S.C.L., f'1.D.
269]-1, i timries
St:s=l, p.169.
UJ2I'B
tra:::Ers, e g., "a very rBSf-:H:t:hle rTHl, tut we fear l-E is short of
rrrrEY",
gE3
n-e 1914
itirruy
tillS
or
viril.Elly tJ"E
"t-e
SEllE
or
wi til
as that of
1885.
1 02.
PL. P-ayne ,
183.
5=e also
~. 76-7
W3S
"a
of altErrntive rmrkets.
C.~
186.
D-HltEr of CoTTrerce mirutes , Feb.1 007, Jal.1 REJ9, .l:n .1897, S. C. L., L. [). 19ffi/3
La Crutellerie, p.157.
ad L~, sa!ples l.Jere SEflt by tt-e arall at Pakl-ui, try tJ--E Dlirese CCTl9.Jl crd fron
120
tJ~
IJJ.Irdies.
[barn of TraE
189. L. Bilby ,
'n-e Cutlers'
ministErs
1~.
UEre
invited.
[h::.
FEfm't m
tt-e Via-na
198. OlaTllr of CrnnErce rnirutes, Jan .1872, ~t. 1874, S. C. L., L. D. 1986/1.
199. mid., Jan.1 Erl5, S.C.L., L.D. 1%/2.
2IIl. 5.1., 18.9.1872.
201. S.l., 6.6.1873.
202.
S.l., 2L!.1.1881.
2CJ3. Charmr of
CoTTlEI'm
tak.in:J an
a::tive part in
interTEtirrBl exhibitian."
20'~.
205.
2l16.
ThirJ., p.13J.
207.
fb:i}2rB
tiJTE
qITffi slTWIUJTE
by a:Jl'P=t.irg
fimE, h3S sirIE been gffEraliy Clpted by local rrrrufa::turers WlJ tJ-rrl I'e931ta:i
the irrovatim."
mcpiP..r 4
,PJ. 127-8.
208.
209.
121
210.
[~lity
211.
[bard
of
g~ffield,
cnj ~ffield
iBre'.
of Tra::E .b..rrn;:ll, vol. 75, fl::t. -[Ec. 1912., p. 62, vol. 83, !l:t. -D=c. 191:3,
~ 'b.nil
L~,
UE3
priced in E.s.d.
LD3I'd of Traj:; .b..rrn;:ll, vol. 77, Ppril-.lre 1912, p. 628; vol. 84 , .J:n...i"- 'arch, 1914,
215.
Sol., 204.1007.
218.
S.l., 15.11.1877.
S.l., 6.6.107G.
221.
S.l., 27.2.18e4.
222.
223.
224.
225.
TIJid., p.177.
226.
S. C. L., It.bs. R. 3, LettErs to ATErica, 1893-1896, 1 3.11 .1 B%, 11 .12.1 095; see alSJ
n.22.
227.
S.l., 17.6.1875, 'I b.t.l 9-effiF;ld Lost tl-e ATEriccn TraE'; TIE lrn1rcrrp,
25.7.1005.
228.
122
Industrial Structure
Chapter 4
Until recently, the surv i val of outwork and hand labour has
been treated as
a pre-industr ial
remnant,
an inev i tably
doomed
was
towards
Sheffield
cutlery
rationality
and
factory-based,
trades
economic
mechanized
however,
production. 1
demonstrate
viability of outwork,
the
with factory
merchants,
as well as a plethora of
outworkers.
industrial premlses -
independent
producers
and
self-contained
factory
units,
continued
as well as its
The
public
and
Most firms,
to
be
qui te
and certain ly
contractors,
ln
which
often
the
installation
physically
of
impossible,
large-scale,
it
was
more
system
brought
some
disadvantages
to manufacturers,
firmly
with
the
upon
ready
supply
of
factory
and
outwork,
cheap
labour.
123
competition
processes.
and
the
competition
of
basic
mechanized
open
to
effective
economies
The
of
labour
and
independent
production
impeded
trade
(in
terms
nature of
considerable periods.
many of their own goods by machine, using their own workmen, had
these
products
finished
and
glven
more
'one-off'
style
by
root
quite
conservative,
mechanization
and a wholesale
well
as
economic
established and
upheaval
familiar
"I t
routines
for
involved
exchanging well-
methods,
this
period,
the
large-scale,
self-contained
Not only did
124
producers,
but
in
themselves
they
retained
'modern'
many
factory-based
industry.
In 1887 there were 3J11 0 factories
Sheffield,
"most
of
them
for
and 1,,243
the carrying
3
but these
on
workshops
In
of the several
'factories'
included
In
1896 there were still 170 tenement factories with 2,900 occupiers,
5
with very little change on this figure by 1914.
Furthermore, this
excluded the workers, whose number was unknown, in the underworld
of small domestic workshops where no power was employed.
average size of the work uni t was then, very small:,
workers
enumerated
in
the
1901
census
were
the 11970
employed
In
by
1913,
the
The
~732
female
Even
all, or part of their power, still accounted for 25% of all output,
10
and 35% of the total workforce in that year.
At the largest firms, full-time inworkers would be employed on
the premises, but a number of outworkers (the exact number depended
on the state of trade) were also engaged: a typical firm had half
.
11
of its work done "out" in "small places" by outworkers In 1867.
The steadiest and best men would be kept as inworkers, yet in 1912
no firms employed only inworkers, but many still employed only
12
outworkers.
Wi thin large 'works' owned by reputable firms, many inworkers
were not under the direct control of the firm,
rent
was
even
125
materials, selling their goods to, and buying their materials from
any
manufacturer
or
merchant.
Occasionally,
products,
deducting sums from the rent and power, and then paying accordingl~.
Even in 1907, it was still common practice for large manufacturers
who employed their own grinders, to allow the men to bring in the
work of other manufacturers when trade was slack, partly to help
15
their men to earn a sufficent wage to pay the rent.
These
were
owned ei ther by large manufacturers and rented out only to their
own men (private wheels), or to a combination of their own men and
some independent contractors (semi-private wheels) or by a company
who rented out space to individual grinders and took no interest In
the wheel beyond the appointment of an overseer who would act as an
agent and collect the rents, and an engine tender.
Even in private
The
number
of
wheels
increased enormously over the earlier part of this period, from 132
17
steam driven and 32 water driven in 1865
to 12 water wheels and
18
3-400 steam grinding wheels in 1889.
This growth can be accounted
for not only by the increase in the use of steam-powered machinery
but also the fact that steam grinding wheels were good speculative
investments,
owned sometimes
OOt d
0
19
e companIes.
l ImI
by
individuals,
and
sometimes
by
factories
and
tenements
were
power
was
supplied,
although
In many
factories,
grinders,
cutlers
trades,
and
forgers,
as
well
as
manufacturer,
fluter,
an
Ivory
126
'fOlrm ,22
The
firms
larger
themselves
designate
were
not
the
'manufacturers' .
only
enterprises
Merchants
who
did
to
not
superv ise any production of their own, but merely bou'ght goods over
the counter and stamped them with their mark (as did some large
firms) were sometimes called 'manufacturers,;3 as were the notorious
small manufacturers or 'little mesters' who were either small scale
producers,
themselves.
or
24
merchants,
Differing
master
little
reflected
or
both,
oplnlons
the
but
regarding
actual
virtually
the
diversity
the
title
always
status
In
his
of
poor
the
possible
implied
that
his
himself,
obtaining
orders
from
larger
factors,
merchants
or
manufacturers, and then employ ing a few men to help him in the
execution of these orders. 26
it
was
He would take out orders from factors, merchants or large firms and
take them back to the same when complete.
sell work to the highest bidder. 31
outworker who took greater
Thus
financial
30
Occasionally, he would
goods
from outworkers,
worked
In
their
own
factors, or from
36
to
large firms, for which they would be paid by the piece.
Some Imes
even these workers would employ others beneath them, but usually
only members of their own family - particularly women and children?7
127
I ink
The
between
this
partnership
of
large
manufacturers,
middlemen
and
independent workers was still the rule, and, it was believed, would
continue to dominate the industrial structure whilst ever suitable
premIses existed: "The opportuni ty to rent room and power on cheap
terms, ei ther in a tenented factory,
large
firm,
IS
the
basic
explanation
for
the
persistence and
40
widespread occUr! ence of this tiny uni t in the making of cutlery".
However, after 1900, commentators increasingly stressed that
the trades were moving towards a more 'normal' industrial structure
as the little masters were bought up, and expansion and mergers
created more
large-scale
firms.
firms
production.
which
were
taking
complete
control
of
their
own
in 1907,
128
in
1900~6
Harrison Bros.
premises in 1900,
and
Howson,
who
had
moved
to
extended
employed
600
square
Many
1~40
firms
square yards
extended their
in
1907
cutlery
129
the plant
tools and stock being valued at 30,000, the goodwill and patent
64
. ht s a t 20,000.
Wh en Nee dh am Vea 11 an d Tyzack became a limited
rIg
company in 1897, its capital was 60,000, 65 whilst Mappin and Webb
which became a limi ted company in 1908 had profi ts of 54,000 by
66
1913 and capital of 750,000.
Nevertheless, such firms were neither typical of the industry
as a whole, nor were they as 'modern' as they appeared.
Small scale
was
larger,
but
they
increased
after this date, so that 63% of firms survived 1880-1901, being the
sustainers of the class of large firms.
legally
72
recognised
the
This
retain their original management and privacy of the past, but also
limited further growth and entrepreneurial stimulus to the extent of
the named shareholders ?3Evsn firms
liability
concerns
were
anxious
which
to
did
stress,
on
become
limi ted
every
possible
130
past.
maintained
for
rational
economIC
it is nevertheless
The continued
firstly,
the
being
of
capable
of
specialized
extensive
goods
at
subdivision,
relatively
allowing
the
prices.
The
low
retaining
resourceful
the
its
skilled,
Nevertheless,
and successful.
preferred
market
and
the
preferred
In
practical
handicraft
and
content,
these
were
two
equally
features
production techniques -
psychological
terms, of
traditional
the
survival
of
outwork.
When,
as
in the cutlery
trades, overall demand was not increasing and was subject to wide
fluctuations and market uncertainties, and, at the same time, was
for finished consumer goods in which specialization, di versi ty and
originality were major selling points, investment in large, mechanized factories was a questionable policy.77Sheffieldls manufacturers
marketed an enormous rar~e of cutlery,
the diversity of which
it would have been qui te impossible to produce by machine.
When
80
81
Thus work
131
was taken
~unwritten
was still "a rather strong feeling amongst employers that on the
whole the provision of factories does not pay and that it is better
to depend on employing outworkers if you can get them. You have no
responsiblity to find them employment in bad times, and generally
the system is increasing in Sheffield that instead of keeping stock
and running
it up
in bad times
employ
In order
to
keep
your
workers
Hence the huge and constant changes in the Slze of the factory86
based workforce, which expanded and contracted as trade demanded.
Equally important to the viability of the system which operated
In
Sheffield,
was
the
nature
of the workforce:
from
the
workers
persistence
of this
skills~7
It is possible to locate the origins
oversupply of independent workers,
In
and
traditional
practices
and
132
values, which had and to some extent still did dominate the industry.
Time and time again, observers noted the
i~en~t
outlook of the
production,
an
ideology
assisted
' raising'
by
the
continued
In
such
an
'open'
suc h op t Ions
were a I ways POSSI. bl e, 90 b
u tal 1 were agreed that such
independence and freedom, both actual and potential, had profound
effects on the character of the workforce.
To
restraint which
this cause we
must
attribute
the
freedom
from
tolerate the practices which are the despair of those who wish to
see his lot improved". 91 Men
were
"ambi tious" ,
to
"independent" ,
work
under
one
what may be the relationship between them. A man is his own master
in the sense at least that he claims the privilege of coming to work
.
" 93 every
and going away again exactly as it suits his convenIence;
II
94
Some men were still inspired by this ideal and achieved some
success, but for the majority independent production was undertaken
In times
of
economIC
depression,
when
normal
supplies
of
work
ceased, often in order to pay workshop rents, "in fact, the entry of
133
production
was
as
likely
to ,represent
Thus,
96
workmen". They did not sweat others, but by their own skills and
industry could feasibly 'rise' from their present status.
sometimes employed datal
99
They
'double handed', to whom they paid a lower piece wage, but the wage
ratios were
wholly acceptable.
100
master who "decided not to work himself, but wants to live upon the
work
of somebody
else,
who
does
not
himself
work,
but
simply
super intends; he gets orders and sees that they are executed but
does not do the handicrafting himself often; he employs a few men,
women, boys and gir Is to execute the work; and these are the hot
101
trade
These men we're seen by
beds of sweating ln Sheffield.
, ' t s as 'It ra d e spol'lers" 1 02 who employed 'teams' of up to 30
unlonlS
boys, men and women, usual 1 y di v ided into groups 0 f six, who were
103
The unions
vehemently opposed this system which was linked with the increasing
subcontracting and subdivision of work in these trades.
Particular-
ly unpopular were the small masters who merely picked up work from
134
Some unionists
even suspected an agreement between the small masters and warehouse
managers, whereby profi ts from the second subletting of the work,
104
were divided between them.
Furthermore, the payment of the teams
by datal rates, whilst the master received a piece rate, meant that
it was In the master's financial interest to speed the team up,
although the men would receive nothing for their extra work.
The
team leader could therefore, get abetter profi t out of his men
than the head of a large firm, because he knew best how to 'hustle'
them: "He knows exactly what they can do, and he sees he gets it
,,105
done .
However, the most
was
therefore prices, which kept the whole system viable, and has been
106
seen as "the primary axis of 19th century growth"
in the Sheffield
trades.
Once
the
basic
processes
of
cutlery
production were
107
completed by machine, using largely unskilled labour,
work could
be finished by the army of subcontractors and deskilled teams.
This
the
that they could go into the shop and go through the whole process of
producing every portion of an article themselves, put it together,
and turn it out complete; but that kind of thing to a large extent
has passed away". 109 The skills of the traditional craftsmen passed
almost into folklore as "the work done by the ancient Hallamshire
cutler is now divided amongst quite a multitude of hands".
Traditional
until labour
110
increasingly deskilled,
111
capable of producing
135
however,
entailed
more
112
subdivided
Increasing
manual
mechani-
work
for
the
who,
effectiveness
of
the
subdivision
of
labour
was
skill,
whilst
those
crafts
in
and
exploitation
which
119
of
subdivision
this
factor
system,
was
most
In dr i v ing hard
bargains and pulling down the wage rates, largely because he was a
target on which 'respectable' manufacturers and workers would agree
in their attacks.
the
full
In
the
than
many
had
136
forcing
is taken in and more asked for, you are informed that there are no
orders, but you can call again the next day. The next day, work is
again refused, on the plea that there is not an order in the place,
and that other sweaters are getting them done for less. The outworker
is allowed to go away empty-handed, and with much indi fference on
the part of the sweater, the mechanic is led to understand that he
can call again or not, just as he likes. On again presenting himself
for work, the same answer is given, but if he:: the outworker) cares to
take three gross at 1s. per gross less, he can have them as stock.
In the meantime, the outworker has applied to other sweaters with no
good result; the outworker, pressed for rent and household necessi ties
goes back
reduction".123 After
few
weeks,
the
whole
claimed to loath
to bring
formed,
to
combat the competition of small masters and factors, with the large
firms using the unions to enforce an equalization and standardization
. 1emen t e d . 127
of wage rates before wage incre8s~ could be Imp
137
to guarantee,
and
finished
Deadlines
and
theft
Workers signed
of
false
on the
few occasions
that there
outworkers,
whose wages
W:8.9
an
outworkers were
rose well
above
the
rates
paid
to
inworkers, and who would refuse to work on poorer paid common work.
a ff ec t e d even th e mos t organlze
. d houses: 129.In 186 6,
' 'Even
Th lS
goods made to the order of one merchant were likely to be sold to
another,
Friday evening and offered higher prices ... Buyers took to entering
workshops and bidding indiscriminately for all the work In sight".130
However,
rare,
as
trade
never
again
reached the boom levels of the 1870s, whilst mechanization and the
increasing use of young and female workers created a larger pool of
labour.
Overall,
factors
they
condemned,
More generally,
reliance
on
of
labour,
tempting
In
these
trades,
the
where the
133
notoriously independent and hard to discipline.
workers
were
138
For the men however, the advantages of the system were fewer,
and diminished further as the period progressed. Their attitude was
marked by a slow realization that the industrial structure which
they had once willingly endorsed, no longer brought the benefits and
advantages with which it had once been associated.
139
Footrotes
1. For furtrer details see R. Smuel, 'The Workshq:> of the world: Stean POtJer
and
arxj
1975;
Outwork In
'Historical
Lcncbl,
3.
Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshcps, 1887, p.35,
( 1888 ) C. 5388 .
4.
Ibid.
5.
Arroal Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshcps, 1896, p.41;
Pollard, History, p.206-7.
6.
Lloyd, p.182.
7.
Ibid. 8,000 adult rren were erployed in 2,800 factory and tenarent units, giving an
average of three rren per mit. Even in 1944, of the 500 cutlery making establishrrents, 301 erployed not rTDre than fi ve workers, \\hilst only 28 mployed rTDre than
50, Ministry of Labour and National Service, Report by the Cutlery Wages CoUlcil,
1946, p.2. The Cutlery Research Council, \\hich would have comprised a disproportimate nUTber of large cutlery firms, consisted of firms of the following sizes in
1960:
40 firms erployed 5
35
20
"
"
"
"
9 workers
10
19
20
29
"
"
23 firms employed
30
49 workers
16
50
99
100
450
15
"
"
"
"
"
"
Industry', p .46.
8.
P.P .1912, II, Report of the Carrnittee on the Application of the Natimal Insurarce
Act to Outworkers, W.HdJsm, qs.4004-20.
9.
10.
Ibid., p.207.
140
11. P.P.1865, XX, J.E.White's Report, cases 198 (p.43), 214,215 (pp.46-7). Wostenholms
mployed only 3-400 \'.K)rkers, Wlilst lJn..Jin end Rcx::kJers ffiPloyed 100 on treir
a~
pranises and 150 rutworkers. See also Pollard, Three Centuries of 9leffield Steel,
p.35; C.P~, La Crutellerie, p.1463.
12. P.P.1912, II, Report on the Carrnittee on Out\'.K)rkers, W.Hcbson, qs.3996-7; P.P.1908,
5=mmittee on the Truck Acts, 1907, A.J.Hcbson, qs.12392-3; P.P.1909, XVI, R.C. on
the Poor Laws, Report by A.D.Steel-Maitland, appendix XXXVI.
and provide [the \'.K)rker] with full \'.K)rk unless they have work on hand sufficient
Inspector of Factories and Workshops, 1887, pp36-7; ibid., 1907, p. 80; P. P. 1889 ,
S.C. on Sweating, W.J.Davies, q.26306; P.P.1892, XXXVI, R.C. on Labour, R.Holmshaw,
qs.12060, 12252-69; P.P .1908, Crnmittee on the Truck Acts, 1907, J.Dockjson, qs. 988,
1007; 5.1.27.11.1891.
17. J.C.Hall, The Sheffield Trades as Influencing Life and Health, and rrore particularly
File Cutters and Grinders, London, 1866, p.11. The number of steam W1eels was said
to have doubled 1847-67, P.P.1865, XX, J.E.White's Report, case 39 (p.20).
18. Lloyd, p.179;P.P.1889, XIII, S.C. on Sweating, W.J.Davies, q.25244.
19.
The
sma
grinding \.\heel was 0\A.red by a private cmpany, large numbers of the shares
of Wlidl were owned by leading cutlery manufacturers, (e.g. R~rs and ltlwins)
along with stockbrokers, file cutters etc. (S.C.L., M.D.718, Soho grinding wheel,
minute book, 1853-1870).
141
20. P.P.1889, XIII, S.C. on S\AI8atirg, W.J.Davies, q.25286; P.P.1892, XXXVI, R.C. on
Labour, W.F.Wardley, qs.1929O-1, 19300; P.P.1865, XX, J.E.White's Report, para.11 ,
(p.2); A.H.Lush, Report on Draft Regulations Pl1J?Psed to be Made for Factories in
Wlich Grindirg of !vetals and Racirg of Grindstmes is Carried on, H.M.S.O., 1909,
p.3.
21. P.P.1908, Committee on the Truck Acts, 1907, J.Dodgson, q.1125;P.P.1889,XVIII, S.C.
on Sweating, S.Uttley, q.24713. Also reports of fire damage in factories show that
142
Plrerica: "The systffil of cmcentratirg the business in the hands of large cmpanies
or corporatims is practically mi versal m the Plrer ican cmtinent.
~l
masters
are alrmst ml<not.fl and there is no sLdl thirg a workman hir irg a rcun in a factory
with power, and carryirg m his
!JII.Kl
nothing between the q:>erative in the factory and the colossal cmpany carried on
LIlCIer the principles of limited liabily", 5.1., 21.10.1B76.
41 . See chapter 7 .
42. P.P.190B, XXXIV,
J. Rodgers, Under Five Soverei91s, pp .7, 19 George Wostemo]m built his Washirgton
works in 1848, inspired by his visits to Arrerican works, but sLdl large and
irrpressive prffilises were at that time ml<rlowl in the Sheffield cutlery trades.
'~
of ffil8ller visim wagged their heads solamly and waited for the crash, W"-lim never
CffiE",
Lp-To~ate,
knives and forks, 3,000 carvirg knives and forks, 1B,([J() pairs of scissors and
15,000 razors. British Association Hancbook and Guide to Sheffield, 9leffield,
1910 , P.241, between 1901 and 1907, Rock]ers ' average amual output CITDUltE:d to
1,600,000 pen and pocket knives, 500,(0) razors, 1,450,000 table and butchers
knives, 35,000 pairs of carvers and 144,000 pairs of scissors. S.C.L., N.V.T. 6,
Capjtal Accounts, 1879-1893, Needhcrn, Veall and Tyzack were In posseSSIon of the
folla'lirg stock:
30th Jan.1891
6166
6404
cutlery bought in
550
503
688
1110
6538
143
The average cutlery stock of Marsh Bros. for the years 1881-4 were similar: razors
615, and table knives 1988, S.Pollard, Marsh Bros. p.45.
46. P~, La Coutellerie, p.1466. Tlunas Turrer Blployed 300 in 1893 ard 1,(l)J in 1903,
Handicrafts that Survive, p.12.
47. British Associcatim Hancbook, p.243.
48. The Institute of Metals, Souvenir Booklet, Sheffield, 1919, p.26.
49. Sheffield and Rotherhcrn Up-To-Date, pp.14O,136.
50. S.C.L., Wos.R.2 (5).
51. S.C.L., N.V.T. 11, The prEmises INere rented for 729 p.a. in 1881. Another middle
size cmcern was that of Jam Sellars, at 2,!lIl
S~are
Jdln Sellars aCCfJired the table knife brarch of Richard Elliott in 1890, Sheffield
and Rotherhcrn Lp-To-Date, p. 140, Francis Newton acquired J.D:Jdge in 1884, ibid.,
A~bert
master in 1893, for 50, S.C.L., N. T. V. 7; Marsh Bros. bought the business of Luke
Oakes and Co. in 1901, to produce 'Shaw' pocket knives and razors, S . CL., Marsh, 238 .
56. P.P .1912, Census of Productim, 1907, p.143; S.l., 1.5.1897, "As there is scarcely
a retail ironronger or jevJeller \'k1o does not stock both cutlery and electrqJlate,
j
t.
.i,:,
now becane almost indispensable that a manufacturer shall make both classes
of goods. Proof that this positim is fully recapised in Sheffield is seen in the
many instances Wlich have occurred durin] the last five years of silverffiliths
addin] a cutlery department. To a lesser extent, the cutlers have camenced the
manufacture of electrqJlate". ChristqJher Jdlnsm , Letter Book, March1888-90,
S.C.L., M.D.2369, 1.9.1890., ''We have just gene into the plated business as a
special
departrrent".
S.C.L.
Y.W.D. ,no.938,
p.23,
Edward Nixm,
electfqJlate
manufacturer, sold his business and its goocMill, to Ellin and MEtill, cutlery
manufacturers, retainin] Nixm as manager of this department.
57. Lloyd, p.343.
58. E.g. Neemcrn"Veall and Tyzack, WragJs, 5reffield and Rotherhcrn Up-To-Date,pp.126.
128; Christopher Johnson sold large CfJantities files, tools, shear and bar steel to
Australia, Letter Books, 1875-78, 1878-80, S.C.L., M.D.2367, 2371.
144
59. E. g., Thanas Ellin procit.xRj rmre and rmre tools,S. C. L., M. D. 1717 ( 1-5); Marsh Bros.
produced mly razors in the cutlery line by 1910, cmcentratirrJ on steel and files
instead, British Association Hancbook,p.236; S.C.L., Marsh, 103; in 1871, W.&
Butcher produced serre cutlery, but mainl y steel, 1871 Circular, letter
s.
stating
1880 1881
13.2.1879,
15.2.1883,
15.2.1889,
4.12.1890,
16.2.1892,
277! 263
243
187
215
225
s. 1.,
14.8. 1880, 28.8. 1884, 14.8. 1885, 14. 12. 1890, 6.6. 1891, 16. 12. 1892, 4. 1 . 1894,
3.1.1895.
64. S.C.L.,Wos.R5.
65. Neeman, Veall and Tyzack, Memrandun and Articles of Association, pp. 2- 3.
66. 5.1., 1.5.1913.
67. Irrplffilellt and Machinery Review, 1.7.1882, p.4425; see appendix 2; P.P. 1865,XX,
J. E. Mli te ' s Report, case 206 (p. 46) Most cmcems in 1865, ffilJloyed 10-40
'tIOrkers, a"great deal" of rnarufacture still took place in peqJle' s hares, 'Iklilst
the nuTber of fiIlTlS mploying over 100 WJrkers was "snall".
68. R. Lloyd Jmes and M.J. Lewis,' Industrial Structures and Firm GrONth: The Sheffield
Iron and Steel Industry 1880-1901' ,Business History,XXV,Nov. 1983.
69. Ibid., see appendix 2.
70. S. Pollard, History, p.132; Lloyd, p.192.
71. E.g. Morris and Ridlardson: fE2 assets, 290 liabilities,S.!. 1.10.1897; Joseph
Mills: 142 liabilities,S.!. ,8.9.1892; even the old and notable firm of -bseph
RockJers, 'Iklen it went barkrupt in 1907, had ml y ffil811 assets,
debts,S.!. ,28.11.1907;
\\m.
Parkin:
1345
liabilities,
1278
and 3174
assets,
5.1.,
28.3.1913.
72. Appendix 2, 4 lirni ted carpanies were in existerce 1871-84; 4 rmre were established
~
1884-1896;
23 rmre,
successful fiIlTlS, many of Itkun produced and marketed a wide range of g:xxls.
73. P.L.Payne, 'The Errergence of the Large Scale Carpany in Great Britain' ,Eceranic
History Rev iew , 2nd Series, XX , 1967 , P . 520. JCJTeS Deakin & Sons ted< rut lirni ted
liability in 1897, with 1(l),(U) c~ital, and no stock offered to the pt.blic,
S.!. ,5.6.1897. Michael Hunters took out the sCIre in 1903, with the IlEIl8garent and
the chairman staying as before,S.!. ,3.10.1903. Marsh Bros. took out the SCIre In
1907, the sharehJlders were rmstly rrarbers of the fanily, and limited to 50
persms,S.C.L. ,Marsh 86,~l:rrorancirn of Articles of Associatim, 20 ..lJly 1907.
145
74. E.g. RCJCi]ers, Under Five Sovereil]lS, p.11, the major reasm for lithe preservatim of
the reputatim of the firm has been the fact that there has always been a Rod;)ers
and the
two rnanagirrJ
directors, hho had been with the firm for over 18 years, ItJere retained, with George
Wostenholm as chairman, S.1. ,2.10.1874, 4.10.1875; Pawsm and Brailsford,p.257;
S. C. L. , Wos . R2 (3 )- (5) , (23)
imrediatel y
associated
Shares,
with
the
it
was
business" ,
sterssed,
all
ItJent
to
"persms
8. 12. 1875.
The
occupied the positims before 1871, S.I.,16.2.1882, 15.2.1883. Here tooJshares were
"privately sLbscribed within a few hours", Under five SovereiglS, p.9.
76. See chapter 3.
77. D.Bythell, pp.194-99.
78. Ibid.; G.Steadrran Jones, Outcast London, p.25; R.Samuel, pp.54-5; John Blyde &Co.,
1902 Price List for
Cutlery, 1880,
Table Cutlery;
Christopher
.1:tnsm,
Pattern
Book
for
of
the
Carmi t tee
Out\.\Grkers,
I rmTl!ljr ,
146
29.4.1871, q.nted a Boston Tram paper, which pointed out that the overheads of
~rican
25?~
cutlery.
84. P.P. 1908,III, Cmmittee on the Truck Acts, 1907, A.J.HdJson,qs.12455-61, 12423:
P.P. 1912,II, Report of the Cmmittee on Out\AK)rkers, W.Hrnsm,qs.4042,405O.
85. P.P. 1908,111, Cmmittee on the Truck Acts, 1907, A.J.Hobson,q. 12422.
86. ChCfTber of Cmmerce Minutes, 1870, S.C.L. L.D.1986/1; IndJstries of 9leffield,
pp.32,81; P.P. 1865,XX, J.E. White's Report, case 201 (p.44); P.P. 1912, II Report
of the Cmmi t tee on Outlf.lOrkers, W. Hobsm, q. 4030.
87. D.Bythell,pp.175-9; R.Samuel,pp.45-7.
88. Lloyd, p.192.
89. P.P. 1889,XIII, Select Cmmittee on Sweating, W.J. Davis,q.25345. CircLm3tances
were rruch the serre in 1960:"This is a typical success story of the cutlery indJstry
- the man who learns his trade as en employee, moves on to start his own business
If.IOrking by himself or with a few helpers, and gradually builds up from these small
beginnings until he can mvote his entire time to management and administration,and
leave the production If.IOrk to his employees," H.C.Baker and S.Mitchell, p.48. See
also Working Party Reports, Cutlery, 1947,p.3.
90. P.P. 1908,III, Cmmittee on the Truck Acts, 1907, A.J.Hobson,q.12477,"Sheffield
trade ranains a handicraft tram, and it is in that respect uniCfJe in the Wlole of
the country. I know no other tram in which the serre thing applies." Ibid., q. 12478,
"It is really the handicraft nature of the tram that raises this difficulty, as to
what you are gJing to do with an old established handicraft and its custam." P.P.
1892,XXXVI, R.C. on Labour, R.Ho]mshaw,q. 19548.
91. P.P. 1908,III,Cmmittee on the Truck A;:ts, 1907, R.Holmst-DI,q.12051.
92. P.P. 1912,II,Report of the Cmmittee on Outlf.lOrkers,W.Hrnson, qs.4228-9.
93. P.P. 1908,III,Cmmittee on the Truck Acts, 1907, J.Dodgson,q.989.
94. Ibid., qs. 1055,1059.
95. J.Benson,
The
Penny
Capitalists:
A study
of
19th
Century
Working
Class
1908,III,
1907,
J.~son,
q.1006;
P.P.
1892,XXXVI,R.C. on Labour, A.Fretwell, q.19691, ffil81l masters were often ttnse "'tklo
have lost their situations in sare cirCLm3tances, and have set up theme 1ves in
business by getting a 9T18l1 ffiUlJlt of fTUl8y in sare cases, and in sare they
gJ and
147
fJ).
1889 ,XIII,
S.C.
S.Uttley,
qs. 24840 ,
24837;
G.Huskin,q.24986; C.Law,q.25047.
110.S.I.,2.4.1881.
111.Pawson and Brailsford,pp.250--4; S.I.,2.4.1881; P.P. 1889,XIII, S.C. on the Sweating
SystEm,S.Uttley, qs. 24767-79.
112.P.P. 1889,XIII, S.C. on the Sweating SystEm, S.Uttley ,qs.24839--47 , 24861, W.Davis,
qs.25346-7, C.law, q.25048; P.P. 1886,XXI, R.C. on the Depression,S.Uttley,q.1218;
P.P. 1910,VIII, R.C. on the Poor Laws, A.J.Hooson, q.88385; XVI, Report by
A.D.Steel-Maitland, appendix XXXVI, pp.335-7
113. RSamuel, pp. 17 , 58 ; D. Bythell , pp .69-70;
J. Schniechen,
R.C.
on
Labour,
A.Fretwell,qs.19808-11;
Cutlers'
Carpany
148
InclJstrial Exhibition, .l.Jly 1885. CatalCX}J8. The classes of 'AUrk vk1ich were to be
examined were extremely specific, e.g., grinding of flat tang razor blades. Despite
the skills of the workrren Wlo would exhibit in this shotJ, very
fe\AI
entrants entered
more than me class, demonstrating the highly specific nature of these craftsmen's
skills.
119. For details, see appendix 5, and chapter
grinders Wlo worked on hig, quality 'COlfltry' gJOds, for the U.K. market, earned
27s. per week, but those \tJlo worked m 'foreigl' goods earned only 21s. The Wadsley
spring knife cutlers, Wlo were the mst 'sweated' of all the cutlery workers, had
been sLbject to wage redtims of over
4(f~,
pocket blade grinder who, despite his hard work, had died of
malnutrition,
P.P.
1889,XIII,S.C.
6.
126.5.1.,17.2.1872, "One of the serious difficulties in the cutlery trade is this: that
in quiet tirres, rrerchants are able to barter cbt-Jn the 'little resters' . .. alrmst to
starvatim prices, and thus compete m rmst unfair terms with the larger employers,
who continue to pay ordinary prices. It often happens i~, that in bad tires,
manufacturers can buy certain quantities of cutlery well madeand finished, for less
than they can make them, and are driven by the stresses of ~tition to that
course." 5.1. ,27.3.1889, 30.3.1889. P.P. 1889 ,XIII ,S.C. on the Sweating System,
W.J.Davis,qs.25354-6; P.P. 1910,VIII,R.C. m the Poor Laws, A.J.Hobson,q.88384;
P.P. 1912,II,Report of the Committee m ClJtworkers, W.Hobson,q.4229.
127.E.g.,S.1.,17.2.1872; see dr'Pter
6.
128.D.Bythell,pp.155-6; 5.1. ,30.8.1876, a nBl8ger at NoNills, who had been with the
firm for 21 years, arbezzeled cmsiderable suns of rraley by paying out for 'AUrk
cmpleted, to invented outworkers. S. I ., 6.7. 1877 , a manager at ~ins stolp
149
cutlery
findi~
better employment
elseW1ere,did rot bother to complete or bri~ back the first \AKJrk. Trefts fran
crnpany
warehouses
by
mployees
or
ex-employees
~re
~re
CCITTTUl,
also camm
of mfinished goods Vvhich \AKJrkmen t--qJed to complete and then to sellon, 5.1.,
21.2.1870, 22.4.1871, 13.2.1880, The Ironmonger,11.1.1890,p.50.
129.5.1.,11.10.1873.
130.S.Pollard, Marsh Bros., p.36.
E. g., the costs of gove:rrrrent contract \AKJrk
~re
S.C.
p.131;
5.1. ,4.10.1873.
1?3.W.Garside and H.F.Gospel, 'Employers and Managers: Their Organizational Structure
and Ch~i~ Industrial Strategies', in C.Wrigley(ed.), A History of IndJstrial
Ch~ing
Structures
Lonclal,
o
... 0
(/)0'.
(1)~
""0
CO U
rl
CIJ
(1)""0
rl
..0
CO
CO
I-rl
rl
0'1 CO
(1)
. ..-i
>
0'1
~
o ECO
u.. ..c
.""0
(1)
(1)
0'1
C
..-i
""0
. ..-i
~
~
~
(/)
(/)
. ..-i
U
U1
,-
'\ ~
.....
5.
_::--.,
. -' "'9.. !I
,
.-.'
6.
..
7.
.._---........
8.
.. .. -----..-
. .....
f
,"
.~
.J
9. Packing, n.d.
10. George Butler &Co., Range of Workshops, Central Yard, Trinity Works, 1897
"f1t"4'~
.;.:. -'.~
'!'.,~
11.
Tlunas Turner & Co. ard WirY]field ROt.bothan & Co., Suffolk Works
,.
,.
12.
''''~
150
CHAPTER 5
AND STABILITY
Although the
small- scale
and
endemic
sectionalism of
the
and
at tempts
were made
to
the
different processes
fragmentation
recti fy this,
involved
related
to
the
in
their
production,
separate skill
but
further
hierarchies of
the
Customary
organizational
of
machinery
and
techniques,
remained
reasonably
based on a
viable
and
cutting
techniques,
based
on
the
at tempt
conditions,
to
al ter
their
organization
cope wi th
the
ne\'J
cutlery
societies,
occupational group.
each
less affected by
membership,
Most societies
commented that "the trade unions are not at all in a flour ishing
condition in Sheffield, at the present time .. many of them have
151
failing
societies
to
would
raIse
considerable
sums
of
money
In
prosperous per iods, but would lose everything on the return to poor
trade.
The
sprIng
knife
cutlers'
society
was
typical
of
this
In the euphor ia
committee
of
sixteen,
plus
I t was stipulated
president,
vice-president,
although payable only when the society had over 1,000 of funds, were
10
high: 10d for a man, 3d. for his wi fe and 1d. for each child, per week.
An optional
funeral
society
was
also
established,
11
and
Nevertheless,
the
unIon
just
five
far
more
particular 1 y
if,
unlike the spring knife cutlers, they were still quite skilled and
commensurately
well13
illustrated in the evidence given before the Royal Commission of 1867
which
powerful.
Their
policies
and
ideals
were
These
152
resulted.
However,
this
period
was
regarded
by
the
trade
slowly
and
reluctantly,
despite
their
increasing
work
and
home
life:
"the
overlap
between
workplace
and
The
situations of all the other members of their trade,15 whilst the force
of group psychology played an important role,' The trade' completelY
dominated artisans'
In the 1860s
as yet,
competition.
The
once
it
made
major
inroads,
would make
such
technical
policies
17
All sober,
skilled
men
were
members,
and
the
commissioners
appeared to agree with the union leaders that non-unionists were often
drunken, irresponsible workmen who could not afford union subscript18
ions because of their unsteady habits.
The payment of contributions,
restriction of hours and numbers of apprentices, the maintainance 'on
the box' of the unemployed to stop them accepting lower wages and thus
Jringing down the general wage rates,
19
153
Those who unbalanced the system injured the whole of the trade and
were both selfish and immoral.
hay ing disregarded the moral pressure and arguments given by union
. 1 s, 21 an d con tlnue d 'In th eir offences, culprits were unbalancof f ICla
ing a system which entailed negative moral,
social
and
financial
(of
restricting
numbers,
checking
quality
and
generally
unions,
wrong
doers,
and
and
their
then
officials
denying
it,
In
particular,
In
demonstrated their
for
their
were
also
in many of the
25
cutlery trades, these forces were not yet sufficiently strong
to
force
any major
Most
154
Their
attitudes
were
exclusive and
assumed that they had skills and values to defend against outsiders.
Sectional craft interests still dominated.
would very rarely help another branch of the same trade in a dispute:
Forgers and grinders usually felt cutlers to be beneath them.
31
Indeed,
the policy of one branch could cause direct problems for another: when
the forgers struck, the grinders and hafters soon became very short of
32
work.
Co-operation rarely went beyond mutual expressions of support
33
on safe and traditional issues.
The abandonment of sectionalism resulting from the fairly rigid
skill hierarchies within each trade was equally slow to die before 1890.
Solidarity
strikers, but
34
largely because both were skilled, apprenticed occupations.
Unity
was
was
sometimes
possible
possible
between
in
an
forgers
attempt
and
to
their
combat
chronic
general
weaknesses - as for example when the steel fork makers and gr inders
society (which included gr inders, forgers and small masters and was
the only composite labour organization in the trades) was set up in an
attempt to improve the dreadful conditions in the trade and fight
against the common enemy - the table kni Fe manufacturers who bought
35
the forks.
More often however,
order
of
the
day.
155
president however, believed that the union "had become a failure because it
included a class of persons who had never been considered in the trade
as pocket blade forgers.
There was a species of work known as fly
blade smithing, but it had never been considered as part of the work
done by the pen and pocket knife forgers". 37 The
razor
grinders,
another strong and secure union, as yet little affected by mechanization was similarly disparaging about its less skilled workers. Its
president felt that there were three types of work and men: the best,
which "requires great skill and patience, and only steady industrious
men"; the middle class, whose practi tioners were generally "industrious and
frugal,
"seem really a distinct body, and could not ... do better work if they
tried ... they are poorly paid, live in wretched houses, are improvident,
and are barely recognised as belonging to the trade,,38
The weaker cutlers' unions also attempted to implement exclusive
poicies against their less skilled members, in an attempt to strengthen their relative posi tion.
hired men from their society because, being bound by a legal contract
to the same wage rate for a set period, they could not seek advances.
A hired man was "a mere machine, having no control over any action
beyond the terms of his agreement, having a body which is virtually
anothers". 39 Moreover, such men brought down general wage rates and
gave their emloyer an advantage over those who paid more.
Thus many
believed that the trade should be separated into two distinct groups
with distinct societies: those that worked on high quality goods, and
those who worked on infer ior goods. 40 Throughout,
debate was deeply moral: hired men
system pauperized and degraded them.
the
tone
of
the
Similarly,
'shell
bolster
hafting'
meant that there were few jobs which were judged to be sufficiently
employment,
light and simple to be given to female workers. 43 Their
156
largely through trade union pressure, was limi ted to a few speci f ic
jobs: mainly warehouse work and packaging which was non-competi ti ve
wi th
the factory
worker,
females
than
were
facet
the
attempts
made
to
assist
workers
who
wanted
to
society
still
apprenticeship rules.
technically
insisted
upon
observance
of
~entice
apprenticeship indentures, boys were bound for seven years, until they
were 21 years old, but many began their apprenticeship as ear ly as
nlne years of age. 49 Whilst many unions were
incapable of enforcing
these regulations, some of the stronger ones were still ready and able
to insist on their observance. 50 In the 1880s, the scissor grinders'
union forced between 70 and 80 boys to leave the trade, refusing to
51
allow their return, even once trade had improved.
By 1871 it was
reported that "the number of men is now so limited that their serVIces
are too much in request for their demands to be long or generally
resisted".52
The unions, however, insisted that any decline in numbers was the
result not of their policies, but the general erosion of the status,
""
and prospects of the workers in these trades,
standards of I lVlng
"t
53
157
Moreover, the tendency was already growing for team leaders to employ
a number of apprentices
these
wages,
teams.
and
forced
Amongst
such poor ly
trade unionists,
in
the
form
employment of children,
of
unIons
even
legislation
demanded
to
further
government
reduce
the
enforcing
such
limitations
was,
to a considerable
retention of close-kni t
relations
deep-rooted
nature
of
these
practices
and
their
in wages
style elitism and pride of the skilled craftsman and the resultant
158
leaders
constantly
reiterated
that
their
trades
Although
required
that their wages and status were closer to those of unskilled, casual
66
labourers.
As in the national labour movement, the cutlery unions
came
to
realize
that
they
could
not
simply
once
19nore
the
sweated,
67
Thus
inclusion
acco~nied
the fIrst \fOr Id War, and pressure from Char les Hobson of the Britannia
Metalsmiths and Federated Metal Trades Association.
He pointed out
and
for
antipathy between the two sections of the workmen, although they might
work for the same firm". 68
Thus the
all societies
made
159
In 1893-5, to peak agaIn in 1896-1900, and 1910_13. 75
~Ias
Membership
society
for
example,
compr ised
hafters in 1913, and was pressing for all to join. 77
Throughout this later period, societies
had
far
7m~
of all
more
stable
existence than previously: only two did not have a continuous exist78
ence between 1890 and 1914.
Organization however, changed markedly,
as the close-kni t, fraternal relations where replaced by those of a
str ictly practical, procedural nature.
file
participation in union
Consequently,
other
traditional
a week;
it is moreover,
skilled trade is of a very imperfect nature, with the result that when
they cease
to be profitable at boys'
wages,
in doing
some
small
160
It 1S now recog-
apprenticeship
1n
Br i tish
industry generally.
The decline in
89
Whilst the
acquisition
of
apprenticeship
regulations
were
still
nominally
161
were based not only on the fact that their competi tion reduced wage
rates, but on 'moral' grounds too: the work was unsuitable because it
was "dirty" and "not at all healthy", and it was "not at all suitable
96
for women to be kept at work in a shop".
The Women's Trade Union
League did however campaign in Sheffield in 1910, and in 1912, the
I.L.P.
assisted
the
99
workers.
cammpaign
to
highlight
the
plight
of
female cutlery
to more modern,
forms of
did become more represent ati ve and their officials more exper ienced.
Signi ficant efforts were made to ensure that commi t tees represented
all the men in a trade,101 and committee members were paid small sums
. tIons. 102 Mee tlngs were genera 11 y
t o collect the men's week 1 y su b scrIp
held weekly (although sometimes fortnightly or monthly) at pubs in the
103
centre of Sheffield.
Most societies had a president and a secretary
. perlo
. d) 104
(who often became permanent, salaried officials over thIS
as well as
when the unions became more active,106 and funds became more realistically and carefully managed.
per week for a man and 6d. for a boy, and benefi ts could be claimed
. t
107 H
owever,
from between 26 and 52 weeks after joining the SOCle y.
162
contr ibutions and benefi ts were often suspended when trade was poor,
.
an d compromIses
reac h e d over b a d debts,108 wh ilst funds were sometimes
further protected by the awarding of lesser benefits to less skilled
109
members.
Unemployment benefit was generally 8 to 10s. per week for
and 1-1 ! s. for e a c h 0 f his chi 1d r en, for
110
between eight and thirteen weeks.
Total unemployment was however,
a man, 2 - 5 s . for his wi fe,
their
small,
poor
membership
could
not
furnish
realizing
extravagent
benefi ts.
By 1911, most
societies
were
still
funeral
In
vIew
of
their
own
inadequacies,
the cutlery
societies and the S.F.T.C. of which they were members, were strongly
117
in favour of government sponsored sickness and insurance schemes.
The significant sums which were expended as strike pay, during the few
major, large-scale disputes of this period, were generally covered by
118
special levies.
Improved financial management was also evidenced by
.
119
the investment of funds in interest accruIng concerns
and In cooperative societies, although the latter was largely a hangover from
older, more traditional modes of improving the bargaining position of
their workers.
163
their
bargaining
trades
power,
with
proved
the
to
surest
be
means
of
insurmountably
Although
delegates could sit together in the S.F.T.C.,122 any move towards even
loose federation met with a host of objections and obstructions.
The
real
wages
and
status
of
cutlery
workers,
made amalgamation
f 1890-91,
loose
further
Char les Hobson brought amamlgamation into the limelight once more.
Hobson, president of the S. F . T. C. and the Br i tannia Metalsmi ths was
also president of the International Metalworkers Congress in 1896, and
a prime mover behind the foundation of the Metalworkers Federation in
1904. 124 He had campaigned for amalgamation through the pages of the
125
Hammer in 1894,
and later through the Metal Worker, (the paper of
the Metal Trades Federation of Great Britain) and as 'Democrat' in the
Sheffield Independent. 126 As a spur to the cause of uni ted action,
the cutlery trades were combined, with a secretary and president, to
127
form one of the six groups of trades that comprised the Fe d era t lon.
Responses were cautious and reluctant.
forgers
initiated moves
towards an alliance of
the
societies
for
formation
of
164
metals.
130
V{nilst
It
was
scorned
by
the
I.L.P.
for
its
conciliatory
hafters'
society,
came to nothing.
Of the sixteen
trade,
for example,
every
proposed rule was put before each individual society to be voted upon,
and even then, the final format, which needed a 5/6 majori ty of all
spring knife delegates,134 was defeated by 59 votes to 130 against the
amalgamation.13~
piece of cutlery
Perhaps because of the slowness, difficulties and craft jealousies encountered in at tempts at sectional combination,
the form of
wider union finally opted for by most cutlery societies, was membership
of the National Amalgamated Union of Labour. (N. A. U. L . ) This course
of action was
general
unlons,
further
advanced by
organizer, A.J.Bailey.
engineer ing works,
strong force in the 1890s and 1900s, and its membership was open to
138
all.
First to join were the table knife grinders, ln September 1913.
They recognised the benefits of membership which, whilst leaving the
name and
funeral,
165
contribution
trade of 1913, the grinders gained rapid successes. Wheel rents were
reduced from 1/3 to 1/4 of wages, and a new price list enforced, which
represented a 5% Increase in wages.
By 1914, then, the cutlery unions were "waking up" to the "spirit
of the times". 144
The
remaInIng
craft
societies
complained
that
145
general unions were canvassing cutlery workers outside factory gates,
of identity and action, freedom which they valued dearly, and further
-more A.J.Bailey was a steadfast exponent of mediation and conciliation.
166
Such
The opening
167
Frotrotes
1.
!JEre
l1ECi<er t;t-a,
2.
rm rra:E less
312.
~'ES.
1875-~,
fllI
U er,
tre tra:E
p.145.
P.P. 1886, XXI, R.C. rn tre CEpressim, C.EElk, q.2914; R.I-Brrisrn crd
partiaJlar1y R.I.thiJ:p ,
33e
4.
5.
6.
7.
E. g., tre sprirg knife QJtlers savEd 1 CD per q.arter in tre early 18Th, S. 1. ,
31 .1 0.1873, tJUlst tJ-e razor grir-r:Ers p3id a..rt over 4, ffi) to rrartErs in tJ-e
first frur years of its exist:a-o:?, S.!., 2.2.1884.
B.
S.!., 27.6.1872.
9.
9-Effield, 1872.
1D.
Thid.
11.
Thid.
12.
13.
P. P. 1ffi7, XXXII,
llJrala In
c.3952I.
14.
15.
Inf1irY,
RJbl.rrS1cw, q. 2Cffi-7;
PP. 1009,
f!trrt
168
"lre p:pJlatim of 9-Effield is, for so l.arg3 a t.cJJll, Uli.q.E in its d1ara:::ter,
in fa::t it fTlJre clorely I'8SBTbl.es a villa;J:! tha1 a IDJJ1, for over wid= areas,
ea:h JEI'Sm ~ars tIJ IE ~ with every ottEr ad tIJ te interested
16.
a:rrnrrs."
UJtraJ:s
Irq.Jiry, 1 ffi7, Lm:b 1, 1971, p.xi, P.l:ryt:E, lLbrk, 9:ri.ety ad Fblitics: lre
Al t:tu..Jj1
J:Jy!:E exanires tre rulb..Jre of ttE ,m Uem fa::tIJry t.cJJll, his arcl.t.sims are
sllnilar, p xiv , "rru:h of tJ-Et hcd see IaJ to IE artsid= tTE p.rrviBJJ of uork,
lLBS
17.
E. J. H:iJstB1fn, 'ArtiSat or
18.
S. Fbllard , 9-Effield
19.
In a year of
IT
an II' Aristccrat?',
p.?:fJ7.
00x',
unrkaj
Lhimi6T1
1~1,
~.?49-:lJ.
20.
j~
WE
"ta.Jj1t txJth
by tTE p~ts ad tJ-e exaTples of his rrates, that he rn..st ~t tt-E tra:E ad
Cfl.j
g:rerally t-E rrust sa:rifice jEIS1'l3l interest, or privatE opinim, tIJ uhat tt-E
21
22.
23.
n-e
WJI'lq1B1
officials to visit his rnployer, Cf3kirg the rnployer tIJ p..II'S..BE tJ-e off8'"1:Er tIJ
OJTply.
If this failed, a strike tJOJld take pla:E, forcirg ttE rnployer tIJ sa.:k
tTE offBLEr, or force him tIJ a:nply, P.P. 1ffi7, XXXII, ~ Irg..ri.ry,
25.
26.
IEtails of ~ rates in
ch:ptEr 2.
CQOB dix
"Flint gl.assTB<ers UEre pro1:ELta:i fron tTe aIflEtitim of pres~ glEES by tt-E
w-ere
diffeta CES,
lLhid1 lJEre trivial fran a utilitaricn p:lint of vi8.LJ, I::e:ate of tt-E hig-Est
V.
l'889:l1."
rut of
an..n:
ru CE!
W3S ff1
UB]:!
BTpIO'yfTB1t
lIES
Lmbl, 1976, r:P.1 :il-5; R.lIhiw, '1l-e StaTp of Futility: 1l-e StafforcitUre
FbttErs, 1 BED-19J5, p.1?i3, R. H3rri&n ad J. leitlin (e:E.).
28.
arg...ES
1:h3t
six cri1Eria
(esp:rially l.tEIJ3 rates, serial EHllrity a-d tre p:ESibilities of crlJa cat Bit)
uere in:reasirgly rrecnirgless as rraiaUzatim rra:E evar tJ-e JXEitim of tre
skillai unrker wlrerctJle.
29.
9::nt1.crd',
~. 54-5,
in
LE
~.252-4;
R.Gray,
G.Crossick,
~.3J,
rru:n
fran indig:n::rn
past social ad ern ollie eXJEI'ie1:es, ratl-er then l:E~ a mid:fle class 'had
rut.'
31
C:T1
SLpIBIS
ITE
For parallels in tl-e PJ1;tEry tra:Es, see R.lthiw, 'Ubrk ad 9:cial [)::rs::iru3rEss:
lte British MtErs in the Early TlJ.Bltieth CEntury, Past crd Pres3lt, rn.119,
1938, r:P.1?6-8.
32.
t.h3 grirc:Ers.
the slackress of 1:rc:rl=; l::ut tl-e fcrrgllO crd S1liths tEirg prq:urtima1EIy rrore
n..rrert:1.E,
a:Tffq Bl:E,
170
irdiffenntly BTpl.oya:j."
33.
urm tte
E.g.,
ea:n otrnr
in future
W3S
d-lartpj a-d
a::N8I'
DB:S
of this kird,
'!J.+.
35.
L.loyd, p. 29+.
:irclt.J::Bj
13.193.
lJ..8S
gnmill.Y mlY
ra::Ell Lly
ES
UEI'8
ser:m-a1E
21.2.1872.
~.
S.1., 5.11.1875.
37.
Ibid.
38.
5.1., 22.8.189f.,
~,
Y.J.
a1
UES
printa:j
m th3 d=ath of
.irg
9-effield.
40.
5.1., 13.2.1872.
41
42.
43.
S 4lB db< 1
44.
UlliJ
45.
5.1., 26.3.1%.
46.
47.
48.
E. g. razor gr.in::Ers CTd h3f1Ers, W3:iJ, ~l:iS., ~. 191, 196; P. P. 1 ED? , XXXII,
r'ES.,
~.298-:n:J.
Cl.Jtra::ts Irq.1i.ry,
s:n3
rrarr~
regis1Ers
1819-1003 (S.C.L. ffi 10/78) illLBtratE tt-at rrmt a.rtlers (IS';&) llEre tt-e SCTB
of a.rtlers.
SaTE
171
49.
S.C.L.,
50.
t~.D.
tmrcB:j
CE
1882,
wi til trnn,
2:362.
&J
I""lB
UEI'8
l.JU.!:illirg
s~,
recs::n:tJly
ffiTE
UEI'8
all
51
5.1., 29.7.1870.
52.
5.1.,21.10.1871.
53.
54.
SOl
asksj,
ira::B+ete EqJI"fflticEship
lin
thra..rjl
IJ.BS
p .125.
Similar assurptllrs
British Steel
a:rrpils::J by
~l3ker, ~t.
tre .l.nior
It.EI'8
to l1H1.Jfa:1lJre
~',
ern 5eE:
55.
56.
57.
Thid., qs.24892-249J6.
58.
59.
a~
vol.li, m.19,
chcpter7,
~.145-:D.
5.1., 16.3.1 871, tJ-Ere ha:f alrea:1y b:H1 166 cases of rattalir'g in tJ-e a.rtlery
5.1.,15.10.1870.
61
62.
63.
UEIB
f:J.+
n-e
65
For exaTple,
n-e
TinEs, 5.10.1874.
T.i.rres , 4 6 .1872
933
"[S3r
Sir, 1 BTl infmllaJ that ycu are gJirg to Blploy J.W., razor blaE farg:rr.
d-Era:ter is
very
b:d,
CE
m is totl1
re
His
172
m ha:i
m did mt unrk.
res ta3t
re
[D.
67.
933led
fOllld that they could rut ignre the proolans imerent in rut\'.Ork, and in the end
~re
driVEn to press for its a:olitim. " Tre inpJrtcn:::e of s:ili.daritv witil IBS9::!r
skilla:f sa:ticrs of tre lLDI'kforce, aU also tt-e a::rstalt re:Efinitim of t.h=
tmis of exciU3i.m, is illLf3trate:f in R.I-Brrism Erd J. leitlin
J.leitlin, 'Craft Crntrol ad tt-e Divisim of I chur:
1m.
68.
69.
Ibid.
70.
71.
Ibid., aJ.7.1911.
72.
Pal ad
(51 fo:rg=rs
1JEI'B
Uoyd, p.291.
74.
E.g.,
p31
it
lLBS
i:m,
.raxg
6S
21.4.1910.
aU
1~,
9.12.1913, 13.5.1914.
73.
(Erl3. ); aU
f~rs
used to te po.int1.ess
~,
51
lLB3
t:s:ripticrs, mirutes,
11.2.1StE.
75.
76.
Tr'ffE
t-- --- -- - - -
:m
!JJ
174
fSl
GrinErs
ffiJ
64
19]
20
I-BftErs
:m
46
Ie
3B
1SU
3J
1?6
61
a:IJ
28
2]]
3B
1fI1J
B2
4aJ
23
5pr~
Wfe FDrg3rs
Gr .
Lt:::l.~
D..Itlers
173
cmtd.
Razor
Forg:rs
140
Z2
Gr.irli=rs
33J
89
3JJ
44
H3ftEI'S
1ffJ
1m
72
FOI'!J=rs
140
7B
Gri.n:Ers
12]
ff)
122
61
40
aJ
ffJ
'37
ZIl
40
ffJ
50
:cisoor
'-ark F~ ad
Gr.irli=rs
77.
S.!., 4.8.1913.
78.
18~1911,
l~ 1893-1~,
~.125,
2Il2; UD')d,
~.289-311.
79.
ffi.
UEI'8
ITHl ~1tEr."
of
~ific
fims.
~,utm
cn:j
UEI'8
UEI'8
very 1011
81.
82.
83.
B+.
Cl-PI'BtiCEShip, toys tEn:Ed in l::E taJjlt me sp:cific task, th..E "lrEy are
SlQIlI'ted ctuve tl-E ciJyss of lfl3ki 11 Ai lctxur by 1TE fraJile bri~ of a
86.
87.
P.P. 1910, VIII, R.C. m tt-e R::nr Las, A.J.H:iJscn, qs.ffiYB, 8839J.
174
88.
A.E.P.Mfy,'~
History r-viBlJ, XIV, 1961-2, viaJ.S tl-eir willirg-ess to Bllist state t-elp
ffi
'rB.IJ
l.Jli.crE' For
C.rvbre, 9<ill
T.rv'sts.m..Jra,
SUo
P.P. 1892,
ern tre
~.1 f1+-5.
YX/.)J,
R.C. m I ctnJr,
c.l-t:i:a:n,
Tcble ad B..rt:I:tE's Bl.a::E 9xiety A..lles, 9-effield, 19J3; P.P. 1910, VIII,
q.~9;
rrE
still did.
91
BIter tJ-e
14.8.1912,
rrB1
witil
I1IJI'8
lLES
alrea::fy a
liB Iter,
q.~9,
W3S
llEitirTJ to I::E
ne
forg=r, cqIT'Blticed at
nnJlfIB
haj
gz.
t:W by
SUIBJ
9-effield
~tica::J.
~ria:f
aloo
n--e
IJES
t.re tra:E in
4.11.78, a herd
ffilBIi::Ered
:ee
a seria.s displtE
r'\:Jmi.rJa Telegrqj I,
LpJ1
tt-e
D...blin ad Bri.rnirglan.
ilBlters
to
scrs of frur
UEI'8
t:h3t "Yru
ha:j
to I:E
Star, 15.4.1975.
ll.B:s
93.
ll.B:s
'rrurally
atte-d.
UEI'8
rn::a:J E:
LEl..rg
~'braJver, it
variety of
eamirgs,
wrcrg',
lLIJTBl,
lLBS
lLDTBl
(hll
th:!y
175
I:E
lLD I] d
3.J
1~,
~~~~~~~~~~,
9+.
as fo] lOIS:
lLE!'e
girls
8-14s.
9:issor Fini9-"EI'S
E. Cacb..Jry,
rrE
5-&.
3-48.
ITB1
lJ.EI'8
t.reir hlJI'k
95.
9:!8 ~
rrE
third
W3S
rrB1.
For
dix 1.
A,
~.
S33
It.BS
Lhim
rtNBIB
xxxru ,
It, Lrrtb I,
1m.
96.
p. P. 1913,
97.
m S"Effield,
f!tDrt,
98.
5.F.T.C. PrnEl
99.
1914, p.11.
rTBl,
tJ.IJTBl
WJrkB:f in uhat
t-eaj
llEI'e
of tl-Bn. H3
uruld te off drirkirg g:rerally ihn days in tJ-e l1Eek, h.It m Sa1lJrday ted< t.re
IllJ"EY, gave ffiBll S18I'8S
100. P.P. 1913, XXXIV, Fair u.t:g;s Cmmittee, A.J.I-tbsal, q.55ff3; P.P. 1910, VIII,
ITE
W3S
la:::al prd::llBTS in the ruerall amnittee. hltlJ tS, p.339, tre ~i.rg
llB3 aJl,osed
UBS IU1
176
~.33'3-9,
Pel
~d Th. lEI'
W3S
Ce-eral A:xn.nt EbJk, 1911-54, S.C.L., ~~. D. 2351, 2353, tt-Eir treasJrer ad
sa:retary
still part-tirTE,
lJ.EI'8
gr~'
W3S
1(1). P.P.
J.~'En:ElffJl
J.~hllirs:n;
et al,
~.5S-9; s=e
W.F .UBrdley.
106. Fm crd Fb:ket 8la:E Fcn:y;rs' FUl.es, 1911, 9-effield; tciJle blaE gr.i.rrnrs'
rrrinrtEs, 27.8.1913.
1D7 P. P. 1911, LXXII, N3ticral Irrura"lE Bill (Part II LrnTJ?1.oyrmt) TciJles
9uillrg R.lles crd Exp:-rli1llre of Tra::E Lhirns in
EH-efits,
~t
of Ihnployrrmt
S. Fbllan:f, History,
p.3'+2.
108. Pel blaE
f~'
r,'EiS,
p.:fi9.
109. Thid., 9.12.1913, 13.5.1914, m rut of lLDI'k ta-efit for tt-E less skille::f.
110. P.P. 1911, LXXII, M3tirrBl Irs.1raLE Bill, TciJ1es, ~. 74-5; lLEtiJ rvES., r:4J.141 ,
316; S.R:illard, History, p.3'+2.
111. S.F.T.C., Annual Report, 1908, p.5.
112. P. P. 1911, LXXII, NatirrBl Irs.1raLE Bill, TciJ1es, p. 240; S. Fbllard, History,
p.3'+2.
113. Pel crd Ftd<et Blai3 Forg:rrs' R.lles, 1911; 5.1., 23.6.1913, this society uruld
rut
p3'f
rut u-HTpl..oyrEnt ta-efit tntil its fu-ds t:ot'311 Ai rrore then 'j]], ad in
114. W:tiJ f"ES., 1=lJ.141 , 298-9, 312, :fij, 1t-e tciJle knife raftErs, for a antrihrtim
of 7d.
p3I'
y b::n3 ffi
118 rters
at
es.
p3I'
rurtEr of agirg
115.
rnl
rTEJl
p3Y
rm to awrt
a l.aJ:'g:!
177
116. S.L, 23.6.1 sal, tIE p:n crd px:ket b~ f~rs rnly rmd rut 213 ad HE
in 8ickress crd fu-eral b::rnfits; tchle bla:i= grirt:Ers' rnirutEs, 12.10.1911,
trey
UEI'8
0J8I'
65 years of ~, uhilst
117. Tfile bJ.r:d= gri.rd:rrs' mirutes, aJ. 6 .1912; S. FTC., ATu3l f!=pJrts, 19]7, p. 3;
1SUJ, p.13; 1912, p.11; 1913, p.4;
~ ~ter
8,p. 287.
q.19637.
p31 b~
119. E.g.,
;3]J
in H3r'r0J31E wq:uratim,
ern 4aJ
in 9:-effield wq:uratirn, at ~%
intErest.
'cin..Jr,
R.~blrrdla.tJ,
p.150.
121. Tchle bJa:E grin:Ers' mirutes, 27.2.19E, 5.3.19:E, 10.9.19E, 25.3.19]9,
29.4.1910, 6.6.1910, 2.4.1911, 25.4.1912.
122. S.F. T.C., An..al FepJrts, e.g., 1gn, p.23; 1SO+, p.26; 1SUJ, p.22.
123. W:ti:J
r'6S.,
124. ltE t13tal UbrkEr, vol. IV, m. 42, .lrE 191 0, JOl).129-33. .
125. ltE H3l1ler, m.17,
10.2.18~.
~j al
9...wJ.armt,
"9u::ka::f at tIE
W3Ste
of ffEI'9Y
ern
UES
tl-e mst of
I-tlJscn
rea::n,
ad at a q..mter of
8ft IB It," S. 1., 10.4 .19JJ, 17.7 .19JJ , :Il.11 .1911, 2.12.1911.
FB:J.1~7, ~;al
9..wlBTelt,
~i,
1G-11.
~"etal
ltbrker, vol. II, m. 23, ~bv.1 sm, p.225; tchle bla:E gr.in:Ers' mirutes,
1m IIBllErs, ad a levy
1m IIBltEr
W3S
lLBJ:s
of ~ chlBJ31E rEI'
131. Toole bJ.r:d= grin:Ers' mirutes, 9.4.1913, 26.1.1911, 12.4.1911, 7.5.1913; C.arrke,
p.3+.
178
1:iJ. Tfile bla:E grinErs' rnirutES, 9.1 0.1911; 5.1., 3J .11 .1911, trere
diffiaJlty over tt-e q..estim of rates of ts-efits,
ffi
~~. D.
lJ.ES
2?65 (5)
partirular
haj
ffikirg
p3l
prq:EI'ly rrerke:1 as St..I:h. In tt-e razor fc:JIy3rs disp..rtE over this iSaE
dlc:pter 3 ,
~.
94-5) 1.ar'g3
forg:rr-s' rnferd3rs,
p3l
B..JTB lLEI'8
(~
m.i.n..rtEs, 25.3.1914.
CCUE
ha3 t:B:n
rnrn
trey inta cW. f\EgJtiaticrE, t-u.ever, have I:J:H1 carrie:1 m in SLdl a frie-d1.y
spirit 1:h3t tt-e tems
It.EI'e
lLBS
alg) stbnittaj
to form a joint tXJard of fl1JI' fron ecdl sirn 1IJ mal with diffirulties in tte
future. " Tcble bla:E grit mrs' mirutes, 25.2.1914, tre occi.ety gave A.J. Bailey
179
149.
]-e
fb.:Ym3 in 19:13,
eliiE craft".
I81Blterej
~r::m
at .lHVl
elite - "it
W3S
en
180
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
CHAPTER 6
agreement,
limi ted to the per iods of good trade which witnessed general and
national industr ial organization and militancy: 1871-3, 1889-91, and
1911-13.
guild-like
regulation
and
conciliation procedures.
However,
and
jealous
individualism,
as
well
as the equivocal,
with their continued reliance on the skills of the workers, meant that
employers were never in a position to undertake a consistent and
substantial policy of deskilling.
At the root of this system of industrial relations, with all its
idiosyncrasies, was the equally anomalous structure of the cutlery
trades, dominated by a reliance on traditional forms of production,
traditional values and experiences.
period were a product of the continued use of, and need for skilled
men, varied high quality products, continued independent production,
the respect of trading reputations,
remained
reliant
on
The
products, which kept employment units small, employers divided and the
respect for skill still relevant.
181
ence, craft loyalties and the habits of individual bargaining were all
extremely deep rooted,
further
hampering
attempts
to
abandon
the
real wages available in the trades, but at the root of both conduct
and cause of disagreements, was the traditional handicraft structure
of the
trades.
This
structure
was
the
principal
reason
for
the
but verbalization
apart,
they
were
the old,
reflect the distinction between the subcontracting team master and the
rest,
rather
Union Bill , the Chamber of Commerce protested that "with the rememberance of the evidence given before the
the
trade
182
trade
'molestation
and
obstruction~..
Your
petitioners
with
only
their
own
workmen.
Although most
employers had
recognised the unions by 1892, and allowed their secretaries onto the
premises in the event of a dispute, some were reluctant to treat with
the unions, persuading their workers not to join, or even refusing to
3
Rodgers attempted to deal with all their strikers
employ unionists.
indi vidually in 1892, offer ing
would concede to their demands, causing the union to state that the
firm were interfering with their workers' "rights of free combination~4
Like many large firms, Rodgers were proud of their good relations with
their men which, they believed, did not require the intervention of
outsiders or a third party. 5
been
IS
the
following
reply
"He was
183
Throughout this period, disputes
involving very few men,
separate trades.
often at
were
always
individual
small-scale,
firms
and
always
In
twenty, 10 whilst the largest str ikes would only amount to the wi thdrawal of 2-300 men. 11
variety
ruthless.
of
products
was
the
rule,
and
were
competition was
the colonies;
with
a manufacturer
of cheap
masters.
few
Thus,
united
federations
or
Even in
1909
the
Cutlery
Manufacturers
Association could only count on the support of 90% of the major firms
(let alone the host of small producers), many being prevented from
joining because of their "very independent nature".15
unions and even the S.F.T.C.
firms,
state
manufacturers.
of
affairs
Thus,
workers,
lamented
by
unIon
delegates
and
some
16
However, it was not simply those firms who stood outside manufacturers associations who refused to conform to policy:17 houses
of
statement prices, and were often paying them already, and would thus
welcome union efforts to equalize wage rates.
At other
times
however,
whilst
some
184
according to which the rest of the firms in the trade would regulate
prIces
.
t h elr
an d po 1ICY. 21 Suc h respec t e d flrms were often accused by
22
the unions of being the lowest payers in the trade.
These small-scale disputes were also the result of a similar lack
of unity and of group identity amongst the men, divided according to
23
trade, branch, process and quality of the product they made. Occasionally,
umbrella
organization,
which acted as an
but
of
the
customary
periods. of notice
In
these
increases were frequent and successful 1871_2,31 but were lost again
32
soon after,
to be followed by a further spate of disputes and
35 thus following
34
the
concessions 1889-92,33 1900_1
and 1911-13,
. d 36
general pattern of British trade union activity over this perlo .
Advances could be gained and then lost again in rapid succession,
because of changing trade conditions. 37 The threat of German competition, or of increased mechanization to replace a troublesome workforce,38 as well as the non-perishability of cutlery which allowed
manufacturers to clear away large stocks during a dispute,39 were
factors
which
reduced
the
possibilites
of
conducting
all
successful
185
~;r;tll ~ r '~
disputes.
I t was common for unions to agree to work less hours ~j', :~.
al terna t 1"ve t 0 accepting wage re d uc t"lons, 41 or t 0 agree to s t r j r~ t. j /
temporary reductions which would last only for the duration of a d8~~
42
depression.
Use was even made of the courts of law to establish thr;
outcome
of quarrels
over
ill-defined
trade
customs,
such
43
as th8
By such
means, disputes were fought out, settled and the results made plain to
the rest of the trade, without the expense and disruption of a strike.
United action was further hampered, in the earlier part of this
period by the superior status and skill of some workers.
It would be
workers
in
status and
these
security
trades,
all
where wages,
varied
regularity
of
enormously
within the
44
various sepatate skill hierachies, and with the state of trade. How-
had
made
Where
as
ely trained workers, supervised and exploited by the team leader, who
was ln turn employed by large manufacturers,
Rodgers in 1892, the union stated that there had "been a determination
on the part of the firm to bring the men into a condition of subordination by adopting and fostering .. the 'team' system - better known
as the 'sweating system' -. 49
186
leaders and their men returned to work a fter six weeks, app;jf;, T !;'
l..j
In turn,
these men
the
r,r, +,
tJ;:;"
masters was still cited as the most important handicap to success f 'J.
trade unionism in the culery trades.
the methods known as
'rattening'
54
employers
of
labour, many team leaders and small masters stood aloof from the
union, if only because of the psychological di fferences that they
believed separated them from wage labour.
them could become, in time, "a big employer / similar to some of the
firms I am now working for .. so that when my capital is large enough,
I launch out into a respectable manufacturer and merchant, having
retained my 'independent spirit', never having been trained to run ln
any other man's harness, but to rely on my own skill and persever56
ance".
Trade union criticism was bitterly resented and judged to be
directed at "driving back the small manufacturers into the ranks of
workmen so as to strengthen the union ... But the 'little masters' ... did
not intend to be snuffed out without a struggle".
The aspirations of these subcontracting small masters, who were
despised
by
the
traditional
elite
of
skilled
craftsmen,
further
Sometimes
the small master was himsel f so poor, and relations with his under
hands were so close, that these workers were incapable of formulating
any precise grievances against their team leader.
small master's position of authority in the work process and his aloof
d tBC
lon agalns
. t hlm. 58 I n th e ear l'ler part nf
a tt 1t ud
e, encourage
~.
this period, it was the firm belief of the unions that the 'middlemen'
187
and small masters were responsible for all the problems which afflicted the cutlery trades,59 thus
it
was
their
aim
to
JOln
with
the
Inevitably, however
in concentrating on competition
and the need to raise prices, attention came to focus on 'the market'
and 'the buying public' who refused to pay the higher prices which
would have enabled both workers and employers to obtain a decent wage.
The unions bemoaned the changing attitudes of consumers who seemed to
be no longer willing to pay a decent price for a quality product:
60
cheapness had become their fundamental concern.
At root lay the
unions' deep dislike of competition and their continued attachment to
the
days
when
Sheffield
had monopolised
the
world
production of
Attention
was focused on individual employers, who were sel fish and unjust.
Such men were in sharp contrast, it was believed, to the 'old world'
employers who had cared less about their personal profits and more
about their trading reputations and honour, as well as the condition
61
of their employees.
During the dispute at Rodgers in 1892, a
leading
trade
unionist
attributed
the
cause
of
the
friction
to
come about".
Finally, compounding all the divisions and obstacles to the clear
conceptualization
fundamental
factory inspector that "the organization to keep together \000 men and
women who work for one common object but who reside allover the
communi ty, is very di fficul t and great". 63 However, accor dlng t 0 th e
same inspector: "from my experience, I find that when the outworking
188
by
himsel f
outworkers, which is a very common thing, he treats with them individually. If they were all employed ln, no man gets a deduction without
its being known to the 99 inside; the 99 of course, are opposed to it
all at once; self-interest makes them opposed to the action of the one
man. But with an outworker, it is not so; having agreed to a deduction
he can go away, and the 99 know nothing about what price he is going
to take; and therefore the outworking system is responsible for the
want of cohesion".64
Dispersion was
horizontal,
related
to
trade
group,
firm
and
workshop; but also vertical, according to age, sex, skill and status.
It was therefore an almost insuperable task to weld workers together;
to create a group consciousness and to put a stop to the practice of
65
individual bargaining.
Outworkers suffered particularly badly from
their isolation and consequent weakness.
These changes,
67
were the
the
68
In
Sheffield,
the
wage
whilst
189
based on the men's recognition that their growing poverty could only
be hal ted by radical changes in the tradi tional structure of the
industry.
competition
and
declining
of
trades' .
the
73
grOWIng
national
debate
on
the
so called
'sweated
awful condi tions under which London tailors and shoemakers worked,
'sweating' came to denote any employment which involved low pay, long
hours and insanitary condi tions, in premises which were frequently
unregulated.
190
Thus,
for
most
of
this period,
large-scale
cutlery trades.
from gross wages and archaic piece price lists which reflected the
peculiar structure of these trades, somewhere between handicrafts and
modern
waged
labour,
furthered
sectionalism
and
if
not
causing
Nevertheless, as
with the overall framework of the industry, the workers came to favour
modernization of traditional methods of payment, which they realized
were an impediment and not an aid to their prosperity and status.
Wages were calculated according to price lists which were both
old and complicated.
85
of
the
larger,
17 ,
The problems facing attempts to enforce comprehensive, standardized price lists were however daunting, not least the re-education
required
to
discourage
the
men
from
making
individual
bargains.
The
traditional,
handicraft
remnant
the
industrial
'independence'
and
distance
from
the
status
of mere wage
labourer, were the deductions from gross wages for the rent of work
space,
tools,
Although originally
The
knife
cutlers
argued
that
the
1d.
in
each
shilling
The
they
1d. was a gratuity, generously bestowed by them when trade was good.
Arbi tration vindicated the men's posi tion: whilst ever the 1810 and
1824
pr ice
lists
remained
operati ve,
17L
strength however, In the poor trade of 1877, the company stopped the
'
unlons
cou Id d0 no th'lng. 93
f 1'l e money an d t eh
Again in 1907,
the
pen
and
blade
forgers
union
took
power, were always charged the heaviest sums, paying not only rent for
their trough, but normally finding all their own tools and materials?5
For forgers, deductions were less of a burden: charges were normally
96
only made for gas, the price of which differed with the season.
Cutlers were charged for gas In winter, for the rent of their 'side'normally 6d. per week - and sometimes for their tools and materials,
97
when these were provided for them by their employer.
Outworkers
provided
themselves
that
with
space,
piece rates
they
should
as
be
materials
inworkers,
allowed
an
and
tools.
prIce
lists
additknal 1d.
Although
normally
In
each
were
far as deductions are concerned as they do other men, and for that
101
reason".
Trade union opposition to these deductions was long-standing: In
1892 the Webbs identi fied them as the major source of gr ievances In
102
The Royal
Commission
on
Labour
found
that
most workers would have preferred to earn a net piece wage, employers
providing all tools and materials. 103 Such reforms were still being
demanded IOn 1907~04 Em P1 oyers were a 1 so accused of profiteering from
the system in other ways.
when no other work was
provided
by
the
employer,
and
Such
even
when
charges,~when
there was no work available, forced men to accumulate large debts. 105
Unionists also claimed, but could not prove, that some employers made
handsome profits from the excessive charges they imposed for deductions, sufficient infact, to cover the upkeep of the factory and the
wages 0 f th e engIne t en d er. 106 Employers
vigorously denied
these
0
were through
they
Despite the depth and long duration of these grievances, the men
were too badly organized and segregated to undertake positive action
to put an end to deductions until the very end of this period.
Public
the
but wi tnesses
that the unions were both poorly informed on their legal rights with
109
regard to truck agreements, and powerless to implement change.
In
their
defence,
encountered
In
union
leaders
cited
the
enduring
difficulties
over long per iods, and become customary, were hard to define, much
110
less dismantle.
The conclusions of the 1907 Committee came as a source of
encouragement and impetus.
factory
the adoption of a system of net wages would invol ve: pr imar ily the
regular ization of employment in pr i vate factor ies, which would push
more men into the public and semi-public sector, where the implementation of the net wage system was virtually impossible. 113 However,
the commissioners did recognize and agree that deductions for materials, tools, standing room, light and heat should be made illegal, and
recommended their abolition.114
The increasingly focused and vocal agi tation to end deductions
was
product
of the
trades
'independent'
status wi thin the tradi tional structure of the industry was now an
anachronistic source of disadvantage, not benefi t.
status was
frequently
admitted
ln
the
poslng
Their declining
of
such
rhetorical
the country
employed
ln
an
0'
er,
industry
1/
You may
physical
strength,
skill
and
were
fought
by
the
individual
unions
to
eradicate
the
mounted against the charges for rent at wheels which were shut or
117
118
broken,
and against the non-payment of tool money to outworkers.
Similarly, by 1911, most unions had obliged employers to provide all
. .lnwor k ers. 119
the tools required by thelr
The final
another
signi ficant
traditional,
distorted by
handicraft
the employers,
in
remnant,
their
which
favour,
had
been
which was
gradually
to
replace one
'waster'.
However,' wasters'
gradual 1y
17/
for their
aboli tion was merely a tactical and emotive way of demanding a wage
increase, shielding "behind an appeal to the eighteenth century".123
However, with the excellent trade and enhanced unity and vision which
marked the period 1911-13, most unions experienced little difficulty
in obtaining price lists
124
dozen.
Primarily,
In disputes,
of
their
of these trades,
unionism and their staunch individualism, employers although uninterested in formal channels of conciliation and arbitration, were keen
advocates of factory paternalism and close relations with their own
Overall, the cutlery trades are notable for the extent of
workers.
the co-operation between masters and men, and the readiness to take
steps towards some measure of joint regulation of the industry.
The commitment of the union leadership to conciliation is well125
illustrated in their attatchment to the local Liberal party.
and
also through the policies of the S.F.T.C., an organization which was
196
despite
the
influence
of
A. J . Mun d e 11 a,
the
represented
the
trades
before
the
Royal
one party in its time of strength, should not take advantage of the
133
weaker.
Rarely were these beliefs formulated into preCIse,
practical, workable schemes, 134 but employer hostility was once more
135
cited as the major obstacle to implementation.
The S.F.T.C. was a similarly persistent advocate of conciliation,
consistently
passing
resolutions
to
this
effect,
although
their
never convinced of the value or relevance of such negotiatory procedBoards of conciliation challenged and threatened the intense
ures.
individualism, secrecy and rivalry of the cutlery manufacturers. One
employer "thought that the businessmen of Sheffield were able quietly
and in a friendly manner to settle any difference they might have ... "
140
without the need to "consult with their rivals".
Another
pocket
knife manufacturer refused to submit a dispute to a panel of employers
197
and employees because he stated "I am not gOIng to teach competi tors
'
,,141
my b USlness .
In practical terms however, there was considerable ev idence of
joint action, particularly in the sphere of the general regulation of
the industry, rather than specific labour/captial issues. Considerable
negotiation and discussion surrounded the framing of the regulations
governing the grinding of metals, introduced in 1908,142 the defence
of the 'Sheffield' trade mark, 143 and the defini tion of what const144
i tuted a 'hand forged' piece of cutlery.
The rate of payment for
government contract work was also debated,
subscribed
to
by
employers,
were
joint ventures
for
quality and workmanship, to the rest of the nation and the world.
Typical enterprises were industrial exhibitions like those organized
by the London Cutlers' Company in 1883, 146 and the Sheffield Cutlers'
t a bl es sponsored the exhibition
ocaI no
Company l'n 1885.147 In 1885, l
in an attempt to quieten the criticism and fears which surrounded the
merchandise
marks
scandal:
"the
exhibition
will
gIve
a splendid
opportuni ty to Sheffield workmen to prove that they are still celebrated for skilled labour, and the display of really good work cannot
do
otherwise
than
have
most
beneficial
effect
on
the
local
198
men should learn from, and report on the goods on v lew, but the
SIX
cementing ties and co-operation between masters and men was however,
through the paternalism and philanthropy of individual employers and
firms.
the
greater
the
annual athletics competition for the men, at which there were over
100 worth of prizes to be won, and normally over 6000 spectators. 154
An annual gathering also took place at the Surrey Street Musical Hall.
Maurice Rodgers, head of the company in 1898 "was convinced that such
gatherings were conducive to that proper understanding and goodwill
between emmployers and employed which was needful and should exist,,~55
Such events were occasions for mutual congratulation.
The represent-
atives of the workmen would express their pride in the firms achieve156
ments, and their gratitude at being employed by such a house.
When
the Prince of Wales visited Rodgers in 1875, a celebrati0n dinner was
held to mark the occasion, at which 800 employees and friends of
company were present.
the
cc
who
presented the men's address had been with the firm for
199
56 years. His father has been employed by Rodgers for 40 years, and he
had three sons, four grandsons, and three nephews, all of whom worked
159
for Rodgers.
In the 1911 publication, Under Five Sovereigns, the
firm pr inted a photograph,
serv ice, of the 36 workmen who had been employed for more than 50
160
years.
The firm had always been proud of the loyalty of its
161
craftsmen,
and was rewarded by the continued allegiance of a
section of the workforce,
by
employers
to
reaffirm
friendly
relations,
to
lssue
'pep
Robert
Belfitt,
used
his
celebration
(Cheers),,~64
to
tell
the
employees of George Butlers that "it was the duty of the manufacturers
and workmen to place themsel ves abreast of the times ... The time had
gone by when a firm could prosper upon prestige obtained in ancient
days. The excessive competi tion demanded that employers and workmen
alike should be able to deal with things of today rather than those of
the day before".165 The
custom
of
entertaining
workers
might
be
their
In
1902,
support
the
changes
which
were
to
come:
and
he
"expressed the hope that the goodwill now existing between employers
and employed would long continue. I f the firm were to keep up to the
fL'ont,
they must give him their best goodwill and assistance In the
use of new appliances and new methods, and not say that because a
200
thing was good enough for their fathers it was good enough for them,,~66
Employees were
also
invited
indications
that
labour/capital
relations
were
than paternalism,
were rare.
Summer
day
trips,
financed
by
the
of
a more
class-based
for
their
the merchandise marks frauds "did not set class against class, it
173
ought to".
However, such hostility and abandonment of the traditions and
ideals of close, congenial ties between menagement and workers, were
exceptional.
I t is hard to
disagree wi th the
themsel ves,
appear in public.
Week after week, we read in the local press of
complimentary banquets and complimentary speeches given masters to men
or by the men to their masters; on the other hand, we hear very little
.
174
of bad feellng".
201
Fmb utes
1.
~.1:n-3.
ad
156-8.
2.
[}-alter
3.
19318-9,
rrBl
5.1. ,10.3.1874, in aurt, Fhiftr'S state::J tt-at "ll"Ey h:d referre:f ta:k intn tJ-e
aTEls of tt-E finn, bed<. into tte last CHTtliry, ad auld rut fird
a seria.s disturl:a [E beThe:n tJ-an ad tt-eir
rrBl,
or
ttEir
rrBl,
6.
likE
like a strike.
Ulltr a:t
cgrlrst
ad t-e auld rut tell ttEl:H"dl ITIIJ extrB Iely rel.u:ta1t tt-ey
LLere
tn
M:n of tt-e Pericd, 9-effield, 1 B%, p. fiJ. P. P. 19]8, III, Lmmi ttee m 1:te Tru:k
kts, 1W, A.J. rtlscn, q .12421, this :inp:lrtalt Blployer t-e:f m maim 1n dioo 59
or cEal
lin.th
7.
0JJ1
uorkrre1. "
P. P. 1913, XXXIV , Fair li..EJ;!:s Carmittee, A. J.I-ttEm, qs. 5:H7-8; p:n blaE fDI'ftl'S'
mirutEs, 19.4.19:13.
8.
Tci:Jle blcrl3 gr:irJErs' mirutEs, 24.11 .191 0, 12. 7.1911, "bill rrejor f ims
lJ.ElB
cp:nlY
Thid., 9.4.1!U3.
10.
Lcb:l.1r Gazette 1896, ~ .319, 393, p:n blaE fo:rg:rrs, ~ aircrces stn.d<. in
srall rurtErs, at varyirg tirres.
ll-e
saTE
strategy
W3S
a::i+JtH:f
by tctJle blaE
grin:Ers in 1897, ad sprirg knife rutlers in 19]], LID II' GazettE, 1897, p.249;
19IJ,~.1B5, 249, 283, 313; 1~, p.151.
11
5.1., 16.8.1 B92, aJ.4.1 872, tt-e l~t disp..rtEs of tJ-e p:rriod i.rMJlved Ci+
sprinJ knife a.rtlers at Fhiftr'S in1B92, a-d 1aJ t.cble knife rafters at ~
ad I-Brris:n Bros. crd H1a.B:n, in 1 B72.
12.
E.g., t.J-el t:te tciJ1e blcre gri.rrErs fruj1t for aircrces in 1BB7-g), strikes
lJEre
202
mId at
Th.n fims in 1887, fUJI' rrore in 1 B9J, mill, ITE by ITE, all flrrrs haj
bla:E forg=.rs
p3l
frujlt ag:rl.rst red..J:tims with octim at irdiviri.El flrrrs, JB1 blaE forgrrs'
rnirut.es, 13.1.1m, 27.6.1%.
13.
5.!., 1.6.1872, "t:f-e WCIlt of t.ralimity prevBlts th3t g:reral irc.rea:E in priCES
saTe
prdJleTE
IlEre
still
arrplaira:i of by tt-e rvBster 0Jtler in tre Q.Jallty of 9-effield, VIII, 19~, p.62,
rutlery prui.J:E's sh:uld "g3t iI:g=tTer od
rai.J:irg
14.
15
P. P. 1912, II, Fep:Jrt of tre Cmmi.t1Ee rn o..rthorkers, W.H:iH:n, qs. :m3, 3'E+-5.
16.
A.Fre1hell, 1%6+, %13 mly wist-a:f trat ttE rres1Ers hEre asoccia1Ed
so
that
IlE
17.
di~,
1 B.3.1876, 30.3.1876.
1B.
E.g.~.irg
di~,
knife gri.r1:Ers
17.5.18StJ.
19.
5.!., 15.1.1 Ero, 19.4.1 fRJ, 3.5.1 BStJ, in the spring knife a..rtlP..rs disp..rte,
finrs paid a::M:rces as
a::ro:m-E,
21.
9XJ1
s:JTE
t:i.rre.
saTE
E.g., ttE tctJle knife hafters frujlt for ire crlrcrces in tt-eir tra:E by
o:rriI:tin;) strikes at fhiJ:rrs cn:f f-Brriocn Bros. ad 1-h.sTl, 5. I., 20.4.1 B72.
Trey frujlt a similar 'sarple battle at rbsleys, 5.1., 16.B.1B9J.
h:u3es cB31in;J in tt-e AlErica1 trn::E W3t::1-ed for trE rutx:nle of
All ttE
R:rlJ:rr's
pmtracte:f !:Ettle with tt-eir ~irg knife rutlers, 5. I., 12.1.1 B91, 16. B.1892.
rrrrtrol',
22.
very f EltI.
w-er
UJlprty
lLEI'8
203
I11Et fims.
23.
~ ~tEr
24.
25.
5.1., 7.4.1874,12.10.1872,17.10.1872.
26.
27.
5.
~ of a uti er 3,[JJ]
t.r.ere
rTB1
28.
5.1.,10.2.1872,19.4.189].
29.
R:n bla:E forg:IT'S' mirutes, 17.12.19]3; P.P.19J8, III, LmmittEe m tl-e Tru:k
:iJ.
31.
E.g., 5.1., 7.10.1871, 24.2.1872, 6.3.1872, 20.4.1872, 1.6.1872, W:tiJ M3s., p.191.
32.
5.1.,13.1.1877,3.2.1877, ]].3.1877,8.6.1878,23.7.1878.
33.
:1+.
~.185,245;
j:p. ~7.
4.11.1912.
35.
5.1.,3.11.1911,10.7.1913,7.11.1913.
?D.
E./-ttJsI:aI1T1, I
an Lr.i.rg r1:n,
37.
f~
W3S
rB.LI,
)8I'.
38.
5.1., 3].3.1876,13.5.18'76.
39.
irTpJr~
of
a.rta::rTE of disp.rtes.
40.
. knifie a..rt:lers'
5.D.T., 17.2.1872, at tt-e spn..rTJ
rw:g ti93:i that rn strike
41.
~~ 1 rn::.~-H rn
~ r=.c:u. 110.=- ...... ";:I,
1 t W3S
rTBl.
W3S
rTBl
a::n:pte::i a
1893 tn 5.10.1893, cn::f apin frun .lJly 189+ to 3.11 .18%. R:n bla:e f0rg:T3
204
ITBl
agreeJ wi1h
Fb:iJ:n:s
ad hl:E1:Btnlrrs to
a :J1;b reictien en all lJ..OI'k d::re for stock, for tre ciJraticn of tre tm
tra::E.
43.
44.
urn rrirg
45.
p:1L8I'
cwrentiatri.p, or ott-Er
sun learTEI'Slip,
ClIp
Ii red in
WJrker.
46.
IJ!:tiJ r'ss., ~.1 %, 314, alo I]3t razor ad scissor grirI:Ers, sJ:divisim of
lci:oJr crd tt-E
skill u.hid1
47.
LEe
ltES
of tEars
tJ.8S
re:JJi.mj to pra:::tise
trcrl:E.
tettEr
wi1::tnJt a disp..rte.
wi1h
OJlp:Ily
M:m:uJer,
9:JTE
I'B:Eivaj
tt-Eir lLBJ=S
l.tbs.~3,
(2), (3).
48.
lLBS
fTB1 lIE
rrB1
II
rTBl".
rrB1,
recrly
lOJJ ~ WFk.
49.
50.
S.!., 20.8.1892, letter frnn Tan ~, s:D'8tary of tre ~irg knife a..rtlers
LfUen.
51.
S.!., 31 .8.1892.
52
S.!., 18.8.1892, Z7. 8.1 B92, 20.8.1 Em, letters f ron l.tDl'kErs a-d tean IBrlrrs
at
fh:tJm3 dnyinJ
stqJ rra:tfl.irg u.ere a:L.rTtEra:1 l::ry repl; es frnn tre mim a-d S.F. T.C.
205
~'etal
53.
ll-e
54.
lliid.
55.
s.c.
m tl-E
~~ ~'Brks
Pet
~~~~~~~==~~~~,
56.
57.
!llTE
'n-e
58.
(e:is~.
60.
s.c.
q.25:HJ; A.Fox, 1=P.64-5, "tre p..blic in its careless ig rna re, paid uhaiEver
tJ-e 10JESt priCE hEqB"B:i to l:E wi th::ut tro..b1irg to a:rsicEr t.J-E1tEr SLd1 a
priCE
r:cid
ir:resp::mible
IJEI'8
1:uyi.rlJ p.1Jlic."
~tEr
61
62.
5.1., 16.8.1892.
63.
fA.
lLBS
3, pp.
65.
66.
Lnim m:xg Jised that in disnisgirg tJ-e I1Ibillrkers first, in 1tEir 1875
disp.rtE with 1Teir rutiers, ~'S
t.&Er8 rulllB
ruti.cE.
tt-e
~."
67.
f:ee dl:ptEr 5.
68.
A.Fox, p.67.
69.
:re dl:ptEr
4.
II0lB Its
It
lLBS
rTBl,
206
Itl.
rTBl
IlEla:TTB:f jetE as ~rs or tre like, ratrer 1hcn a:ntin..E m 1:tE miserchle
pitta-ce th3t has fal..lm tn treir lot. 'To tE a tran a:n:iJ::tor ad p3I'tiaJlar1y
a lIotm rrm' tn q..ntE ITE t.nir:n official, 'is tn I:E pro-rutEd
to tre aristn::ra:y
n l1ErfJlative
Histmy, Lcrrbl,
IJ.EI'8
IlEre
lirl<B:J nnre
It
W3S
~st
crd
t.e-ffij in
diminish. II
71.
5.1., 26.1.1B9S.
72.
73.
For mtails
SEE
of tt-e 1BlTh! S:J:ial History, I, 1976; H.Lynj, E[9la-d in ti-e 1E3lD3, r-B..LJ York,
o.l3ythell .;
74.
W. 203-54 .
lliid., it has bxn arg..a:f th3t tl-e rep:lI't of tt-e 1889 53la:t Carmitire, in
f8\lCUI'irg srsilile tm::E l.J1icniSll a-d tt-e plLgJirg of lcq:E in existirg fa:::tmy
75.
R.C.K.ErBJr, '1m Pra:tical Case for t.rE legal f'linirrun l1.I:g3', Nireta31th
Cartury crd AftEr, LXXII, 1912; C.Eila:k, 9.ataj IniEtry crd tI-e r1ininun utg::
resp-:!:tively. W3:iJ ~'EiS., J=.P.201 ,314, razor bla:E fOIlflIs ad ocisoor grin::i:rrs
ha:f 1 B1 0 a-d 1 ~+ priCE lists, ~tively.
77
l1EI'8
ctre in a
my.
LtDrk in a day, Uayd, p.291, W:tiJ M3S, J=.P.201-3, Z76. IJt:tEr traJ;, e.g.
207
aJiple1E a far grea1Er am..nt of w:n:k th:n tJ-at if Ita tBJ llhn tJ-e lists
cf:raJJ1
78.
Lp,
UEre
Fffl ad Bla::E F~rs Prirn Ust, 1891; N.A.U.L. TEhle ad B.1b:::I ers 81.cd=
Ll
p.291, s:rre
trn::Es tID ~te priCE lists for ire hig-er qJ3lity 'a:JJltry' m3I'ket, crd
00.
~,
differs lES
~.
ttnse m d
82.
rTBl,
rTH1
l.tEI'8
rever as great
ffi
5::e ~. 183 ,P. P.19]8 , XXXIV, Fair lLEg::s Crnmit1Ee , R.I-blJrEh:w, q. 2489,
g::rerallY tI-E l8I'g3r, rrore prestigiOJS I-n.Ees
l.tEI'8
rrore likely in
p3y
g:rrI
~.
83.
hlii:J
~'ES.,
lJ.ES
a "tulky crd
formid:tJle l.a:hlrg volUTE;" Ll.oyd, p. 3J1; P. P. 1 sm, XXXIV , Fair Ill:g;s Cmmi t1Ee,
IlEI'8
84.
5.1., 4.11.1872, 24.2.1872, 4.3.1876, 14.3.1876, ITD3t Lnicrs mlacW for greatEr
.i.rcreases m trnir hig, q.Elity unrk thal m trnir
q...eli ty IillI'k
85.
5::e
EqEI d.ix
ltEre
dix 5.
~ .14-15, II1JI'BJVer,
tEars,
CQ:B
a.lrecrl:I
JEid I.J.rekly , or
by
ltEIB
less ski 11 ED or in
calrulate
Ell
'avE!:rc:JJ='
tJ..Eg3
rrHl
irrp:Esible in
ltEIB
lJ.ES
rJ::mt of
l1EIB
a:::mrdi.nJ to
86.
87.
cq:a dix 5.
W3S
they rTU3t give a cmbire:I price." P.P.19E, XXXIV, Fair tt.EJ;g; Cbnnittffi
R.HJl.rrEhau, q.12D74.
208
88.
S.C.L.,
lL.[E
/7, tJ-E
W3S
fDrg:!L'S
89.
~.
91.
92.
93.
9.-.
(Jl
(Jl
q.12479.
95.
1W b
1B89 8
TraE
Felt ad
rtetErials
[ffi
fblt
1s.6:i. - 2s.6:i.
33.
- 4s.
1s.6:i.
4s.
- 33.Ed.
5s.
- 7s.
fE.
- 6s.fd.
1s.
-33
(Jl
fd.
1s.
Cbmrl.ttre m tre Tru:k kts, 1917. J.[b:ip:n, q.1157, A.J.rtiB:n, q.1240+; Lloyd,
p.222.
96.
(Jl
97.
98.
A. J .1-t.tH:n, qs 1239+-5.
99.
Thid., J.[b:ip:n, q.1U19; A.J.rtiB:n, q.124OJ, R.~, q.1 aE1; P.P. 1892,
q.1~3 ..
12~9.
Thid., q.12310.
103. P.P. 1892, XXXVI, R.C. m I ctnIr, R.~, qs.1S491 , 195ED-69, 19576-8.
209
1~.
P.P.19:E, III, Cmmittee m tre Tru:k kts, 19J7, R.rtJJ.rrsra.lJ, qs.12rn5, 12119,
12162, 12169.
R.~~,
qs.19+42, 19..58-62,
1~91
19579-81, A.FreiJ.JEll, qs .19639, 191+0-3; P. P.19lJ, Cormi ttee m tre Tru:k A:ts,
qs.1~,
12337.
11lJ. P.P.1sm, III, Crnmittee m tre Tru:k Pets, 1917, R.I-b1Jrsh3J.J, qs. 12191-2,
12198-9, 12(E6, "lrE Blployer of a
sun of rrITEY trnt it proctj call y
tre foctary,
00
his on:Ers, of
p3ys,
that it d::ES rut IT8tter 1n tt-E erpJ..oy9r, q:mt frun grttirg off
a:J.JI'S3,
tJ-etmr tJ-e
liB
fTBl
BJ3IB It in tre
tJEy
lIE
have in
1Tffllfa:1urer, ta:a Ee t-e kro.t.s that m 5ab..lrt:t:ly his I'EJlt is arre. f-e kru.ts
that his I'EJlt will pay for tt-E mal cn:f tre
~ire
tre
~'En..rfa:turers
attBTpta:i to pI.UJ8 that tt-Ey did rut profiteer, by statirg that treir I'Blts
lJEI'8
tl-E
8aTE
as thJse
UES
ffiJ.I
fa:tary th3t if I-E hcd BTPl.oye:1 a..rtllI:rrkers crd Iliilt m unrkst-qJs, t-e urul.d
have I:e31 tEtter off 1tlm with the fa: tmy." q .12411
SEE
aloo
8, pp.271-4.
~ t, 5:!::tirn 2[}J,
pp. 78-9.
115. 5. I., 29 .11 .1911, "TI""E artiSCTE of tre East Erd lJ.lllld rut tnlera1E it far a
day." 5.!.,17.7.19:B.
N3I'!:n 1sm,
systan uhid1 lJ"1:Ermires ttE a:n:i..ct of tre rutl.ery lJDI'ker." S. 1., 17.9.1 SUJ.
117. Trole bJ.a.E gri.rl:Ers I mirutes, 14.1.1 SU3.
210
118. 5.1., 3.11.1911; J:B1 crd p::d<et b1.a:E fo:rg:!rs' rnirutEs, 11.6.1W, 9.7.1912.
120.
ltES
01
W3S al..ntsj
as
Thill.
124. 5.1., 17.9.1913, 18.10.1913; tci::Jle blaB grin::Ers' rnirutEs, 5.5.11.1 sm,
12.11 .1~, 27.8.1 g:j3, 5.10.1911, Prim list, 16 A..g.l3t 1913; S.C.L., hlE 23/9.
SE~"tEr
127.
Thid.,
~tEr
5.
~.
~. 31 8-20.
1 ?fl.
P. P.1BaJ, XIII, R. C.
131.
132.
5=e~"tEr
133.
01
3, mff.
Rf-b.1rrsl-BJJ, q .12427
124.
19+83.
135.
~.5-6; J.~"ErrElSCll,
et al.,
~.43-4.
137. D-rarter of D:rrrerce rnirutEs, .l:n .189+, .l:n .1896, 5. C. L., L. D. 19ffi/4;
J.r'-'En:hls:n et al.,
1 ::i3.
TI-E
~'8tal Ubrker,
t.J-m strikes
tEl d3 cy
~.43-4.
fJ!m't,
~ 1:t"e
1912, p. 5, "Uhile
lJ.E
mly effoct.ive ~,
lJ.E
that 1Te ih3rd of TraE h3s crea1B:f a PIa::Eli3 It for itrelf, by s1J:+pirg a..rt:sicE
tt-e frere provin:E of ontirary rcutirE Sir (krry3 ~th
res earrej
tt-e
211
grati1l..J:E of all, by
tre ciJle IJB.f in tJU.d1 I-e I-Es 0TIicta:f pIl I ff!:lirrJs th3t
in rl'BlY cases have fomro t:t-e ba3is of anicctJle sett:1nmt or agree IS It."
~ ~1PJ'
144.
Ibid.
3, 1=lJ.973.
146. 5.1., 9.6.1ffi3, 29.6.1883, 9-Effield rutlers carriej 8.JBY rTDSt of t:t-e prizes
availitlle
147. 5.1.. 24.2.1005.
148. 5.1., 24.2.1885; lre ~etal In:i.stry, Z7. 7.1928, p .89;
~
81
exhibitim of 9-Effield
OJ-
qEI'8tim l::EiI.t.e:n umker end BTplaym', ad sa:n dly it provicB:J tJ-e possibility
of siri<irg idividBlity in tre
exhibitim
lLE!S
inta r::BJ in
"duJj,
for tre
g:3
Willa I
Lp
ca..se."
g:n:i
mlBllEraJ
!DlE
tra::Es."
149. 5.1.,18.4.1885,26.5.1885,17.8.1885.
150. D..rt:lers OJI,HlY Irrl.Etrial Exhibitim, 1885, CatalOJ-.E, 9-Effield.
151. 5.1., 12.5.1885.
152. 5.1., 28.2.1 B97.
153. 5.1., 5.7.1878, 18.10.1878.
154. 5.1., 3.6.1873, 18.5.1875, 8.8.1002. lJ.bstatnlrrs ha:f a SLIXESSful fish.i.nJ cll.n,
estaJlisl-aj in 1 Em, crd still in existB"l:E in 1 ~5, H.EExfield, p.28.
155.
5.1., 16.3.1898.
156. 5.1., 19.5.1871, tJ"E unr\qrffi's ~tive np:n: taJ tJ-et "th= firm
tmre ~
157.
haj
tI-e
fTBl
at
giVB1
as
haj
f"b:tJ:m3,"
llEI'B ITff1y'
212
CJ1
article frnn
162.
~ I-aj
yc?aI'S.
in t.t.hi.d1
19]5.' in R. H3rriscn ffl:f J. lei tlin, (e:fs.) I=P .119-20. At l.ary= p:rttEry fims,
am as !l:ulten,
anbiretiOl Lta3
ad
~,
ltES
Ol
tI-e .
higuy priza:f
cq:Eal."
~ Ca-sci.a.s
13.1.1~;
ess', p.146;
ffl:f
SJTE
p. 395 , it
level of unrker
n-e
3.10.1~.
rru::n
IS
~ Ol tI-e
gre:n",
a-d tt-en
Ol
liES
tn CaNer for
dirrEr. 5.1., 16.8 .18AJ, Nixr:n crd Wi.ntErtxJttrIn gave tt-eir WJI'kers a similar
treat, rut, uhllst
dini.rlJ at
to
e-s...tre
excel.lEn:e of
a.rt1ery WJI'ks."
171. 5.1., Zl.12.1873.
172.
:re d-qJiEr
3, I=P. 87-9.