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}</script><script>if(window.mw){ mw.loader.implement("user.options",function($,jQuery){mw.user.options.set({"variant":"en"});});mw.loader.implement("user.tokens",function($,jQuery){mw.user.tokens.set({"editToken":"+\\","patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\"});}); /* cache key: aitwiki:resourceloader:filter:minify-js:7:a5c52c063dc436c1ca7c9f456936a5e9 */ }</script> <script>if(window.mw){ mw.loader.load(["mediawiki.page.startup","mediawiki.legacy.wikibits","mediawiki.legacy.ajax"]); }</script> <style type="text/css">  </style> <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/20160922075349js_/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/js/ddajax.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/20160922075349js_/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/js/ddcarousel.js"></script> </head> <body class="mediawiki ltr ns-0 ns-subject page-Barnett_Samuel_and_Sons"> <div id="w"> <div id="h"> <div id="dummyt"></div> <form action="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Special:Search" id="searchform"> <input id="searchInput" name="search" type="text" placeholder="Search" accesskey="f" value=""/> <input type="submit" name="fulltext" class="search" id="mw-searchButton" value=""/> </form> <h1 title="Grace's Guide"><a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Main_Page" title="Main Page"><span>Grace's Guide</span></a></h1> <h2 title="British Industrial History"><span>British Industrial History</span></h2> <p id="headerText"><strong>Grace's Guide</strong> is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains <strong>119,469 pages</strong> of information and <strong>174,741 images</strong> on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.</p> </div> <div style="padding:5px"></div> <div id="contentWrapper"> <div class="content"> <img class="borderTL" src="/web/20160922075349im_/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/skins/GracesGuide/images/corner-tl.gif" alt=""/> <img class="borderTR" src="/web/20160922075349im_/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/skins/GracesGuide/images/corner-tr.gif" alt=""/> <div id="innerSpacer"> <a name="top" id="top"></a> <h2>Barnett Samuel and Sons</h2> <h3 id="siteSub">From GracesGuide</h3> <div id="contentSub"></div> <div id="jump-to-nav">Jump to: <a href="#column-one">navigation</a>, <a href="#searchInput">search</a></div>  <div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:157px;"><a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/File:Im20120320SamlBarnett.jpg" class="image"><img alt="Im20120320SamlBarnett.jpg" src="/web/20160922075349im_/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/images/2/2b/Im20120320SamlBarnett.jpg" width="155" height="157" class="thumbimage"/></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/File:Im20120320SamlBarnett.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div></div></div></div> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:163px;"><a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/File:Im20120320SamlBarn2.jpg" class="image"><img alt="Im20120320SamlBarn2.jpg" src="/web/20160922075349im_/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/images/0/08/Im20120320SamlBarn2.jpg" width="161" height="208" class="thumbimage"/></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/File:Im20120320SamlBarn2.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div></div></div></div> <p>Musical instruments makers and wholesalers, gramophone makers, of 31 Houndsditch and 27a Duke Street, and later of 32 Worship Street, Finsbury Square, London, EC2 </p><p>1819 <b>Barnett Samuel</b> was born in Russia and later was naturalised as a British citizen. </p><p>1832 Company established <sup id="cite_ref-Times1928_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Times1928-1">[1]</a></sup> by <b>Henry Solomon</b>, <b>Barnett Samuel</b> and <b>Josiah Solomon</b>. </p><p>The family and firm were in Sheffield; they manufactured tortoise-shell doorknobs, knife handles and combs. <b>Barnett</b>, his son <b>Nelson</b> (who joined the firm around 1870) and a nephew <b> Max Samuel</b> (of Prussia) were dealing in musical instruments. <b>Barnett's</b> wife, Caroline, was Henry Solomon's sister. They also had three daughters - Rosa, Bertha and Minnie - who played music together. </p><p>They all moved to London as the music business started to take off and took over the warehouses at 31 Houndsditch and 27a Duke Street. The firm became a huge musical concern selling every kind of instrument including harmoniums and zithers. </p><p>1861 Henry Solomon sold the musical instrument side of his business to Barnett Samuel, who had married his sister Caroline. </p><p>1869 Nelson Samuel (Barnett's third son) entered the business and eventually took a great part in the prosperity of the firm. </p><p>1872 Barnett's eldest son was taken into partnership and the title of the firm became <b>Barnett Samuel and Son</b>. </p><p>1878 The firm moved to 32 Worship Street, and <b>Nelson Samuel</b> was given a partnership. He proved to be a force behind even greater expansion of the firm's activities. By then they were dealing in every type of musical instrument and musical merchandise - including banjos and zither-banjos made for them by Birmingham and London factories. In 1878 the firm opened the first English harmonium factory. </p><p>1882 Barnett Samuel died, but Nelson Samuel's guiding hand led the firm from strength to strength. </p><p>1886 S. Samuel left the partnership <sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup> </p><p>1899 There are no records of when they actually started to make banjos but in 1899 there is a record of the company importing "hundreds of banjo vellums from Germany for use in their factory." It would suggest they were already making banjos by this time. </p><p>1901 The company was incorporated as <b>Barnett Samuel and Sons Ltd</b>. <sup id="cite_ref-Times1928_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Times1928-1">[1]</a></sup> By this time the firm was one of the largest musical instrument wholesalers in the country and, in addition, had established their own piano factory in North London. </p><p>1904 Two of Nelson's sons, Frank and Edgar, and two of their cousins, entered the family business. </p><p>By 1911 the subsidiary company <a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/John_Grey_and_Sons" title="John Grey and Sons">John Grey and Sons</a> had been formed and used the name as a trademark on its instruments. Earlier instruments just had <b>Grey and Sons Ltd</b> as the trademark. The company made some of their own instruments and had many made by the usual 'makers to the trade' of the time. </p><p>By 1914, the 4 members of the younger generation were in charge; the business was the largest record wholesalers and dealerships in London </p><p>1914 Barnett Samuel and Sons began manufacturing a portable gramophone called the <i>Dulcephone</i>, which they patented as the first portable gramophone; they sold it under the trade name <b>Decca</b>. This major breakthrough in the technology of recorded sound gave good-quality reproduction and the convenience of portability: the Decca could be carried around like a briefcase. Many were taken overseas by soldiers in WWI<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup> </p><p>1914 Manufacturers and importers of pianofortes and all kinds of musical instruments, gramophones and records. Specialities: the <i>Pistonola</i> player piano, <i>Chicago</i> cottage organs, <i>Odeon</i>, <i>Jumbo</i> and <a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Fonotipia" title="Fonotipia">Fonotipia</a> records and the <i>Dulcephone</i>, an improved type of gramophone. Employees 200<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">[4]</a></sup> </p><p>1918 Barnett Samuel and Sons established subsidiaries: <a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/index.php?title=British_Music_Strings&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="British Music Strings (page does not exist)">British Music Strings</a> and <a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Boyd" title="Boyd">Boyd</a> Ltd. </p><p>1922 Listed Exhibitor. Manufacturers of "Deccalian" Gramophones; "Decca" and "Rally" Portable Gramophones; Record Carriers; Flutes; Stringed, Percussion and othe Instruments. Instrument Case Makers. (Stand No. B.28) <sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[5]</a></sup> </p><p>1927 The sales of these portable gramophones was enormous and dwarfed the sales of all other goods made by the company, although the manufacture of banjos was thriving because of the dance-band boom. </p><p>1927 <a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Boyd" title="Boyd">Boyd</a> Ltd was sold to the newly formed <a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/index.php?title=Associated_Piano_Co&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Associated Piano Co (page does not exist)">Associated Piano Co</a><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[6]</a></sup>. </p><p>By 1928 <strong class="selflink">Barnett Samuel's</strong> gramophone interests had been renamed the <a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Decca_Gramophone_Co" title="Decca Gramophone Co">Decca Gramophone Co</a> which was floated in 1928 as a public company <sup id="cite_ref-Times1928_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Times1928-1">[1]</a></sup>. The musical instrument part of the company was contained in just 8 shares of <a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/John_Grey_and_Sons" title="John Grey and Sons">John Grey and Sons</a>. </p><p>1932 The shares in <b>John Grey</b> were bought by <a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Rose,_Morris_and_Co" title="Rose, Morris and Co">Rose, Morris and Co</a> who made banjos up to and after the second world war. </p><p><br/> </p><p><br/> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_Also">See Also</span></h2> <div id="whatlinksherelist">Loading...</div><script type="text/javascript">ajaxpage('/extensions/dynamic-what-links-here/show-list.php?title=Barnett_Samuel_and_Sons','whatlinksherelist')</script> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Sources_of_Information">Sources of Information</span></h2> <ul><li> <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160922075349/http://www.banjolin.co.uk/banjolin/greyhistory.htm">[1]</a> Banjolin</li> <li> <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160922075349/http://www.whitetreeaz.com/vintage/brit2.htm">[2]</a> British Banjo Makers</li> <li> <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160922075349/http://www.lvcott.fsnet.co.uk/others.htm">[3]</a> Concertina.net</li></ul> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-Times1928-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-Times1928_1-0">1.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-Times1928_1-1">1.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-Times1928_1-2">1.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text">The Times, Monday, Sep 24, 1928</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">The Times, 13 February 1886</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Biography of Frank Samuel, ODNB</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-4">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/1914_Whitakers_Red_Book" title="1914 Whitakers Red Book">1914 Whitakers Red Book</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-5">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/1922_British_Industries_Fair" title="1922 British Industries Fair">1922 British Industries Fair</a> Page 70</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-6">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">The Times, 29 November 1927</span> </li> </ol>    </div><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/index.php?title=Barnett_Samuel_and_Sons&oldid=667095">http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/index.php?title=Barnett_Samuel_and_Sons&oldid=667095</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/web/20160922075349/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Category:Town_-_London" title="Category:Town - 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