BY F.& C. OSLER LTD., BIRMINGHAM, LATE 19TH CENTURY

F. & C. Osler were established at Great Charles Street, Birmingham in 1807, the partners being Thomas Osler and William Shakespeare. After Thomas's son, Abraham Follet Osler, joined the partnership in 1831, the firm was moved to Broad Street, and engine power was added to the means of production allowing the manufacturing capacity to be greatly increased. They quickly developed an international reputation for producing the finest glass objects, often taking on large commissions for overseas clients such as that from Ibrahim Pascha in Egypt and that for supplying the sumptuous glass furniture for the Fateh Prakash Palace, Udaipur, India. One of their most famous creations was the 'crystal fountain' that formed the centrepiece of the 1851 Great Exhibition and they continued in the production of high-quality glass objects, specialising in chandeliers, well into the 20th century. (M. Mortimer, The English Glass Chandelier, Woodbridge, 2000, pp. 156-157).

An extensive Osler company archive as well as various examples of the companies work, survives and is held at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.