F&C OSLER ENGLISH GLASS MAKERS 1807-1976

An Exceptional Pair of English Hand Cut Crystal Twin Light Wall Sconces of large size proportions, first half of the Nineteenth Century, possibly Regency period.

Each with twin outswept plain arms with a bulbous candleholder and flat reeded cut drip pans, centred by a tall single upward-pointing tapered spire, mounted on an oval ornately cut crystal backplate.  

Condition: Superb condition for such early pieces, impressed mark on brass mounting plate “F&C OSLER”. 

Height: (entire) 18" (46cm). Width: (can be up to 15" (38cm). .

Shipped to Pennsylvania, USA.

F & C Osler 1807-1976: One of the best known glass makers in the world was F & C Osler, founded in 1807 by Thomas Osler with premises in Great Charles Street. They later moved to Broad Street in Birmingham. The hey day of the company was between the mid 19th century and 1914. They opened their own glasshouse in Freeth Street in 1849. Thomas Clarkson Osler and Sons, and A Follet Osler were also involved in the company.
The company first operated a glass toy & cutting shop, later expanding into larger items such as chandeliers. The company later became world famous for their very large ornate chandeliers and massive glass structures, including tables and thrones.
The expansion of the company was largely the result of AF Osler's development of a method of building up solid glass around a metal core creating objects of a size and complexity previously thought impossible. The company even manufactured glass staircases. The companies glass products were exported all around the world and a large amount went into the palaces of India. One of the companies greatest pieces was the crystal fountain made for The Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park London which was over eight metres high and contained four tons of crystal.
Interest in heavy cut glass decreased in the 20th century and the company started to concentrate in the production of light fittings.
The glasshouse was closed in 1922 and the Broad Street outlet was closed in 1965. The company went into liquidation in 1976.

Thomas Clarkson Osler set an important precedent for others to follow when in 1871 he established the "Public Picture Gallery Fund" for the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery with a gift of £3000. (Four years later Joseph Chamberlain donated a further £1000 for the purchase of Industrial Art.)