A 18 carat Tutti-Frutti basket brooch. The yellow and white gold brooch was made in England by Mappin & Webb around 1920-1930. Dimnesions 5,0 x 2,5 cm.
A VERY BRITISH STORY
Mappin & Webb is a true British treasure with over 241 years of tradition and historical significance inj the world of silver and jewellery. Renowned for combining timeless craftsmanship with superior quality and contemporary design, for over two centuries we have produced exquisite jewellery, elegant silverware, watches, glassware and the unique lifestyle accessories that have long been at the heart of affluent British society.
It's a story that began in 1775, when Jonathan Mappin opened a silver workshop in Sheffield with a vision to create the most beautifully crafted silverware. It would see the company expand internationally, receive royal warrants and commissions from Monarchs around the world, and become synonymous with excellence, craftsmanship and all things truly greatly British.
Illustrious clients throughout the decades include Queen of France Marie Antoinette, the last Czar of Russia Nicholas II, Winston Churchill, Charles Dickens, Harry Houdini and Grace Kelly. Part celebration, part exploration, it is a renewed expression of the spirit of discovery that has driven Mappin & Webb for the last two centuries.
Within a year the first Mappin hallmark was recorded at the assay office and in 1780 Jonathan Mappin was given the Freedom of the Cutlers Company.
The 'Cutlers Company of Hallamshire', to give it its full title, was incorporated in 1624 to provide jurisdiction over those making cutlery near Sheffield and to promote Sheffield as a place of expertise. The Company and Sheffield's cutlery trade and reputation still exist to this day.
Jonathan Mappin's son Joseph followed him into the business and was also a Freeman, then came his grandson, also called Joseph. But it was under his four great grandsons, who incorporated the business as Mappin Brothers Ltd, in the middle of the 19th Century that the significant expansion began - at the time, the youngest brother, Jonathan Newton Mappin, was only 14 years old.
In 1849, Joseph Mappin opened his first eponymous London showroom at 15 Fore Street; shortly afterwards the eldest brother was knighted, becoming Sir William Mappin, but as the business grew the brothers each took a different path.
Sir William Mappin left in 1859, to become the senior partner at Thomas Turton & Sons' steel mill, and gave his share of Mappin Brothers to the other three. In 1860, John Mappin, the youngest but by now 22 years old, broke away from Mappin Brothers and started his own business Mappin & Company opening the first Mappin store in 1860 at 77-78 Oxford Street, London. John Mappin was joined in the new adventure two years later by his brother-in-law George Webb.
In 1864 Mappin, Webb & Co was formed, the very year that George Webb was to die. 'Mappin & Webb Ltd ' was first recorded in 1889, and at this stage the business was focused on manufacturing based in Sheffield.
Meanwhile Mappin Brothers Ltd had remained with the middle brothers, Joseph and Edward, and as the British Empire grew they had grown with it, with stores being opened worldwide. They were succeeded by Edward's son Charles Mappin who eventually sold the business in 1884. Over the next ten years the new owners seem to have struggled in finding a direction and eventually failed. In 1903, John Mappin acquired the original London retail business, Mappin Brothers, and from 1899, the Company was known as 'Mappin & Webb Ltd incorporating Mappin Brothers'. The double named business is evident in some of the old store photographs from this era which show both Mappins and Mappin & Webb names on shop exteriors.
