Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2017.03.22 |
Object Name |
Eyeglasses |
Date |
c. 1911 |
Year Range from |
1910 |
Year Range to |
1920 |
Features |
Glasses, wire frames, gold coloured or plated metal. Oval lenses, hook temples with tiny ball finials. Contained in a blue cardboard box, 2 piece, with label affixed to upper piece, with address information and a 2 cent stamp with Desmond postmark. Also stamped with the address of a Toronto optician. Stamp is a 1910 issue King George V 2cent stamp. |
Object Story |
These glasses were owned by Mrs. F. H. Henderson, though what her actual name is remains unknown. Written on the exterior of the box is F.W. Smith & Bros, Napanee Ontario. There is a stamp on the bottom of the box, part of which is illegible, however "A.E. Burgess & Co" and "Toronto Ont." Are able to be clearly deciphered. It is known that F.W. Smith & Bros was a jewelry and optician shop in Napanee Ontario, based on a telephone directory from 1919. The shop was run by Fredrick W. Smith, William Cleland Smith and later Fredrick's son, Harry Smith. Fredrick W Smith was taught the jewelry and watch making trade by his father WM Smith, who had a shop in Kingston Ontario. Fredrick was born August 15, 1845, he married Amelia Tobey in 1872. The 1901 census has them and their four children living in Napanee. Fredrick started a shop, in Napanee, approximately in 1865 with a man named Spangenberg, which ran successfully for several years before the other man pulled out from the partnership. However, prior to this Fredrick had taken on his younger brother, William Cleland Smith, as an apprentice. William was born January 23, 1862, he married Ellen Jane Busby, June 2, 1888. On top of his work at the jewelry store William was also a well-known local painter. William became a partner in the shop and it was named F.W. Smith & Bros. William and Fredrick worked together at the original shop in Napanee until 1902. In 1902 Fredrick and William Smith bought the south-west corner of the lot adjacent to the Tichborne House which had burnt down in 1899. The lot was purchased by the brothers from John Milligan who had built the structure on the lot that would become the Smith Building. The building still stands at 35 Dundas Street, as of 2019. The two Brother's continued running the shop, with Fredrick's son Harry Smith, born in 1873, until Fredrick's death in 1917. After this Harry, as a partner, and William continued on with the shop until Harry's death in 1924. After the passing of his brother and then nephew William retired and the building that housed the jewelry and optician shop was sold to Dominion Bank. The other store, stamped on the back of the box, is A.E. Burgess & Co, Toronto Ontario. Based on the Toronto City Directory of 1900, there was a jeweler who worked out of 105 Jarvis St. Toronto, listed as Alfred E. (A E Burgess & Co). In the 1901 census there is a record of an Alfred E Burgess living in Toronto Ontario. This Alfred E Burgess was born 28, December 1867, and his occupation as of 1901 is listed as a manufacturing jeweler. This leading to the possibility that this was the man who owned the A.E. Burgess & Co that is stamped on the back of the artifact box. Though we know that the glasses at some point were mailed to the F.W. Smith & Bros company in Napanee Ontario based on the box and the presence of a stamp, it remains unknown how or why it ended up at the A.E. Burgess & Co jeweler in Toronto. |
People |
Henderson, Mrs. F. H. Smith, Frederick W., c1845 Smith, William C. Tobey, Amelia Busby, Ellen Jane Milligan, John Smith, Harry Burgess, Alfred E. Smith, Wm. |
Subjects |
Opticians' shops Jewelers Spectacles |
Search Terms |
Napanee, 35 Dundas Street Tichborne Napanee, Dundas Street F.W. Smith & Bros (Jewelers) Toronto, A.E. Burgess & Co |