Improved drain tile machine. [Etheredge’s Patent.]
Printer unknown, letterpress on single sheet of paper, folded to make four pages; single page 235 x 375mm (Museum of English Rural Life, Reading, TR RAN P2/A11)
The introduction of the penny post and expansion of the rail network meant that it became easier to send catalogues and products over greater distances than ever before. In 1846 this item was sent by post to Messers French, Ironmongers, of Aylesbury. A manuscript note on page 3 is signed ‘Job manufacturers, Ransome and May, Ipswich’, suggesting that this firm – known for its agricultural machinery – was producing the tile-making machine under license from the patentee, C. Etheredge. At £42 the machine was a substantial investment (about £3,000 at 2008 prices); for those unable to afford such outlay, it was also possible to buy the tiles, ready-made.
This item of publicity follows the pattern seen in other trade literature of the time, providing an explanation of the machine’s operation and an accompanying wood-engraved illustration (p.1, above, click to enlarge), with details of the seller (p.2, below). In this case the Resident Manager for C. Etheredge and Company, John Cheese, was the nominated contact, usually based in London.
The manuscript comments on pages 2 and 3 raise questions about selling and buying practices in the mid-nineteenth century. Who made these additions to the printed text? To whom were they addressed? And what purpose did they serve? This was targeted, specific advertising, but it is unclear whether the manuscript was added by the machinery manufacturer (Ransomes) or the patent holder (Etheredge). The comment on p.2 states that the Resident Manager would be ‘for a few weeks at Mr Dawney’s, [illegible] Square, Aylesbury’. Possibly this was part of a larger tour by the Resident Manager, giving him the chance to meet in person potential local agents for the tile machine.
The note on p.3 (below) states: ‘This machine may be seen at work daily in its own yard with clay fresh dug at [illegible] 4 miles from Aylesbury + a personal inspection of the machine and the tiles made from by it which are of a superior quality is respectfully requested’. What does this say about how people interpreted trade literature? It suggests that it was not enough to buy from a sheet of paper, people preferring instead to see the product ‘in the flesh.’
And what of the product being sold? This was a timely piece of promotion. From the early 1840s the development of clayworking technology experienced a boom period, as the Royal Agricultural Society of England encouraged farmers to improve their land by draining it. Clay drain tiles and pipes were the solution: placed underground, they carried excess water away from the fields. As a result, tiles were in heavy demand, and many different machines were developed to meet the need. Patentees and machinery manufacturers had to advertise to promote their shared interests and secure a share of a potentially lucrative market – hence this promotional letter.
It should be remembered that every machine needs its operator. Over 60 years before F.W. Taylor performed his time-and-motion studies, one cannot help but feel sorry for the boys who were responsible for tending to this machine’s output: without moving from their post, with one hand they were supposed to cut the tiles to length as they emerged from the machine, and with the other move the tiles on to the barrows. Economy of motion and continuous production were pre-requisites.
The introduction of the penny post and expansion of the rail network meant that it became easier to send catalogues and products over greater distances than ever before. In 1846 this item was sent by post to Messers French, Ironmongers, of Aylesbury. A manuscript note on page 3 is signed ‘Job manufacturers, Ransome and May, Ipswich’, suggesting that this firm – known for its agricultural machinery – was producing the tile-making machine under license from the patentee, C. Etheredge. At £42 the machine was a substantial investment (about £3,000 at 2008 prices); for those unable to afford such outlay, it was also possible to buy the tiles, ready-made.
This item of publicity follows the pattern seen in other trade literature of the time, providing an explanation of the machine’s operation and an accompanying wood-engraved illustration (p.1, above, click to enlarge), with details of the seller (p.2, below). In this case the Resident Manager for C. Etheredge and Company, John Cheese, was the nominated contact, usually based in London.
The manuscript comments on pages 2 and 3 raise questions about selling and buying practices in the mid-nineteenth century. Who made these additions to the printed text? To whom were they addressed? And what purpose did they serve? This was targeted, specific advertising, but it is unclear whether the manuscript was added by the machinery manufacturer (Ransomes) or the patent holder (Etheredge). The comment on p.2 states that the Resident Manager would be ‘for a few weeks at Mr Dawney’s, [illegible] Square, Aylesbury’. Possibly this was part of a larger tour by the Resident Manager, giving him the chance to meet in person potential local agents for the tile machine.
The note on p.3 (below) states: ‘This machine may be seen at work daily in its own yard with clay fresh dug at [illegible] 4 miles from Aylesbury + a personal inspection of the machine and the tiles made from by it which are of a superior quality is respectfully requested’. What does this say about how people interpreted trade literature? It suggests that it was not enough to buy from a sheet of paper, people preferring instead to see the product ‘in the flesh.’
And what of the product being sold? This was a timely piece of promotion. From the early 1840s the development of clayworking technology experienced a boom period, as the Royal Agricultural Society of England encouraged farmers to improve their land by draining it. Clay drain tiles and pipes were the solution: placed underground, they carried excess water away from the fields. As a result, tiles were in heavy demand, and many different machines were developed to meet the need. Patentees and machinery manufacturers had to advertise to promote their shared interests and secure a share of a potentially lucrative market – hence this promotional letter.
It should be remembered that every machine needs its operator. Over 60 years before F.W. Taylor performed his time-and-motion studies, one cannot help but feel sorry for the boys who were responsible for tending to this machine’s output: without moving from their post, with one hand they were supposed to cut the tiles to length as they emerged from the machine, and with the other move the tiles on to the barrows. Economy of motion and continuous production were pre-requisites.
Might the illegible address in Aylesbury be 'Kingsbury Square'? Such a square (actually a triangle) still exists, now simply known as 'Kingsbury'.
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