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Fortunes Made in Business

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Fortunes Made in Business it- ^: \ *. Mh. ISAAC HOLDEN. : FORTUNES MADE IN BUSINESS SEEIES OF ORIGINAL SKETCHES i3iograp^ica( an6 ^necbotk FROM THE RECENT HISTORY OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE By VARIOUS WRITERS VOLUME I. LONDON SAMPSON LOW, MAKSTON, SEAKLE & KIVINGTON 1 88, FLEET STREET, E.G. 1884 [All righU rexervnl.l PRINTED BY KELLY AND CO.. UATE STUEET. LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS. W.C. AND MIDDLE MILL. KIN(5STON-ON-THAMES. HF r7777 PREFACE When Aladdin rubbed liis Wonderful Lamp (so we are told in the Arabian Nights' Entertainments) he summoned a powerful genie, who obeyed his every behest, and was able to lay at his feet all the good things which this world can command. The old Eastern story was a sort of prophetic mirror of many romantic incidents in the Modern Biograph}" of Industry and Connnerce. In Current Literature few things have a greater €harm to busy men than any trustworthy record of successful enterprise, especially when the story bears upon yesterday or to-day. No wonder that it is so. Now, perhaps, more than ever, calm, well- directed ellbrt aud scientilic insight ; indomitable pluck and that ready resolution which knows when to seize the moment of fortune— are the ^grand characteristics wliicli give power to win ^i prize in the arena of modern competition. To know something, therefore, of the men who liave succeeded becomes of increasing interest to those in the thick of the fight at the present irp.p*^^c>q iv PBEFACE. moment. The lucky hit or the lost chance, the far-seen enterprise demanding years of quiet, patient labour and stern endurance,—are a kind of commercial history Avliich carries its own lesson of elastic hope or sober caution to the eager men of to-day. In such studies of character and energy we observe at work the ready wit which sees a new market, and the prompt resource which supplies it ; the skilful utiUsation of a waste product ; the building up of new iudustrial colonies, as remarkable for their social as for their commercial advantages ; the forging of links of connection between eminent business houses and the highest offices of state ; the magic of mechanical power and inventive genius applied to the cheapening of some article of every-day (consumption ; the Ai-t M'hicli casts a brightening fancy upon even the mean utensils of the jioorest household. Above all, we can mark the influence of fidelity to erigagemcnts, and the sagacity and wise liberality Avhicli know when to foster a struggling industry. All the forces, in short, which bend the powers of Nature and the rugged products of the Earth to- the comfort and tlu^ grace of man's life are before us. We see them in full play amidst the small beginnings and the marvellous expansion of Com- PREFACE. mercial Houses whose members have won wealth, social rank, and a world-Avide reputation. Some years ago the Editor of this Volume, in company with various writers, set about the task of which the result is here offered to the public. The endeavour has been to take down from the lips of the living, facts not previously reduced to writing; and also to collect and crystallise the valuable material lying about in fugitive literature and out-of-the-w^ay storehouses. It has been no easy matter to gather and sift the curiously scattered information which thus gave the key to such varied efforts as those of the men represented in this Volume. Many visits liad to be paid to different parts of the Country and numerous appeals made, in person and by letter, to those who were found to be the sole living depositaries of the knowledge desired. It w^ould be tedious to tender in detail acknow- ledgments for that large and generous aid which has made this book possible — the reminiscences so kindly placed at our service by those who have had special opportunities for observation ; the authentic anecdotes (often throwing remarkable light on obscure beginnings), as well as the prac- tical knowledge which has helped us to thread our way amidst the tangled history of com|)lex PREFACE. mechanical iiiventioiis and industrial improve- ments. It is lioped that this l^ook may thus be found a genuine contribution to our Commercial History. Those oidy who have been engaged in a similar task can fairly estimate the labour involved in welding such an enormous mass of miscellaneous matter into homogeneous form, so as to give a clear, succinct idea of the rise and progress of Houses which have made a very distinct mark on the Industi'ial and Mercantile World. CONTENTS. The Stoky of Isaac Holdkn (ivith Portrait) - - - ] Mi?. 8. C. LisTKii AND TiiK Story of "Silk Waste." - A'> The Low Moou Company ------- 87 Sir Josiaii Mason - - - - - - - - ]2'J TilE IIOMANCE OF INVENTION: SiR IIeNRY BeSSEMER - l.S> Sir John Brown -------- 241 The Salts, and the Discovery of Alpaca - - - 2.^!)- The Peases of Darlington ------ ."HI The Fisons and Forsters of Bl'rley-in-Wharfedale ^u\y The Fieldens of Todmorden - - - - - - 411 THE STORY OF ISAAC HOLDER. THE STORY OF ISAAC IIOLDEN. ^^N" the Paris Exhibition of 1878 there was, in ^J|^ the French section, one little department devoted exclusively to the display of samples of combed wools. There was much that was calcu- lated to charm the eye in tJiat neatly-arranged collection of delicate fibres, so soft and sleek and clean and lustrous did the fleecy frag- ments look beneath the shelter of their glass cases. Foremost amongst the cwposants in this department appeared the names of " T. Holden & ; Fils " and although to tlie uninitiated there might not seem to be much difierence between the quality of the laines peigmks exhibited by this firm and the quality of the wool shown in some of the contiguous cases, still it was plainly observable that such visitors as had special knowledo-e of these matters bestowed much attention upon tiie particular case which had B 2 4 THE STORY OF ISAAC HOLDEX. been appropriated to the use of " I. Holden & ; Fils " for it was well known to the manu- facturers, merchants, and business men connected with the trade that there was represented in that one case the work of the chief firm of woolcombers now in existence. To the outside world, untutored in the ways of trade and ignorant of the vastness of its many ramifications, a simple statement of this kind will doubtless mean little ; but the addition of a few facts and figures, taken from the industrial annals of England and France, will serve to con- vey some idea of the magnitude of the wool- combing trade generally, and of the extent of the operations of Messrs. Isaac Holden & Sons in particular. Messrs. Holden have three sepa- rate establishments engaged in woolcombing—one at Bradford, one at Croix, near Eoubaix, and one at Eheims. These three concerns cover altogether over twenty-three acres of actual flooring, and give employment to 4,000 work- people. The firm have a total of 500 carding and 370 combing machines working, accomplish- ing as much labour as it would have taken 25,000 workmen to have got through in the old THE STORY OF ISAAC IIOLDEX. 5 days prior to tlie introduction of the wool- combing machine. This gigantic biismess has been built up with a rapidity which is almost unparalleled. Three decades have hardly passed since Isaac Holden, the founder of the firm, went out as the pioneer partner of Mr. S. C. Lister (whose connection with woolcombing inventions is so well known and commemorated) to seek a fresh field of operation amongst the manufacturers of France for the machine which was destined to make Mr. Holden a princely fortune. How Mr. Holden came to engage upon this enterprise, and how, from being a colher's lad, he worked his way up to a position of splendid commercial prosperity, and gained a degree of affluence Avhich is great even in these days for a success- ful captain of industry, it is the purpose of this sketch to relate. Isaac Holden was born on the 7th of May, 1807, at Hurlet, a little village adjoining Nitshill, between Paisley and Glasgow. His father, who bore the same name, had a few years previously held a small farm at Nenthead, near Alston, in Cumberland, of which place he was a native. b THE STORY OF ISAAC HOLDEN. and had combined the occupation of farmer with that of lead-miner. About tlie beojinnin<? of tlie century, liowever, the lead-mines in wliich his family had long worked with varying success became exliausted, and, in 1801, the father found it necessary to remove to Glasgow, where he succeeded in obtaining employment in a coal- mine. Isaac Holden senior was a man of con- siderable strength and energy of character, and was possessed of an intelligence superior to his station. He came of a hardy and enterprising race ; for the Holdens of Allandale, Nenthead, and Alston, were proud to consider themselves descended from that Halfdane of Denmark who ages ago invaded England, and retained possession for some time of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Durham, ultimately settling down on the confines of the three counties. When the poor lead-miner betook himself to Glasgow, he deemed it prudent to leave his wife and four children behind him at the little farm at IS^enthead ; but it was not long before he felt sufficiently settled in his new occupation to induce him to have his family with him in Glasgow. His wife belonged to a Scotch family of the name of Forrest, and — THE STORY OF ISAAC IIOLDEX.
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