1896 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT JOURNAL OF NOTED BRITISH INDUSTRIALIST, PARLIAMENTARIAN AND METALLURGIST

On offer is a unique little packet notebook, once carried by a noted British industrialist and parliamentarian in 1896 and of particular interest to historians and researchers of metallurgy and metal refinement and associated technologies. Handwritten by Sir Henry Wiggin, 1st Baronet, born in 1824, the son of a draper. Although he was apprenticed to that trade, a friend of his father took him into his metal refining business, laying the foundation for the international metals firm Special Metals Wiggin. At 18 he became an employee of Evans & Askin, the metals refiner. In 5 years he was a partner and by age 46 the sole shareholder, changing the name to Henry Wiggins and Co. He served as a Mayor of Birmingham in 1864 and as a Member of Parliament from 1885 until 1892. He was created a Baronet in 1892. He passed away at age 82 in 1905. His company became a publicly-traded firm and has been part of several large international nickel conglomerates including INCO in Canada. Today, it is recognized as leading manufacturer of specialty metals. The notebook contains a wide variety of notes and comments. The majority are various formulae for metals manufacturing processes: Best Crystal Lead for Lenses, Decanters, Cutter, etc. Sand (White) 3,600 lbs Lead (Red) 2,240 Pearl Ash 117.6 Saltpetre 280 To about 1,800 lbs of batch about 2 lbs of Arsenic & 5 to 6 ozs of Manganese, color according to furnace. He may have been a good chemist but he was also a shrewd businessman. For example, he had two recipes for Opalite: Opal for Opalite - Best and Cheap Opal for Opalite Interspersed among the many metals formulae are more personal notes. By far though, the most interesting entries are the many formulae that he noted. A researcher into Victorian-era manufacturing in the UK would find these an interesting insight into the manufacturing processes of the time. measuring 5 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches, the notebook is in good condition. The cover shows some weathering from evident constant use but the 80 pages are sewn in (top bound) and are about 70% complete.; Manuscript; 24mo - over 5" - 5¾" tall; KEYWORDS: HISTORY OF, SIR HENRY WIGGIN, HENRY WIGGIN & CO, SPECIAL METALS WIGGIN, INCO, HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT, BIRMINGHAM, METALLURGY, METAL MANUFACTURING, STEEL PRODUCTION, IRON MONGERS, LATE VICTORIAN INDUSTRIALISM, TYCOONS, BRITAIN, ENGLAND, PEERS, HANDWRITTEN, MANUSCRIPT, DOCUMENT, LETTER, AUTOGRAPH, WRITER, HAND WRITTEN, DOCUMENTS, SIGNED, LETTERS, MANUSCRIPTS, DIARY, DIARIES, JOURNALS, PERSONAL HISTORY, SOCIAL HISTORY, HISTORICAL, HOLOGRAPH, WRITERS, AUTOGRAPHS, PERSONAL, MEMOIR, MEMORIAL, ANTIQUITÉ, CONTRAT, VÉLIN, DOCUMENT, MANUSCRIT, PAPIER ANTIKE, BRIEF, PERGAMENT, DOKUMENT, MANUSKRIPT, PAPIER OGGETTO D'ANTIQUARIATO, ATTO, VELINA, DOCUMENTO, MANOSCRITTO, CARTA ANTIGÜEDAD, HECHO, VITELA, DOCUMENTO, MANUSCRITO, PAPEL