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Empire Silver Trademark and H. Barnascone


Kalfred

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Hello, on my laptop two of the bigger photo folders have very similar names. One is called "Probably known electroplate marks" while the other is called  "Probably unknown electroplate marks", and the game is to empty the unknown marks one and fill the other one. To this end I thought I would put a bit of research into the image shown below.

327183958_aaEMPIRESILVEREPMARKBarnascones.jpg.fc50fd92665e5df19b36ec398d245caf.jpg

Looking on line for "Empire Silver" gave quite a few false leads but  "clover leaf" and "Empire Silver" took me straight to the web site "silvercollection.it" a site I regularly  use researching electroplate and international silver makers. Here "Empire" with "trefoil"(3 leaf/clover) lead to the electroplating companies using the name "Henry Barnascone". Obviously a "typical" Yorkshire name so I thought I could investigate more. I felt that the Barnascone name could be Italian but online genealogy references lead to a  "Lewis Quirico Barnascone" born in Switzerland in 1817 and "Henry Barnascone" also born in Switzerland but in 1827. Still I was nearly right  with my nationality  guess  as the southern part of Switzerland has that long border with Italy. The exact family connection needed to be defined, but the "Sheffield Indexers" 1841 census version was not helpful as there are no "Barnascones" or "near" surnames listed there. We can possibly assume at that period in time it was easy to miss a census particularly if "Yorkshire" was not your first tongue. 

The following images are of another "Barnascone" item, and for some Forum members, this one may be a little more exciting  than my mark on a spoon. 

779354565_BarnasconeKnifetrademarkHenry.jpg.571d2efcad91a22b110582d19608ee35.jpg

 

1950982569_BarnasconeKnivestrademarkHenrycomp.jpg.725d69ea26c7c8ff6fcbb0b8cfb0b76f.jpg

This knife was described as a "stag handled pocket knife" and it tells us "Henry Barnascone" has a son in the business when it was made. We also see another version of the  "Empire" and "trefoil" trademark.
Unlike the "Sheffield Indexers" 1841 census entries, the "Sheffield Indexers"  trade directory  has many  "Barnascone" entries including a "Barnascone, Lewis" in 1833. However the first entries seemingly for "Henry Barnascone" are in 1871 and they are at 2 different addresses but both saying cutlery dealer.

 
Barnascone, H (, cutly. dlr.).                    Address: 11 King Street, in 1871.
                                         Recorded in: White's Sheffield & Dist. Directory - 1871.
Barnascone, H. (~, Cutly. Dlr.).   Address: 107 Burngreave Road (Occupation Road), in 1871.
                                           Recorded in: Whites Sheffield & District Directory - 1871.


Elsewhere online in a "List of Sheffield Spring Knife Cutlers" there is a "BARNASCONE, HENRY & SON. Eyre Street, Sheffield"  with a date "Circa 1860". Additionally, a specified address of 9 Eyre St. S is given for "Barnascone Henry & Son" in an undated Sheffield Trade list of "MERCHANTS & MANUFRS." but I think these references could be for a later date and nearer the period of the next "Indexers"  entries below.

  
 Barnascone, Henry & Son (,Cutlery Manufacturers & General Merchants)     Works 9 Eyre Street, in 1905.
                                                     Recorded in: Whites directory of Sheffield & Rotherham
Barnascone, Charles Henry (, (B.H. & Son))               Address h.87 Endcliffe Vale Road, in 1905
                                                     Recorded in: Whites directory of Sheffield & Rotherham.
Barnascone, Charles Henry (, (B. H. & Son Limited)).   Adrs: h.87 Endcliffe Vale Road, in 1911.
                                                     Recorded in: Whites Directory of Sheffield & Rotherham 


I will add a little extra note here about Charles Henry Barnascone, actually a death reference.
"BARNASCONE C H", " Head of Henry Barnascone & Sons Ltd, cutlery manufacturers". Date of Death 17 Feb 1917. 
"Head" he may have been but I do not believe him to have be a son of Henry Barnascone. The genealogy references suggest to me he was a nephew who came to the company possibly after the death of Henry Barnascone in Nov 1894. In Apr 1909 we see  another interesting death, this time of a "Charles Barnascone" . There is a reference that Henry had, had a son, Paul, born in 1861 but I am speculating that Charles Barnascone was the person that made the company "and sons" as Charles' death record describes him as a "Cutler and fancy goods merchant".
I wonder if the "fancy" goods were like this?

 

1695057410_EMPIRENo596STEELRULE.jpg.8522bd758bbe5f124a1b25d607b850cb.jpg

The image is not the best but I think you can see the small clover leaf between the 9 and 10 and seemingly this was the "Empire No 596 Steel Rule" by H. Barnascone & Son. Below again is another trademark "Prolific",seen on a bread knife and it tells a bit more history of H. Barnascone.

455962463_HBarnesconeSoncarvingknife-Prolificmkcomp.jpg.850a0f1f835cdaad516356cddb93458c.jpg

It would be nice if there were any relatives on the Forum to confirm the genealogy. I do have questions in my mind to be answered. Could there have been another Henry Barnascone involved in Sheffield before the Henry Barnascone born in 1827? This query comes from the 2 bits of information shown below and one of which uses the word "shop" in the address. For the Sheffield Burgess Rolls what do we think a shop is? Will that have been a "workshop" or a definite "selling shop".

   
BARNASCONE, Henry (Qualifying property, House)          Address: 1 Clarkson Street, Ecclesall
                                                                     1875-1876 Recorded in: Sheffield Burgess Rolls.
BARNASCONE, Henrico (Qualifying property, Shop, York Street)             Address: ~, St Peters
                                                                      1875-1876 Recorded in: Sheffield Burgess Rolls.


The death record to go with "York Street" has a date of death 14 Nov 1894 for "BARNASCONE Henry of York Street". Could "Henrico" be the true christian name for "H Barnascone", but an anglicised "Henry", served better for Sheffield commerce? "Barnascone" may also have been changed from "Bernasconi" as this name is present online and in the genealogy. Another confusion for me is "Charles" and "Charles Henry". There are 2 death records but little other information on "Charles Barnascone".
Kalfred                               
 Extra note. Well done Sheffield Indexers for that near name search option on that 1841 census. Brilliant extra tool.

 

 

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The EMPIRE SILVER mark relates to his place of production which was the EMPIRE WORKS on Eyre Street. The Empire Silver was probably E.P.N.S.

Mr Barnascone a pioneer in the movement to bring Belgian refugees to Sheffield c 1914

Mr Barnascone, 'pioneer in the movement for bringing Belgian refugees to Sheffield'.jpg

Mrs John Barnascone a well known benefactor to St Marie`s R,C, Cathedral

Mrs. John Barnascone a generous benefactor of St. Marie's Roman Catholic Cathedral.jpg

No 6 Broomhall Road OAKFIELD HOUSE former home of Mr Henry Barnascone

Oakfield House, No. 6, Broomhall Road. Former home of Henry Barnascone, Merchant, (later became the Ministry of Social Security).jpg

This is the house today

 

 

Oakfield House, No. 6, Broomhall Road. Former home of Henry Barnascone, Merchant,.jpg

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Thank you "Tozzin", I did search on line for "Empire Works" but found nothing sensible for the post. I have previously seen that a trademark and the works name often interchange. You are obviously much cleverer than me. 

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