Topic: Edward Bowman & Son, Ltd.

[Pinkspoons]

Does anyone know anything about Edward Bowman & Son, Ltd.?

They were the sole agent for Holmegaard in the UK c.late 1950s - mid 1960s. They don't appear to be trading anymore, and there's not even a glimmer of a hint of a mention of them via Google.

I've no idea on how to chase up defunct businesses, it's a new one on me.

Any help, gratefully received.

[Frank]

Try http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ when it is back on line, but they do not have full coverage  unless you visit.

in 1953 address: 118, Holborn EC1
in 1963 were agents for Holmegaard, Hadeland, Flygsfors, Villeroy & Boch. Address: Gamage Building, London EC1

[Pinkspoons]

Thanks for that, Frank.

I'd noticed that the Companies House website was down, but a few similar sites found no mention of them (Bowman & Son). Hopefully the site will yield something when it gets resurrected! 

I know from old HG adverts that they were still at Gamage Building in 1969.

[Sklounion]

Hi Nic,
I'll have a chat with one of my contacts and see what he can tell me regarding the company.
Regards,
Marcus

[Sklounion]

Nic,
There is still an E.Bowman and Sons Ltd, but unlikely as they are builders. How certain is the "Limited" part?
Regards,
Marcus

[Frank]

certain.

In 1950 they advertised as Specialists in Enamel Fired Decorations on British Crystal Only.

[Pinkspoons]

I'll have a chat with one of my contacts and see what he can tell me regarding the company.

Thanks Marcus - very much appreciated. 

It wouldn't be terribly likely, would it, that if the company did still exist that they would have kept records from way back then?

And, I suppose, even less likely if they had gone out of business. 

[Sklounion]

Hi Nic,
Companies do keep paperwork, even where the direction has changed, hence Mark Hill's generous permission to use images from a Dexam catalogue. Some companies have only disappeared in the last ten or fifteen years, and not all have ended with the accountants slinging excess, and non-financially related material.

Frank, there is no trace of Edward Bowman and Son Ltd in the current registers. I presume the list of dissolved names at Companies House web-site is not designed to go back more than 10 or 15 years, and I am having similar problems with Duroc Ltd.

Regards,

Marcus

[Pinkspoons]

But you're forgetting that this is Holmegaard, where everything useful seems to have been either systematically destroyed over the years, or locked away from prying eyes in the impenetrable Holmegaard museum archive! 

I'm finding out, quite quickly, why no one has attempted any serious research into the company since 1975 - the relevant materials just aren't in the public forum anymore.

[Frank]

Trade journals of various trades that H made glass for should be an alternative source... usually painting an idealised picture of the company.