Mixed Batch

THE HOUSE JOURNAL OF JAMES A. JOBLING & CO. LTD.

JULY 1958

Published quarterly by James A. Jobling & Co. Ltd. Wear Glass Works, Sunderland. Editor: David Bradwell
Printed by Christie, Malcolm, Ltd., Friars House, Stowell Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1.
Permission to reproduce articles in whole or in part, may be obtained by request to the Editor.

EDITORIAL

It is usual to ask Centenarians, “Do you attribute your long life to any particular habit?” and the replies which have been given have been startling in their diversity. Some people never touch alcohol, some have insisted on their daily quota, some have sat and looked at work all their life, others will say hard work never killed anyone. In the pages of this Mixed Batch, you will find, perhaps, the answer to why Joblings has survived 100 years. Our impression is that at different times it has gained its strength from different factors. Good management, good workers, a good product all have had an influence. Probably if we were to look into it more closely, we might even find the weather end climate had made a contribution. Talking over the last few months to various people from the Directors down to the newest joined employee, we are impressed by the quick reference which is invariably made to the next 100 years. This must surely be an unconscious tribute to the solid foundations on which the present organisation is built and the outlook for the future.

In this issue of Mixed Batch, you will find that we have taken two approaches. In the centre pages is a section which we have deliberately labelled, “The Centenary of the Wear Glass Works”. In this section, you will find a history of the company, with reference to the town of Sunderland, as seen from the outside, and we are grateful to Stuart Advertising Limited for the research and work that they have put in on this section. The remainder of this issue is devoted to the usual issue of Mixed Batch, but we have attempted to draw on all the resources in the Company to produce memories of the past, facts of the present and hopes for the future. As far as we can ascertain, every department and every activity of the Company is represented.

Here, we would like to record our thanks to all who have made a contribution to what we hope is a most successful Centenary issue.

Our next issue is due to appear in September, and we think the time has arrived for a new cover. This provides a wonderful opening for all budding artists and also for all the cynics who claim that their children could produce better covers than those we have had in the past.

1. There will be a prize of £5 for the design which is selected.

2. Entries should be in three colours only, one of which must be white.

3. Entries should be at least 7” wide by 9” deep. The title Mixed Batch must be incorporated and also the following words: “The House Journal of James A. Jobling”.

4. Entries to be with the Editor by August 8th.

5. The competition is open to employees of the Company and their children. Any competitor may send as many entries as he or she wishes, together with name and department of employee and the address of any children.

Judging Panel:

J. A. Cochrane, Esq., Managing Director and Deputy Chairman of James A. Jobling.

J. R. M. Brumwell, Esq., Managing Director of Stuart Advertising Limited.

Milner Gray, Esq., R.D.I., P.P.S.I.A. Director, Design Research Unit

ON THE COVER

CONGRATULATIONS

From W. Lionel Fraser,
Chairman of Thomas Tilling Ltd.

Mr. Bradwell has asked me, as Chairman of Thomas Tilling Ltd., to write a few words for publication in the Centenary number of Mixed Batch. I do so gladly, for I have a special place in my heart for Joblings and all who work in the Company, and I have the greatest confidence in them.

One hundred years is quite a period in any Company’s history, but this must not tempt me to be other than brief in what I shall say. So I offer you my sincere congratulations on your achievement, I wish you well in the future and I ask you in the interests of all of us, to make as much good glass as ever you can in the shortest possible time. And sell it!

The very best to you all. Keep smiling!

From P. H. D. Ryder, M.B.E.,
Chairman of James A. Jobling Ltd.

In sending my warmest congratulations to the Company on the occasion of its Centenary, I stress the opportunities which still lie before it.

I am confident that by grasping them we can expand in the next ten years to a size and prosperity which would astonish us to-day, just as the present size and prosperity of the Company would have amazed its founders 100 years ago, could they have seen into the future.

Let us all, therefore, determine to set our sights high and by working together achieve even greater success in the years to come.

From G. C. R. Eley
Director James A. Jobling & Co. Ltd.

We are lucky to live in an age of rapid scientific development when new and exciting uses are constantly being found for materials of all kinds. In glass we have a product that shows every sign of sharing in this new industrial revolution. What a chance for Joblings, especially as they are able to profit from the research activities of Cornings! Such a combination has already yielded remarkable results, but I am sure that we are only at the beginning of our growth. Every time I visit Sunderland I am impressed by what I see and it is a source of pride to me to be associated with so go-ahead a Company.

I send you my warmest congratulations on the occasion of your Centenary,

From Lord Brabazon of Tara, Director Thomas Tilling Ltd.

It is remarkable that the Wear Glass Works have now been running for a hundred years. I am not familiar with their early history but I do know that during the last thirty years they have performed almost a national action in producing glassware which has introduced revolutionary methods in the kitchens of all small houses.

It is interesting how rosy is the future of the use of glass. There are so many new fields to be explored, so many new uses to be found, that the present time is one of the most exciting as the future of the glass industry as a whole.

I am sure that the great firm of James A. Jobling with its close connections with Corning of America, will always be in the van of progress in respect of anything to do with glass.

From Sir Harry Pilkington

I have heard with great interest that the Wear Glass Works is now a hundred years old.

The North East coast has been, for a long time, a major glass producing part of the country and Joblings have been outstandingly active and successful in keeping our industry there well in the public eye and in the forefront of progress.

My Company was proud to be connected with Joblings for many years and are happy to believe that the mutual friendship and respect then existing still continues. I hope, that the next century may bring to you yet further successes and I hope, too, that as your Company expands it will continue to retain its marked individual character.

From Carl W. Hayden

Director James A. Jobling & Co. Ltd.

With the accumulated skills of our workmen, with the invigorating stimulus of our new management, and with the research facilities of Cornings behind us, the years ahead look bright and prosperous for Joblings, and for all those associated with us.

Page Four

From William C. Decker,
President Corning Glass Works.

On behalf of the men and women of Corning Glass Works, I extend sincere congratulations to our friends at Sunderland on the centenary of Wear Glass Works.

For more than a third of the past century, we have been partners in the production of Pyrex brand glassware. We may all be proud that our association has made the word Pyrex known throughout the world as a symbol of quality glassware.

You have our warm wishes for your continued success in the years ahead.

From John F. G. Hicks,
Vice-President Corning Glass Works

I would like to offer my congratulations to the members of Wear Glass Works on the occasion of your one hundredth anniversary.

The frequent business visits which bring me to see you have resulted in many personal friendships and so I feel especially close to you in our common effort to maintain the high standards of PYREX ware and to promote its use. I wish you continuing success and prosperity and am confident you will realize them to an even greater extent during the years ahead.

{Glass-Study.com. Hand written annotation regarding Hicks: “Have been in this guy’s fabulously-luxurious office at Corning. He called me ‘Bill’ – told me to call him ‘John.’ I fainted.” }

From Godfrey Phillips
Director James A. Jobling &. Co. Ltd.

A hundred years is a long time and any institution which can survive a century and still flourish may legitimately be proud of itself. I regard with pride and pleasure my association with Joblings and am glad to take this chance of sending good wishes to all who work for the Company.