Joseph Briggs was born in Accrington and would become the managing director of Tiffany Glass in New York, USA. He worked as an apprentice engraver at F Steiners of Church near Accrington. An engraver carved the wooden blocks that were used to print fabric.
At the age of 17, Joseph left Lancashire to seek his fortune in the USA.
F Steiner & Co Ltd.
F Steiner’s was a huge operation with branches in London, Manchester, Glasgow, and Belfast. However, most of the dying and printing of cotton goods was performed in Accrington, Oswaldtwistle, and Sabden.
The image below shows Steiner’s Churchbank works at its peak. Henry Street is on the right. The site is currently the location of Studio. Notably, the row of houses at the bottom left helps to orientate the view.
Steiner’s history
There was already a printworks at Church Bank in 1835. This was bought by F Steiner and by the 1840s was operating as three separate businesses. These were, a printworks, operated by the Peels, a chemical works run by James Howarth and Sons and a Turkey Red dye-works.
The dye-works were operated by Steiner himself. Consequently, by 1851 450 people were employed by the business. In 1860 the whole of the works was in Steiner’s hands and moreover, large extensions were made in the 1870’s and 80s.
Turkey Red dying was a complicated process that used the madder plant as a colourant. Turkey red gave cotton fabric a bright and lasting red colour. Notably by 1896 Steiners were performing the whole range of dying, bleaching, and calico printing.
However, the company gradually succumbed to foreign competition and closed down in the 1950s. The site was then cleared.
Tiffany Glass
The Tiffany Glass company was based in Queens New York. below is a vase saved by Joseph Briggs and sent back to Accrington. It can now be seen in Howarth Art Gallery.
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