Perry & Co is considered the second best chandelier creators of the 18th century in the United Kingdom. William Perry joined with Samuel Parker, the son of the famous William Parker, in 1803 after a previous partnership with William Collins. After leaving Parker & sons in 1822, he was joined by nephew George Perry. When William retired, George’s brother joined the company.
The designs of Perry & Co are many and varied, their signature “Perry Chandelier” is characterized by its long slim stem pieces usually with a cup shape to contain suspension brackets and “twisted rope” arms. Specialties of Perry chandeliers are molded drip pans, sculpture glass, and walls of prisms. One of Perry & Co’s premiere designers was John Wateridge. His sketch books were on display for a time in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
Perry & Co supplied chandeliers to clients as noteworthy as the Emperor of China and many of the crowned heads of England. Although Perry & Co went out of business around seventy years ago, one can still find their more ornate products for sale in antique stores. Perry & Co’s most illustrious of creations found itself at the bottom of the Atlantic on a cold Sunday evening on April 14, 1912 when the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg. It has since been recovered from its watery resting place.
They also produced the chandeliers that bedeck Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth commissioned two chandeliers from the firm. One was of two tiers and sixteen lights and another of two tiers and twenty four lights. They were placed in the Adam Room used by the Council of Lloyds.
December 27th, 2006 by Webmaster
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