John C. B. Craddock
John C. B. Craddock, Manufacturing Jet Jeweller and Pan Maker, 489, Sauchiehall Street.—
One of the most attractive and interesting establishments in Sauchiehall Street is that of Mr. John C. B. Craddock, jet jeweller to the Court and manufacturer of fans. This notable and thoroughly representative house dates its foundation from the year 1873, when it was originated at its present address by Mr. Craddock, and from its first inception it has held an eminent and distinguished position in relation to the superior department of trade enterprise it so well represents.
The premises comprise a main shop of handsome frontage and appearance, with a salon in the rear. The principal shop is utilised chiefly as a showroom and saleroom for Whitby jet jewellery and ornaments. In this department Mr. Craddock is one of our foremost manufacturers, and the only one chosen by the executive to represent the manufacture of jet jewellery in the Glasgow Exhibition, where the making of the various ornaments and trinkets usually produced in jet will be carried on, with a view to illustrating in a becoming manner one of the most interesting phases of the jeweller’s craft. In jet goods of various kinds Mr. Craddock holds a large and eminently attractive stock.
The elegantly appointed salon opening out of the main shop is devoted entirely to the second department of the business, that of fashionable novelties and generalities in fans. The display here is unsurpassed in Scotland in any point of rich variety and exceptional value. The ostrich feather fans cannot be obtained in equal value and real intrinsic worth at any other establishment in Glasgow. The house specialises a magnificent range of seasonable novelties in fans of divers and various kinds, among which are some of exquisite beauty in hand-painted satin and lace, ostrich and swan feathers, silk gauze, real Brussels lace, hand-painted gauze, and crepe de cheine and lace (hand painted), with productions of the highest order of artistic elegance and fine finish in many other dainty materials. The white ostrich feather fans shown here are a revelation, and Mr. Craddock’s special designs—the “New Princess”, the “Lyre”, and the “Victoria” — it would indeed be difficult to excel in originality of design and perfection of manufacture. Pans, in short, are the special feature of this house. Mr. Craddock has facilities enabling him to make a fan to order in twenty-four hours, and he devotes particular attention to the production of fans to order to match a lady’s dress, or any part thereof, his success in this delicate class of work being quite remarkable.
The business is conducted with marked ability and judgment, and Mr. Craddock numbers his clientele among all the nobility and gentry of Scotland. It should be mentioned that branch establishments of this house are conducted at 21, Argyle Arcade, Glasgow, and 132, George Street, Edinburgh.
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