Barnet & Co.

MESSRS. BARNET & CO., Upholsterers, Trimming Manufacturers and Warehousemen, 12, Cadogan Street, Glasgow.

    Technical art in its most attractive forms is probably exemplified in high-class upholstery, but when we admire beautiful specimens thereof, we are, perhaps, rather prone to give the upholsterer more credit than is due to him. Let it not be assumed that this is said in any depreciatory spirit ; on the contrary, a thoroughly good upholsterer must be endowed with taste, as well as possess skill far above that which the average handicraftsman can boast of. But we must not confound his manipulative contribution to high-class furnishings which impress us with the creative art of the manufacturer who supplies him with the most exquisite materials of his trade. When one comes to reflect upon this distinction it will doubtless be realised that the maker of these beautiful materials must, indeed, have the aesthetic faculty developed in an exceptional degree, must have a true eye for colour, and must be capable of bold but harmonious combinations. This conception is by no means an exaggerated one, for the manufacturer of upholsterer’s trimmings not only executes but devises the rich embroidery, fringes, edgings, and tassels in silk, fine yarns, and wools, which, in so conspicuous a degree, contribute to effective upholstery work. This manufacture is one involving a good deal of fine and delicate manipulation, as well as the artistic qualifications already noted.

    Such, in brief, is the kind of business carried on by Messrs. Barnet & Co., of 12, Cadogan Street, Glasgow, and it is one in which they excel. For many of the designs they make use of originated with themselves, and are registered by them. In certain respects, therefore, this firm are unapproachable, and in this connection it may be stated that Messrs. Barnet & Co. are the only makers in Scotland of the fine plush cord used in artistic trimmings. Indeed, such is the position they have attained, that their trade extends all over the United Kingdom, and no small proportion of the goods they send to London are afterwards consigned to all parts of the world. It may be added, moreover, that, as manufacturers, they have supplied the trimmings for the upholstery work at the most notable hotels and mansions built during recent years, and also for the upholstery of crack yachts. Amongst others to whom this firm have supplied their manufactures — of course, in an indirect manner, as the firm are exclusively wholesale, and work to the trade only — might be mentioned Her Majesty the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Earl of Rosebery, Sir Frederick Leighton, Mr. Vanderbilt, of New York, Sir William Pearce, and a long list of titled and untitled members of the Aristocracy of birth and talent.

    These facts, attesting the pre-eminence of the firm, are all the more significant, considering that it was only founded in 1885, under the title of Barnet & Young. Two years later the present designation was assumed, but the sole principal now is Mr. John Barnet. It says much for that gentleman’s practical skill and business enterprise that, in so short a time, he should have taken perhaps the leading position in the trade. Considering what he has already achieved, the tendency of the business he controls will probably be towards very much greater expansion in the future.

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