The case of john joseph griffin. From artisan-chemist and author-instructor to business-leader

Ambix

Volumn 38, Issue 1, 1991, Pages 29-62

  Gee, Brian ^a   Brock, William H ^b  

^a University of Leicester ^*  (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 3743135310     PISSN: 00026980     EISSN: 17458234     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1179/amb.1991.38.1.29     Document Type: Article

References (161)

1. Joseph John Griffin (1802-77) has an entry in DNB. Most of the enriching biographical details integrated in the present paper are the result of the collaboration of Mr. James Griffin, formerly Managing Director of Charles Griffin & Company (Technical Publishers). (See 152 below.)
2. Richard Thomas Griffin (1790-1832) completed his training with Tegg in 1820 and succeeded to the family business which from this time was styled Richard Griffin & Co. The Tegg connection lasted until about 1841, that is, about the time Richard's son, Charles, assumed certain responsibilities.
3. No records of attendance survive and hence the remarks offered by Harrison in the DNB and the anonymous author of The Centenary Volume of Charles Griffin and Company (London, 1920) must be taken somewhat on faith. (Private communication, James S. McGrath, archivist, University of Strathclyde 1.11.82 and 8.5.84).
4. James Muir, John Anderson. Pioneer of Technical Education (Glasgow, 1950), passim.
5. According to the University Statutes of 1727, the general public had rightful access to lectures along with students.
6. Thomas Kelly, George Birkbeck. Pioneer of Adult Education (Liverpool, 1957), pp. 20 ff.
7. Most of the original collection of Anderson's instruments has been dispersed, but see Collection of Historical Instruments in the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, 1980)
8. James Muir, John Anderson. Pioneer of Technical Education (Glasgow, 1950), passim.
9. James Muir, John Anderson. Pioneer of Technical Education (Glasgow, 1950), passim.
10. Scots Magazine (1825), p. 3.
11. Thomas Kelly, George Birkbeck. Pioneer of Adult Education (Liverpool, 1957), pp. 20 ff.
12. James Muir, John Anderson. Pioneer of Technical Education (Glasgow, 1950), passim.
13. Thomas Kelly, George Birkbeck. Pioneer of Adult Education (Liverpool, 1957), pp. 20 ff.
14. James Muir, John Anderson. Pioneer of Technical Education (Glasgow, 1950), passim.
15. "Public Meeting for the Establishment of the London Mechanics' Institute," Mechanics Magazine, 1 (1823-24), pp. 178-91 (179).
16. Thomas Kelly, George Birkbeck. Pioneer of Adult Education (Liverpool, 1957), pp. 20 ff.
17. W. V. Farrar, "Andrew Ure F.R.S. and the Philosophy of Manufactures," Notes and Records Royal Society, 27 (1972-73), pp. 299-334.
18. W. V. Farrar, "The origin of normality," Education in Chemistry, 4 (1967), pp. 227-9.
19. J. B. Morrell, "Practical chemistry at the University of Edinburgh," Ambix, 16 (1969), pp. 66-80.
20. Thomas Kelly, George Birkbeck. Pioneer of Adult Education (Liverpool, 1957), pp. 20 ff.
21. S. Shapin, "Nibbling at the teats of science: Edinburgh and the diffusion of science in the 1830s" in I. Inkster and J. B. Morrell, Metropolis and Province. Science in British Culture, 1780-1850 (London, 1983), pp. 151-78.
22. James Muir, John Anderson. Pioneer of Technical Education (Glasgow, 1950), passim.
23. That is apparent from his connections in the 1830s through the Glasgow Philosophical Society. Nevertheless, a curious note in the archives of Charles Griffin & Co. tells of a payment made to the author for Chemical Recreations "after having left the Mechanics' Insitute." This is suggestive that Griffin could have been involved with the new institution, perhaps as a teacher.
24. It is DNB and the Griffin Centenary (op. cit, 3) from which contemporary remarks about Griffin usually spring. These must be treated with caution since a re-examination of the Company's archives casts doubt on their accuracy.
25. The Science Reference Library at Holborn appears to have the only known copies of the third and sixth editions. A fifth edition resides in the Science Museum Library. No first or second editions have been located.
26. W. Henry, Epitome of Chemistry (2nd ed., 1802)
27. Elements of Chemistry (10th ed., 1810)
28. J. Murray, Elements of Chemistry (1801)
29. S. Parkes, Chemical Catechism (2nd ed., 1807)
30. W. T. Brande, A Manual of Chemistry (1819)
31. T. Thomson, A System of Chemistry (5th ed., 1817)
32. G. Gurney, A Course of Chemical Science Delivered at the Surrey Institution (1823). An interesting analysis of aims expressed in these and other works up to 1830 is presented in G. S. Kitteringham, Studies in the Popularisation of Science in England, 1800-1830 (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Kent, 1981), pp. 132-46.
33. G. S. Kitteringham, Studies in the Popularisation of Science in England, 1800-1830 (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Kent, 1981), pp. 132-46.
34. Evidence for Griffin's religious denomination is provided by the register of the University of Heidelberg, Archiv. Nr. 452/82. Private communication Dr. Weisert, Ruprechts-Karls-Universität, Heidelberg, 18.10.82.
35. Chemical Recreations (3rd ed., 1824), P. 3.
36. W. V. Farrar, K. R. Farrar and E. L. Scott, "The Henrys of Manchester. Part 2. Thomas Henry's Sons: Thomas, Peter and William," Ambix 21 (1974), pp. 179-207.
37. An Epitome of Chemistry (2nd ed. 1801), p. 2.
38. J. J. Griffin, Quart. J. Chem. Soc., 3 (1851), pp. 412-18.
39. W. Henry, Epitome of Chemistry (2nd ed., 1802)
40. Robert Siegfried and Robert H. Dott, Jr., Humphry Davy on Geology, The 1805 Lectures for the General Audience (Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, (1980), pp. XXII, XXIII.
41. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry, vol. 4 (1964), p. 827
42. R. J. Cole, "Friedrich Accum. A Biographical Study," Ann. Sci., 7 (1951), pp. 128-43.
43. Elements of Chemistry (6th ed., 1810), p. 49.
44. Chemical Recreations (5th ed., 1825), P. 74.
45. J. A. Chaldecott, "Wedgwood's Ceramic Wares for Chemical Use, Production and Supply from 1779 to 1794," Ambix, 28 (1981), pp. 184-205.
46. Chemical Recreations (5th ed., 1825), p. 98.
47. M. Faraday, [Chemical Manipulation (London, 1827), p.24].
48. Chemistry Recreations (5th ed., 1825), P 119.
49. J. H. S. Green, "Thomas Clark (1801-1867). A Biographical Study," Ann. Sci., 13 (1957), pp. 164-79.
50. Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 5 (New York, 1972).
51. Brian Gee, "Amusement Chests and Portable Laboratories: Practical Alternatives to the Regular Laboratory" in F. A. J. L. James, ed., The Development of the Laboratory. Essays on the Place of Experiment in Industrial Civilisation (Basingstoke, 1989), pp. 37-59.
52. Anton Svab (or Swab) (1703-1763), discoverer of native antimony by blowpipe and charcoal block technique.
53. Encyclopaedia Britannica (9th ed., 1875), vol. 3
54. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry, vol. 4 (1964), p. 827
55. F. Szabadvary, History of Analytical Chemistry (Oxford, 1966)
56. W. B. Jensen, "The Development of Blowpipe Analysis" in J. T. Stock and M. V. Orna, The History and Preservation of Chemical Instruments (Dordrecht, 1986).
57. I. Inkster, "Science and Society in the Metropolis. A Prelimary Examination of the Social and Institutional Context of the Askesian Society of London, 1796-1807," Ann. Sci., 34 (1977), pp. 1-32.
58. It is quite likely that Griffin met Aikin since the latter's address was penned in Griffin's 1841 travel diary (see below).
59. J.J. Griffin, Practical Treatise on the Use of the Blowpipe in Chemical and Mineral Analysis (Glasgow, 1827), p. iii.
60. Griffin received £25 for writing this work, with the possibility of £10 per 1,000 extra reprints. (Personal communication J. Griffin 23.9.82)
61. The Cameralistik course was one of economic chemistry. It would not have been a practical course since Heidelberg had no laboratory at this time. The course carried no certificate. Archives of Ruprecht-Karls Universität, Heidelberg, Nr. 452, courtesy Dr. Weisert.
62. Advertisement in J. Bumpus and J. J. Griffin, The Art of Glass Blowing, or plain instructions for making chemical and philosophical instruments which are formed from glass (Glasgow, 1831). John Bumpus and Richard Griffin liaised on a number of publishing matters. This work provides the earliest known date for their collaborations. The ledgers of Charles Griffin & Co. indicate monies advanced to Bumpus may have been to support this new publishing venture but, according to our correspondent, other family "entanglements" may explain the advance. Courtesy James Griffin 13.10.82.
63. Other works in the Polytechnic Library Series included: The Domestic Chemist, a work on domestic economy and the adulteration of foodstuffs aimed at "Oilmen, Manufacturers, Wine and Spirit Merchants, Apothecaries, Physicians, Coroners and Jurymen"; and The Perfumers Oracle, intended for professional persons and ladies "who may wish to amuse themselves with this elegant branch of experimental science."
64. Examination of an extant family copy retained by the present-day company of Griffin and George (known to have been in the possession of J. J. Griffin), coupled with the significant date of publication, provides the strongest indication that Griffin's business in Paris was with Danger, and not to undertake studies at the Sorbonne.
65. J.J. Griffin, Practical Treatise on the Use of the Blowpipe in Chemical and Mineral Analysis (Glasgow, 1827), p. iii.
66. Heinrich Rose (1795-1864) published the Handbuch der analytischen Chemie (Berlin, 1829)
67. Handbuch der theoretischen Chemie (Frankfurt, 1827-29)
68. H. Rose, A Manual of Analytical Chemistry (London, 1831).
69. Larbok i Kemien (6 vols., Stockholm, 1808-30)
70. W. H. Brock, "The Society for the Perpetuation of Gmelin. The Cavendish Society, 184672," Ann. Sci., 35 (1978), pp. 599-617.
71. A. Normandy, from Rose's 4th ed. under the title A Practical Treatise of Chemical Analysis (2 vols., London, 1848-49).
72. H. Rose, A Manual of Analytical Chemistry (London, 1831).
73. J. J. Griffin, Chemical Recreations (7th ed., Glasgow, 1834), p. 9
74. H. Rose, A Manual of Analytical Chemistry (London, 1831).
75. The Lancet (1830-31), p. 33.
76. Proc. Glasgow Phil. Soc., 1(1841-2), 3 (membership list).
77. VV. Keddie, "On the early history and proceedings of the [Glasgow Philosophical] Society," Proc. Glasgow Phil. Soc. 4 (1859), pp. 101-29.
78. According to A. Kent, "The Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow" [1952], Journal Glasgow Phil. Soc., 43 (1967), pp. 43-50
79. J. B. Morrell, "Reflection on the History of Scottish Science," History of Science, 12 (1974), p. 91.
80. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry, vol. 4 (1964), p. 827
81. H. Rose, A Manual of Analytical Chemistry (London, 1831).
82. Samuel Frederick Gray, The Operative Chemist; being a Practical Display of the Arts and Manufactures which depend upon Chemical Principles (London, 1828), p. v.
83. J. J. Griffin, Chemical Recreations (7th ed., Glasgow, 1834), p. 9
84. J. H. S. Green, "Thomas Clark (1801-1867). A Biographical Study," Ann. Sci., 13 (1957), pp. 164-79.
85. J. J. Griffin, Chemical Recreations (7th ed., Glasgow, 1834), p. 9
86. R. Bud and G. K. Roberts, Science and Practice. Chemistry in Victorian Britain (Manchester, 1984), pp. 35-41.
87. Chemical Recreations (7th ed., Glasgow, 1834), p. 206
88. J. H. Brooke, "Laurent, Gerhardt, and the Philosophy of Chemistry," Hist. Stud. Phys. Sci. (1975), pp. 405-429.
89. Berzelius, Lehrbuch der Chemie, vol. 3 (1827), p. 28
90. J. J. Griffin, Chemical Recreations (7th ed., Glasgow, 1834), p. 9
91. Thomson, System of Chemistry of Inorganic Bodies, vol. 1 (1831), p. iv
92. Dumas, Traité de chimie, vol. 1 (1928), p. xxii
93. J. J. Griffin, Chemical Recreations (7th ed., Glasgow, 1834), p. 9
94. Thomson, System of Chemistry of Inorganic Bodies, vol. 1 (1831), p. iv
95. J. J. Griffin, Chemical Recreations (7th ed., Glasgow, 1834), p. 9
96. J. J. Griffin, Chemical Recreations (7th ed., Glasgow, 1834), p. 9
97. 20.
98. M. P. Crosland, Historical Studies in the Language of Chemistry (London, 1962), p. 311.
99. C. Daubeny, An Introduction to the Atomic Theory (London, 1831), p. 53.
100. J. J. Griffin, Chemical Recreations (7th ed., Glasgow, 1834), p. 9
101. Briefwechsel zwischen J. Berzelius und F. Wöhler (eds. J. Braun and O. Wallach) (Leipzig, 1901)
102. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry, vol. 4 (1964), p. 827
103. Berzelius und Liebig, ihre Briefe von 1831 bis 1845 (ed. J. Carrière) (München, Leipzig, 1893), p. 113.
104. J. B. Dumas, Leçons sur la Philosophie Chimiques (Paris, 1837), p. 300.
105. Griffin, Radical Chemistry (London, 1858), p. 9.
106. Brit. Ass. Rep. (Dublin, 1835), p. 207.
107. W. H. Brock, "The British Association Committee on Chemical Symbols 1834: Edward Turner's Letter to British Chemists and a Reply by William Prout," Ambix, 33 (1986), pp. 33-42
108. Timothy L. Alborn, "Negotiating notation: chemical symbols and British society, 1831-1835," Ann. Sci., 14 (1989), pp. 437-60.
109. W. Whewell, "On the Employment of Notation in Chemistry," J. Roy. Inst., 1 (1831), p. 453.
110. W. H. Brock, "The British Association Committee on Chemical Symbols 1834: Edward Turner's Letter to British Chemists and a Reply by William Prout," Ambix, 33 (1986), pp. 33-42
111. J. H. S. Green, "Thomas Clark (1801-1867). A Biographical Study," Ann. Sci., 13 (1957), pp. 164-79.
112. J. H. Brooke, "Organic Synthesis and the Unification of Chemistry-A Reappraisal," Brit.J. Hist. Sci., 5 (1974), pp. 363-92.
113. J. J. Griffin, Chemical Recreations (7th ed., Glasgow, 1834), p. 9
114. J.J. Griffin, Practical Treatise on the Use of the Blowpipe in Chemical and Mineral Analysis (Glasgow, 1827), p. iii.
115. Minute Book of the Glasgow Philosophical Society, f. 294.
116. Griffin, A System of Crystallography (London, 1841), p. viii.
117. Chemical Recreations (7th ed., Glasgow, 1834), p. 231.
118. Charles Griffin & Co., A Company of Griffins (pamphlet, 1970).
119. Chemical Recreations (7th ed., Glasgow, 1834), p. 231.
120. J. J. Griffin, Chemical Recreations (7th ed., Glasgow, 1834), p. 9
121. Chemical Recreations (7th ed., Glasgow, 1834), p. 231.
122. According to A. Kent, "The Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow" [1952], Journal Glasgow Phil. Soc., 43 (1967), pp. 43-50
123. J. Chem. Soc. 21 (1868), pp. xxxi-xxxiv.
124. R. Bud, The Discipline of Chemistry: The Origins and Early Years of the Chemical Society of London (unpub. Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1980), chap. 3.
125. Brit. Ass. Rep. 1837, p. 58.
126. Andrew Crombie, Geology of the Isle of Arran (1841)
127. Robert Hunt, The Art of Photography (1841)
128. Wolfgang Franz von Kobell, Instructions for the Discrimination of Minerals by Simple Chemical Experiments (Glasgow, 1841).
129. Lancet, 14 Dec. 1839, p. 448.
130. Richard Griffin & Co., Descriptive Catalogue of Chemical Apparatus offered for sale (Glasgow), Part 1, July 1841; Part 2, May 1843.
131. The 1838 edition of Chemical Recreations carried a hint of further continental experience.
132. N. Lingard and W. V. Farrar, "A Victorian Travel Diary," Chem. Brit. 15 (1979), pp. 191-2
133. Griffin's diary 29 July 1841 (Thursday, Berlin).
134. Ernest Child, The Tools of the Trade (New York, 1940), p. 197
135. J. F. Luhme & Co. began their business in 1825 with branches in St. Petersburg and Vienna and, by 1855, in New York. Franz Schmidt and Haensch (Berlin) operated an optical department at Luhme's until they branched out on their own.
136. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry, vol. 4 (1964), p. 827
137. Griffin's diary 30 July 1841 (Friday, Berlin).
138. This supplementary catalogue of August 1844 is not paginated continuously with Parts I and II, but forms the endpapers of Griffin's re-issue of Humphry Davy's Elements of Agricultural Chemistry (1844), edited by John Shier.
139. Richard Griffin & Co., Descriptive Catalogue of Chemical Apparatus (Glasgow, 30 November 1837)
140. Chemical Recreations, 8th ed. (London, 1838).
141. J. J. Griffin Descriptive Catalogue of Chemical Apparatus (1850).
142. N. Reingold (ed.), The Papers of Joseph Henry, vol. 4 (Washington, 1981), p. 240.
143. A. Normandy, The Dictionaries to the Chemical Atlas (London, 1857)
144. L. B. Hunt and P. D. Buchanan, "Richard Knight (1768-1844): A Forgotten Chemist and Apparatus Designer," Ambix, 31 (1984), pp. 57-67.
145. Palmer was to be succeeded by Messrs. Horne, Thornthwaite and Wood in 1845; but not until 1850, when they acquired the philosophical instrument-making business of Edward Marmaduke Clarke, do they appear to have been on a par with Griffin's.
146. John Joseph Griffin" (Edinburgh, 1851).
147. Griffin's Scientific Circular, No. 1 (1849), P. 1.
148. B. Gee, "John Ross Griffin," Dictionary Business Biography, vol. 2 (London, 1984), pp. 664-5.
149. Jury Reports (London, 1851), p. 295.
150. For example, Griffin's expansion in glass instruments at this time may be seen in his "Application to the Board of Inland Revenue," dated 26 April 1850, in which he writes: "I beg to add, that I believe several eminent chemists for whom I have had the honour to make graduated instruments would be willing to certify that they found the instruments correct. I may refer in particular to Professor Graham of London and Professor Thomson of Glasgow, both of whom have known me for many years." Pub. Rec. Office, DSIR 26/91 Hydrometer and Saccharometer Records from the Laboratory of the Government Chemist. Testimony did follow from Graham in a letter dated 26 April 1850 to John Wood, Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue. Our thanks to Dr. M. Stanley for his reference.
151. The announcement of Ward's retirement and transfer of business to Griffin's appears in explanatory letters to customers form both Ward and Griffin dated 1 March 1850.
152. Griffin's Scientific Circular, No. 1 (1849), P. 1.
153. The first six issues of the Scientific Circular (corresponding to items 1725 to 2682) formed the basis for the first London published General Descriptive Catalogue of Chemical and Philosophical Apparatus (December, 1851). Items 1 to 1724 were to be found in the 1848 Catalogue, re-issued in 1850.
154. Over this "period of trial" Griffin traded under his own name, but conjointly with the Glasgow-based firm. Contact with the Chemical Museum in Glasgow was not finally relinquished until 1862, at which time it was taken over by John W. Stone (City of Glasgow District Council Libraries, GC 368/VSC). Charles Griffin & Co. transferred his business to London in 1859, establishing an office in Stationers' Hall Court. The business remained under the control of the Griffin family until 1988 when it was absorbed by Edward Arnold (Publishers).
155. Pers. comm. James Griffin 24.9.82.
156. Henry Moseley (1853), "Special Report on Grants to aid in the purchase of apparatus for instruction in science," Minutes of the Committee of Council on Education, 1852-3, pp. 154-84.
157. C. G. Williams, A Handbook of Chemical Manipulation (London, 1859), p. 159.
158. Reports to the Juries (London, 1862), p. 42.
159. vo, 558 pp). Since no such titles are extant, they must refer to stock editions of The Radical Theory of 1858
160. The Griffin and Tatlock history, "A Century and a Quarter: 1826-1951," Souvenir Catalogue of the Company (British Instrument Industries Exhibition, Olympia, 4-14 July 1951), erroneously states that Walter, rather than William, was the successor with Charles. The company merged with the Scottish firm of Baird & Tatlock in 1926.
161. B. Gee, "John Ross Griffin," Dictionary Business Biography, vol. 2 (London, 1984), pp. 664-5.