John Shaw & Sons (JS&S) by Ross Mellows Many collectors find "Governor" brand stoves, or stoves marked more plainly with just the initials "J.S. & S." but few are aware of the long history of the company that made them. The early days of John Shaw's [1782-185 general metalware and holloware business are a bit of a mystery but the company history dates the start of the company to 1795 when Shaw was only 13! Between 1815 he formed a partnership with Henry Crane and their company, Shaw & Crane traded until 1848 when they went their separate ways. It was at this time the firm became known as John Shaw & Sons. Shaw's manufactured pots, pans, coffin plates and were factors for a wide range of other products. After the deaths of the sons Thomas Shaw (1820-1887) & Edward Shaw (1822-1886) the company was formed into two limited liability companies. One, T.E. Thompson & Co. Ltd took over the firm's representation in India and the far east while John Shaw & Sons (Wolverhampton) Ltd took over business in the UK. This business card dates from the turn of the 20th century. It gives a good idea of the size of the company. As well as a London branch in Holborn, Shaw's had branches in Montreal, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Calcutta. They also had agents in "Valparaiso, Havana, Buenos Ayres, Transvaal Colony, etc.". Shaw's by this time were not just manufacturing but were also acting as wholesalers for other companies goods. It is probably around this time that they also started to manufacture stoves. Shaw's took over many companies, including the Lamb Stove & Tool company in c 1914. The Lamb petrol stove was popular as a laboratory burner or with the more conventional flame spreader, as a picnic stove. More popular was their range of paraffin stoves sold under the Governor brand name. They claimed their stoves to be the "oldest British brand of Continental Patterns" In 1919 Shaw's became a public company. By 1937 they had moved into new premises, taking over the old Clyno Cars factory in Fourth Avenue, Bushbury. The factory also became the home for Jenks Brothers Ltd and the British Tool & Engineering Co.Ltd (Britool), both companies having been taken over by Shaw's in 1937. During both World Wars they manufactured 2 pint paraffin stoves for the British military. It was testament to the quality of their stoves that their specification had been chosen as a standard by the War Office that other contractors had to follow when demand exceeded Shaw's output. In later years it would appear that Britools became the pre-dominant part of the business. In the 1970s the firm was taken over by James Neill Holdings plc of Sheffield, another long established tool company. The Shaw name has since disappeared although Britool is almost a household name in the UK. Acknowledgements Many thanks to Frank Sharman and the Wolverhampton History & Heritage Society for assistance with this article and permission to use their photographs and illustrations
