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ALLDAYS & ONIONS : To Edmund Allday Esq, from the Staff of Alldays and Onions Pneumatic Engineering Company Ltd, Birmingham December 1902

An original illuminated address by Edward Morton, illuminating artist, Birmingham, on 5 vellum leaves, congratulating Alldays on his safe return from South Africa following a trip to explore a new market for the firm's output. Richly executed in colour with elaborate gilt work, each 30 x 25cm leaf is mounted in in adouble heavy cardboard window mount. The whole opus is bound together in a magnificent full bright red morocco binding, the boards with multiple gilt ruled borders centring on an elaborate gilt inner scrollwork foliated frame, the spine divided into gilt compartments each with a central fleur-de-lis. The whole is housed in a purpose-made contemporary presentation display case, lined with green velvet, the front being heavy bevel-edged plate glass. A magnificent opulent production. The Alldays & Onions Pneumatic Engineering Co. of Birmingham, was a company founded in 1889 by the merger of the long established Onions (formed by John Onions in 1650) and William Allday & Co. (formed by William Allday in 1720) engineering companies. They became known for their engineering and blacksmithing equipment. Like many such companies at the time they turned to bicycle manufacture and sold a range under the Alldays name. They also started making motorcycles in 1903 under the Alldays-Matchless name; these had no connection with the London based Matchless company, and in 1915 presumably following representations from them, the name was changed to Allon. Manufacture of these continued until 1927.. Illustr.: Edward Morton

First Edition

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