The city of Birmingham was an important regional centre of the Arts & Crafts Movement and Albert Edward Jones a key figure working in silver.
As a child he decided he would become a silversmith. Having been apprenticed to Woodwards of Birmingham, he then moved to work at Hardman Powell’s the ecclesiastical silversmiths. His education continued with a period of study at the Central School of Arts & Crafts, in Birmingham, under Edward Taylor, after which he worked with the Birmingham Guild of Handicrafts.
In 1902 A. E. Jones established his own business in Windmill Street and subsequently went on to buy the firm of Jason & Birkett, at which time he began using the St Dunstan trademark. It was a relatively small commercial company, but Jones attracted other artist / designers to gather in his premises including Edward Taylor, the head of the Birmingham School of Art and son of the Ruskin Pottery owner Howson Taylor, Arthur Gaskin and A. S. Dixon. Jones’ achievement was to strike a balance between commercial production and upholding the values of the Arts & Crafts Movement of craftsmanship, high quality and artistry.
After his death in 1954, the firm continued under the leadership of Jones’ son Kenneth Crisp Jones and then with Caroline Lee as the managing director.
Main image with kind permission from Jones family (sale 861)
