2009/59

Odams' Fertilisers,

Wildman & Meguyer (Manufacturer)

This is an enamel advertising sign for 'Odams' Fertilisers'. It is a yellow sign, with the Royal crest, 'Odams' in red text and 'Fertilisers' in black text underneath. The sign was manufactured by Wildman & Meguyer, of Birmingham, in the 1930s, and advertised superphosphate fertiliser, which used mixed animal bones and sulphuric acid. The sign was originally found at an autojumble in Beaulieu.

Collecting 20thc Rural Culture blog [Friday, 13 November 2009] – 'Odams enamelled advertising sign, 1930s // This firm was started by James Odams in 1855 and was based in the Silvertown area of the east London docklands. It was one of many springing up at the time on a rising agricultural market for manufactured fertiliser. In particular, the production of superphosphate was accelerating as the science of the day demonstrated the beneficial effects on crop yields. It involved mixing animal bones, subsequently replaced largely by imported mineral phosphate, with sulphuric acid in a process that was both acrid and hazardous. Dockside locations were common because here the raw materials were readily available - the slaughterhouses for imported cattle for example. By the outbreak of the First World War, the industry in this country was producing getting on for 2 million tons of superphospahte annually. // There were other forms of manufactured fertiliser that Odams were involved with and made connections between urban life, manufacturing industry and the countryside. Sulphate of ammonia, a source of nitrogen for farmers when turned into granular form, was made from the waste products of town gasworks. Basic slag, a residue from steelworks, was high in phosphate and when ground into a powder was recommended for use on grassland. // This sign dates from the 1930s and was made by Wildman & Meguyer (1933) Ltd of Birmingham. Odams were take over by Fisons in 1937 during a period of consolidation of the industry into the hands of a few major conglomerates. // An advertisement from 1935. // Permanent pasture near Scarborough, Yorks, being treated with 3 cwts per acre of Fisons No.1 Granulated Fertiliser in 1953.', MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Museum of English Rural Life) – 'Enamel Advertising sign, yellow with Royal Crest, 'Odams' in red and 'Fertilisers' in black. // Slight chipping around the edge + the screw holes. // Makers' name on front, bottom right hand corner: // 'Wildman + Meguyer (1933) Ltd Bham' // ... Purchased as part of the Collecting 20thc Rural Culture Project // Sign dates from 1933-37 // Odams were founded in E. London in 1955 and taken over by Fisons in 1937. // Previously purchased by seller at a Beaulieu autojumble.', MERL miscellaneous note - 'Odams // Odams was established in 1852, their factory was in London's Silvertown district and produced nitrates and phosphates, for which they used imported guano and the blood of cattle (slaughtered after arriving at the neighbouring Victoria Dock). In the 1880s they were trading as Odams' Manures. manufactured by the Nitro-Phosphate and Odams' Chemical Manure Company (Limited), consisting of Tenant Farmers occupying upwards of 150,000 Acres of Land. Crushed Bones, Bone Meal, Sulphate of Ammonia, Nitrate of Soda, Potash Salts and all other Manurial Substances supplied. Odams' Manures have been used on the ROYAL FARMS for nearly 30 years. BY 1901 they were listed as 'Odams Manure & Chemical Co Lim' with their address as Odams Wharf in Canning Town and they were still trading in 1914. They were subsequently taken over by Anglo-Continental Guano Works Ltd (based nearby), by which time the company name was Odams Nitrophosphate & Chemical Co. Ltd, but they continued trading under their old name. They became part of Fisons in 1937, the Odams name again remaining in use until the mid 1940s when Fisons switched to having a single company brand for all their products.

Birmingham

1930 - 1939