His father's career was very varied until he hit upon lamp making, and at the time of Joseph's baptism in 1844 was a licensed victualler.
[4] The great selling point of their lamps was that they did not need frequent trimming or give off nasty smoke or smells.
[5][6][7] Newspaper reports suggest that James retired as managing director and became chairman in about 1897–98, when Joseph took over.
Important customers included railway companies, which used oil lamps to light stations, trains and signals.
[4] During the First World War the firm made mess tins, hand grenades and shell components.