Reynolds and Branson
The original company can be traced back to 1816 (see Grace's Guide which is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain).
In 1839 Thomas Harvey joined the business, when William West left the company to pursue analytical chemistry.
From 1850 to 1851 he attended the School of Pharmacy in London where he took first prizes in chemistry, materia medica and botany in a contest held by the pharmaceutical society.
In collaboration with A. F. Dimmock, M.D., he contributed to the British Medical Association meeting in 1903 a paper " A new method for the determination of uric acid in urine" (Br.
During the First World War, he actively pursued efforts to standardize the size and shape of chemical glassware.
Branson sought to secure in Great Britain the manufacturing process for the glass required for the equipment of munition factories.
His son, Frederick Hartridge, Associate of the Royal Institute of Chemistry AIC, became chairman and managing director of Reynolds & Branson.
[5][7] he run the company for 20 years, until his untimely death on 10 February 1952, Frederick Hartridge had appointed his 3 Sons and Daughter as directors of Reynolds & Branson, Frederick Norman the eldest son who attended Ilkley Grammar an all-boys school, Eileen his only daughter, Peter Orchard who as Director of Phospherade, which was the mineral water company, He attended Roundhay all-boys grammar school.
He married Patricia in Leeds 1948, Peter emigrated to Australia 1953, when his father died leaving the bulk of the business to his eldest brother Frederick Norman, He set up his own pharmacy in Blackburn South in 1955, He later become a Podiatrist retiring at the age of 90, Richard Orchard who attended Roundhay all-boys grammar school, Second World War Richard was also in RAF as a pilot he died on active service 1945.
On 24 July 1896, Reynolds and Branson attended the Photographic Convention of the United Kingdom at Leeds.
In the course of his remarks he fully explained the construction and exhaustion of the tubes, and showed various forms and explained his method of making calcium tungstate, which was to mix solutions of sodium tungstate and calcium chloride, collect, wash, and dry the precipitate of calcium tungstate which was formed, and then to fuse this in a small muffle furnace at the temperature of the melting point of cast-iron, and reduce to small crystals in a mortar, mix with varnish, and coat a screen.
With such a screen in contact with the plate he had been able to show osseous structure of the hand, measuring only one-hundredth of an inch, with an exposure of one minute.
At the same convention, during the session on Photography at the Seaside the firm displayed some of their product line that included X-ray apparatus, as follows:[3]"Reynolds & Branson, of Commercial Street, Leeds, had a very high-class show, special prominence being given to apparatus for X-ray work.
A case of lenses of all the leading makers, together with a very well-made photo-micrographic outfit, a cabinet of chemicals, another of cameras, and all the little odds and ends of apparatus, made up a very fine show.
