He attained a good knowledge of botany and chemistry, was fond of electrical experiments, and had skill as a watercolour artist.
In 1855, he bought a London manufacturing stationery concern in Bucklersbury, (afterwards in College Street and Maiden Lane), taking into partnership his brother-in-law, J. D. Fry, in 1867.
In March 1860 he patented an ‘indelible writing paper’ for the prevention of forgery, the process of manufacturing which he described in a communication to the Society of Arts.
He endorsed the view of Herbert Skeats that the early Society of Friends was the first home mission association, and was anxious to see the body regaining its position as an aggressive Christian church.
His opinions on these points led to his undertaking a series of investigations which culminated in his work on the internal constitution of the obscurer Commonwealth sects, whose origin, ramifications, and practical tendencies.