Lot Essay
George Betjemann & Sons was a well-known and prolific London-based manufacturing business. Originally established as a dressing case business by George Betjemann, it went onto specialising in the manufacturing and retailing of novelty items. According to an 1894 article in The Stationary Trades Journal, this company "became probably the largest maker of fancy goods in the world; invented the Tantalus spirit stand of which [it] sold many thousands." (J. Culme, Gold and Silversmiths, London, 1987, p.43).