This book was originally published in 1951 by Chance Brothers Limited to celebrate its 100th anniversary of Lighthouse manufacturing. Fortuitously, 1951 also represented the anniversary of the Great Exhibition held at the Crystal Palace that Chance Brothers was responsible for glazing with around one million square feet of sheet glass. We have painstakingly reconstructed this text to mark our Bicentenary Celebration, read on to find out more and obtain your very own copy.
Although the factory closed all operations in 1981 – 159 years after its foundation – its legacy lived on with domestic glassware, tubing and optical products.
MIRROR FOR CHANCE was more than just about a company trumpeting its achievements; it delved into the working conditions and manufacturing capabilities of the time with dozens of high quality photos taken around the factory.
Image of workers installing Flashed Chance Opal Glass in the faces of Big Ben
Chance Hysil conical and bolthead flasks stacked ready for despatch; these large flasks are used for distillation and vacuum work.
The items Chance Brothers produced were highly diverse. Many people consider them to be just manufacturers of flat glass, but there are so many achievements that are overlooked: precision glass tubing, interchangeable syringes, fibreglass, Ballotini glass beads, domestic glassware, lighting globes, petrol pump globes, heat-resistant laboratory ware, optical glass, and that is before we start on the Engineering Division: telephone exchanges, standby generators, airport lighting, Sumo pumps, oxy-acetylene torches and more.
