As ‘The Reynolds Man’ I was interested in Mark Brett’s letter in the March 2019 issue on ‘Renold and Reynolds’ and feel that it called for an account of the Reynold’s side of the story.
Reynolds Tube Company had its origins when John Reynolds, a young man of 25, set himself up in business as a nail maker. These were specialised nails that were stamped out of sheet iron.
The company prospered to the extent that, exhibiting at the Great Exhibition of 1851, he was awarded a gold medal for the quality of his products, the range that had extended into nails, brads and tacks for all requirements.
The business expanded and relocated into new premises in Newtown Row in Birmingham and was named The Crown Nail Works. John’s two sons had joined the company and eventually his grandsons, one of whom, Alfred, saw an opportunity to cash in on the 1890s boom in bicycle manufacture.
Read more of this letter and other letters in the June 2019 issue of TCM – on sale now!
