'Greek' Thomson's other founders
The Sun Foundry also rises
Founded in 1858, George Smith & Co, Ltd, also known as the Sun Foundry, were based at 64 Port Dundas Road in Glasgow, with a show yard in Bothwell Street (they moved to Parliamentary Road in 1875, the year of ‘Greek’ Thomson’s death).
The website GlasgowSculpture.com notes that
they advertised themselves as ‘Art Metal Workers, Iron Founders and Sanitary Engineers’, and ‘Artistic Iron Founders’, and displayed their wares at their show yard in Bothwell Street…. They rivalled Macfarlane's and McDowall Steven & Co in their production of ornamental ironwork for buildings, drinking fountains and bandstands.
Within five years of their establishment they had offices in London and Dublin, and later in Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham and much of the decorative ironwork in the Glasgow Necropolis is theirs.
Sun Foundry catalogues
The Mitchell Library in Glasgow holds at least three versions of the Sun Foundry’s catalogues, all undated. The earliest (based on its content) is also in the worst condition, but nevertheless contains a host of engravings of all types of ironwork, including many designs by ‘Greek’ Thomson, and others that may well be by him.
The images below are taken from the catalogue, courtesy of the Mitchell Library. Many of the designs repeat those found in Macfarlane’s Castings; others are ‘Registered Designs’, so presumably intended to be cast only by the Sun Foundry, or possibly under licence. George Smith apparently did well out of his relationship with Alexander Thomson: enough to give a guinea towards the cost of the marble bust produced by John Mossman after Thomson’s death, now on display in Kelvingrove.
