Stamp, (in reverse) reads: Billcliff Camera Maker Manchester

The Billcliff family ran a renowned Manchester-based camera equipment company. This stamp was used to mark the goods they made.

Billcliff built wooden cases, tripods, bellows and other equipment for camera and instrument makers such as James Mudd and J B Dancer. It was important for their reputation that the parts Billcliff made were marked. Today, it shows how different trades were interconnected.

Billcliff was a significant Manchester firm within a strong field of camera and microscope manufacturers. The company, set up by Joshua Billcliff (1820 – 1899), was later taken over by his sons William, Henry, Alfred, Harry and Joseph. From 1882 until they ceased trading in 1955, Billcliff had their works on Richmond Street in Hulme, Manchester. They were known as Billcliff & Sons and the Manchester Photographic Apparatus Manufactory. After Joshua Billcliff’s death, their final trading name was Billcliff’s Camera Works.