This is a promotional film for Gillott & Son (Pearl Works) Ltd, Sheffield.  It shows all the stages in the process of making goods out of mother of pearl; including cutlery handles, penknives, buttons, shoes buckles and jewellery. Title – Orford Films Present: Fashioning Mother-O-Pearl The film begins with a man picking up a mother-o-pearl shell from a pile. Intertitle – The Mother-O-Pearl shell, gleaming with iridescent hues; nature’s most beautiful gift The shiny inside of the shell...

This is a promotional film for Gillott & Son (Pearl Works) Ltd, Sheffield.  It shows all the stages in the process of making goods out of mother of pearl; including cutlery handles, penknives, buttons, shoes buckles and jewellery. Title – Orford Films Present: Fashioning Mother-O-Pearl The film begins with a man picking up a mother-o-pearl shell from a pile. Intertitle – The Mother-O-Pearl shell, gleaming with iridescent hues; nature’s most beautiful gift The shiny inside of the shell is held up for the camera. Intertitle – fished from sunlit seas they arrive in Sheffield mainly from Australia to be made into many useful and ornamental articles A workman opens up a wooden crate and reveals it is full of shells.  He places some of them into a smaller box to work on. Intertitle – the thick part provides handles for Sheffield’s finest cutlery. Men sit at workbenches cutting the shells. Intertitle – The handles are cut out by means of a high speed circular saw The cutting, and then the cut shell, is shown close up. Intertitle – The handle is now ground to shape on a carborundum stone A man shapes shells using two types of quickly spinning barrels, or wheels, covered in carborundum stone. Intertitle – cutting The handle is placed into a vice and is furthered worked upon using a small knife.  The finished handles are displayed. Intertitle – the handle is now bored to take the tang of the blade or fork. The handle is again placed into a vice and drilled with an electric drill until it is the correct size for the blade, or tang, to fit into it. Intertitle – various processes are now required to impart the lustrous polish to the handle. A workman polishes a handle on a fast spinning polishing machine, followed by a woman doing the finishing touches at another polishing machine.  The finished handle is held up for the camera. Intertitle – the handle is now fitted to the blade The end of the handle, where the blade is inserted, is refined using a metal tool rotated by hand using a bow and string.  It is then filed and tested for size. The blade is then inserted and held in place by glue taken from an old small pot.  A finished canteen of cutlery is shown in its display box.  Intertitle – the thinner parts of the shell are made principally into pocket knives scales, buttons and buckles A range of pocket knives are shown. Intertitle – the scales are cut out of the shell and ground to the right thickness ready for the cutler A woman pushes a shell though a small electric saw.  This shell is then ground, and the finished pocket knife is displayed. Intertitle – making buttons for all purposes A workman is pressing a shell against a grinding or cutting machine, which cuts out small circular pieces. Intertitle – after turning the buttons to the right thickness, they are drilled. Buttons are placed onto a drilling machine, one at a time.  A woman then places buttons onto another drilling machine. Intertitle – these buttons are being shaped to adorn British made shoes Women place buttons, one at a time, quickly onto a machine which shapes them. Intertitle – these girls inspect the buttons, after which they are polished in barrels along with other small articles A room full of women, working at workbenches, rapidly sort buttons into different sizes.  One of the women pours boiling water from a rotating barrel into a bucket in order to clean and polish the various small buttons.   Intertitle – shanking shoe buttons A woman works very quickly putting the shanks into the buttons, which are shown piled up. Intertitle – these buttons polished and dyed many beautiful shades to match dress or shoe are ready for carding and boxing The various types of buttons are displayed in their boxes.  They are then threaded onto cards. Intertitle – ready for delivery The buttons are packaged, ready to go. Intertitle – making buckles of all shapes and sizes. Women sit in rows, shaping buckles at rotating grindstones.  Various buckles are then displayed. Intertitle – artistic adornments for my lady A man sits at a workbench and puts beads onto necklaces with pliers.  A woman shows off some of the finished necklaces. Intertitle – the famous Norfolk knife, a masterpiece by Messrs’ Joseph Rodgers and Sons A penknife is displayed in close-up and has dozens of blades.  The fully open penknife is rotated to reveal all its blades and implements. Intertitle – beautiful table appointments made out of these wonderful shells Various tableware is on display.  Intertitle – Mother-O-Pearl beautiful and everlasting, nature’s most priceless gift.  Ask for goods of Sheffield manufacture. The End.