Mason

Mason, Josiah, Sir (1795-1881), renowned as the principal manufacturer of steel pens, was born poor at Kidderminster, but soon came to the front, His first important work was a share in the manufacture of split rings, and in 1829 he began to make pens for Perry and Co. From 1842 to 1865 he was a partner in the Elkington firm for electroplating, and bought a valuable patent from Siemens, and later he bought from Krupp for £10,000 a patent for rolling machinery. He was a generous man, founding the Josiah Mason College, Birmingham, an orphanage at Erdington at a cost of £260,000, and several almshouses.