Tuesday 29 March 2016

Marguerite Official Trailer 1 (2015) - Catherine Frot, André Marcon Movi...

"Marguerite" Directed by Xavier Giannoli / Catherine Frot Meilleure actrice Cesar 2016



Marguerite is a 2015 drama film directed by Xavier Giannoli and written by Giannoli and Marcia Romano, loosely inspired by the life of Florence Foster Jenkins. Set in the Golden Twenties, the film stars Catherine Frot as a socialite and aspiring opera singer who believes she has a beautiful voice. The film is an international co-production between France, the Czech Republic, and Belgium. Marguerite received eleven nominations at the 41st César Awards, winning for Best Actress, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, and Best Production Design.





Directed by Xavier Giannoli
Produced by
Artemio Benki
Olivier Delbosc
Marc Missonnier
Written by
Xavier Giannoli
Marcia Romano
Starring Catherine Frot
Music by Ronan Maillard
Cinematography Glynn Speeckaert
Edited by Cyril Nakache
Production
companies
La Banque Postale 8
Canal+
CNC
Eurimages
Fidélité Films
France 3 Cinéma
France Télévisions
Scope Pictures
Sirena Film
Distributed by
Memento Films Distribution (France)
ArtCam (Czech Republic)
Release dates
4 September 2015 (Venice)
16 September 2015 (France)
24 September 2015 (Czech Republic)
Running time
128 minutes
Country
France
Czech Republic
Belgium
Language French

Box office $7.4 million

Florence Foster Jenkins - Queen of the Night by Mozart.

Florence Foster Jenkins (July 19, 1868 – November 26, 1944) was an American socialite and amateur operatic soprano who was known and ridiculed for her lack of rhythm, pitch, and tone; her aberrant pronunciation; and her generally poor singing ability.

Born Nascina Florence Foster in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Mary Jane (née Hoagland 1851–1930) and Charles Dorrance Foster (1836–1909). She had one sibling, a sister named Lillian, who died at age 8 in 1883. She dropped her first name and went by her middle name, Florence, during her formative years. Her father was a lawyer, and his family was wealthy and owned land near Back Mountain, Pennsylvania.

Jenkins received piano lessons as a child and, after becoming a child prodigy pianist, performed all over the state of Pennsylvania, appearing in Sängerfests and even at the White House during the administration of President Rutherford B. Hayes.

Upon graduating from high school, she expressed a desire to go abroad to study music, but her wealthy father refused to pay the bill, so she retaliated and eloped with Dr. Frank Thornton Jenkins (1852–1917) and they moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were married around 1885.
Shortly after their marriage, Jenkins contracted syphilis from her husband and Dr. Jenkins was never mentioned again. It is not known whether they obtained a divorce or separated, but she kept his family name as her own.

Jenkins earned a living in Philadelphia as a piano teacher, but after suffering an arm injury, she had no means to support herself and lived in near poverty. She was very close to her mother, Mary, who came to Foster's rescue and the two eventually moved to New York City around 1900. It is then that she decided to become a singer. In 1909, she met a British Shakespearean actor named St. Clair Bayfield (later her manager) and they later legalized the relationship in a common-law marriage that would last the rest of her life.

When her father died in 1909, Jenkins inherited sufficient funds to begin her long-delayed career in music. She took voice lessons and became involved in the musical social circles of New York City, where she founded and funded her own club, The Verdi Club. She became a member of dozens of women's clubs – literary, historical, etc. and she became Director of Music for many of these, as well as their producer of tableaux-vivants.


The best-known photograph of Jenkins shows her wearing angelic wings. This costume was designed for a tableau-vivant she produced, based on the painting Stephen Foster and the Angel of Inspiration by Howard Chandler Christy. It was also said that in every group of tableaux-vivants that she produced for the clubs, she would always be the main character in the final tableau of the group. She began giving recitals in 1912, when she was in her early 40s. Her mother Mary died in New York City at the Park Central Hotel in 1930, after which Jenkins inherited additional resources to continue her singing career.

From her recordings it is apparent that Jenkins had little sense of pitch or rhythm, and was barely capable of sustaining a note. Her accompanist, Cosmé McMoon, can be heard making adjustments to compensate for her tempo variations and rhythmic mistakes. Her dubious diction, especially in foreign languages, is also noteworthy. In retrospect, her difficulties have at least partially been attributed to her ongoing battle with syphilis, which caused progressive deterioration of her central nervous system. The ravages of her disease were compounded by side effects from poisonous mercury and arsenic treatments—the only therapy available for syphilis at the time. No effective treatment existed until the discovery of penicillin; by the time it became generally available, Jenkins' disease had progressed to the tertiary stage, which is unresponsive even to antibiotics.

Despite the vocal and musical inaccuracies of her performances, which took place mostly at small salons or recital halls, Jenkins became popular for the amusement she unwittingly provided. Audience members sometimes described her technique in an "intentionally ambiguous" way that may have served to pique public curiosity; for example, "Her singing at its finest suggests the untrammeled swoop of some great bird." Her audiences were by invitation only, and until her final performance at Carnegie Hall, no professional music critics ever reviewed her performances in the legitimate press. Favorable articles and bland reviews in musical publications, such as The Musical Courier, were most likely written by her friends, or herself.

Jenkins' lifelong need to perform began when she was seven years old, and she reportedly remained firmly convinced of her talent throughout her life. She compared herself favorably to the renowned sopranos Frieda Hempel and Luisa Tetrazzini, and dismissed the abundant audience laughter during her performances as "hoodlums ... planted by her rivals." She was aware of her detractors, but never let them stand in her way: "People may say I can't sing," she said, "but no one can ever say I didn't sing."

Her recitals featured a mixture of the standard operatic repertoire by Mozart, Verdi, and Johann Strauss (all well beyond her technical ability); Lieder by Brahms; Valverde's "Clavelitos" ("Little Carnations" – a favorite encore), and songs composed by herself or accompanist Cosmé McMoon.

Jenkins often wore elaborate costumes that she designed for herself, sometimes appearing in wings and tinsel, and, for "Clavelitos", throwing flowers into the audience from a basket (on one occasion, she hurled the basket as well) while fluttering a fan and sporting more flowers in her hair. After at least one "Clavelitos" performance the audience demanded that she sing it again, compelling McMoon to collect the flowers from the audience for the encore.

While riding in a taxi, it collided with another car and Jenkins let out a scream. She then discovered that she could sing "a higher F than ever before", and sent the cab driver a box of expensive cigars.

In spite of public demand, Jenkins restricted her rare performances to clubs and the Grand Ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel where she would give a recital annually in October. Attendance was limited to her loyal clubwomen and a select few others; she handled distribution of the coveted tickets herself, carefully excluding professional critics. At the age of 76 she finally yielded to public demand and performed at Carnegie Hall on October 25, 1944. Tickets for the event sold out weeks in advance and numerous celebrities attended, such as dancer and actress Marge Champion, song writer Cole Porter, composer Gian-Carlo Menotti, actress Kitty Carlisle and soprano Lily Pons with her husband, conductor André Kostelanetz (who composed a song for Jenkins to sing that night). Since this was her first "public" appearance, newspaper critics could not be prevented from attending. Their scathing, sarcastic reviews devastated Jenkins, according to Bayfield.

Two days following the Carnegie Hall concert, while shopping at G. Schirmer's Music Store, Jenkins suffered a heart attack. She died a month later, on November 26, 1944, at the age of 76 at her Manhattan residence, the Hotel Seymour in New York City.

Monday 14 March 2016

Message from Jeeves / Revista DOZE.


 Revista DOZE , published an article / profile , kindly giving me the opportunity to express my views and definitions around aesthetics, style , the principles of my garderobe and its connection with the decor of my interiors, the fundamental differences between the Gentleman and the Dandy, enfin, my aesthetic philosophy of Life and its role in the great mystery of Existence.
Greetings Jeeves / António Sérgio Rosa de Carvalho / Architectural Historian
PHOTOS: Michael Floor.
Link to the site where you can read the article online





The Duke of Atholl / VIDEO: Atholl Highlanders' Parade 2010



12th Duke of Atholl
As Duke of Atholl, he has the right to raise Europe's only legal private army, named the Atholl Highlanders (a unique privilege granted to his family by Queen Victoria after visiting Blair Atholl in 1844).



 Bruce George Ronald Murray, 12th Duke of Atholl (born 6 April 1960) is a South African-born hereditary peer in the Peerage of Scotland and Chief of Clan Murray. As Duke of Atholl, he has the right to raise Europe's only legal private army, named the Atholl Highlanders (a unique privilege granted to his family by Queen Victoria after visiting Blair Atholl in 1844).

The elder son of John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl and Margaret Yvonne née Leach (now styled the Dowager Duchess of Atholl), matriculated at Jeppe High School for Boys Johannesburg in 1979. He was educated at Saasveld Forestry College before serving his two years' National Service with the South African Infantry Corps.He is currently a volunteer member of the Transvaal Scottish Regiment, holding the rank of Lieutenant. Previously he managed a tea plantation, but then ran a signage business producing signs for commercial buildings. He was commissioned into the Atholl Highlanders in 2000, being appointed as Lieutenant Colonel. Upon the death of his father on 15 May 2012, he succeeded to all his father's titles, becoming the 12th Duke of Atholl.

The Duke first married on 4 February 1984 at Johannesburg Lynne Elizabeth Andrew (born Johannesburg, 7 June 1963) and they divorced in 2003.

Together they had three children, two sons and one daughter:

Michael Bruce John Murray, Marquess of Tullibardine (born in Louis Trichardt, 5 March 1985)
Lord David Nicholas George Murray (born in Louis Trichardt, 31 January 1986)
Lady Nicole Murray (born in Duiwelskloof, 11 July 1987); married to Peter Piek.
He married Charmaine Myrna (née du Toit) in 2009.


11th Duke of Atholl


John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl (19 January 1929 – 15 May 2012) was a South African-born hereditary peer of the Peerage of Scotland, hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Murray, and Colonel-in-Chief of the Atholl Highlanders. As Duke of Atholl, he commanded the only legal private army in Europe.

The Duke was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, as the only child of Major George Murray (1884–1940) and Joan (d. 2000), the daughter of William Edward Eastwood, of South Africa. They were married on 17 January 1928. His father was killed on active service in the Second World War.

He was the grandson of Reverend Douglas Stuart Murray, Rector of Blithfield, Staffordshire, who was the grandson of the Right Reverend George Murray, who was the son of the Right Reverend Lord George Murray, the second son of John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand, a leading South African University.

After taking his degree, Murray worked as a land surveyor.

On 15 December 1956 in Pretoria, he married Margaret "Peggy" Yvonne Leach (born Louis Trichardt, 8 July 1935), the only daughter of Ronald Leonard Leach of Louis Trichardt, Transvaal, South Africa (Pretoria, 31 August 1910 - Louis Trichardt, 18 December 1964) and wife (Lovedale Park, Louis Trichardt) Faith Kleinenberg (Louis Trichardt, 20 July 1913 - Louis Trichardt, 11 June 1968) and paternal granddaughter of Charles Ronald Leach (Whittlesea, 26 March 1887 - Eshowe, 7 December 1953) and first wife Louise Adelaide Zeederberg ( - Whittlesea, 5 June 1922).
They had three children:

Lady Jennifer Murray (born 8 February 1958), who married firstly Iain Purdon in 1979 (divorced 1985) and secondly Martin Glodek. By her first husband she has two children:
Grant Clive Purdon (born 1981) and
Charlene Purdon (born 1983).

Bruce Murray, now 12th Duke of Atholl (born 6 April 1960), who was educated at Saasveld Forestry College and in 1984 married Lynne Elizabeth Andrew, the first daughter of Nicholas Andrew, of Bedfordview, South Africa. They have three children:

Michael Bruce John Murray, Marquess of Tullibardine (born 5 March 1985), who is a sports science student at the University of Pretoria. The 12th Duke lives in South Africa and is a volunteer member of the South African Defence Force (Transvaal Scottish Regiment) as well as an officer of the Atholl Highlanders.;
Lord David Nicholas George Murray (born 31 January 1986); and
Lady Nicole Murray (born 11 July 1987), who is married to Peter Piek.
Lord Craig John Murray (born 1963), who in 1988 married Inge Bakker, the second daughter of Auke Bakker, of Bedfordview, South Africa. They have two children:
Carl Murray (born 1993) and
Shona Murray (born 1995).
On the death of his kinsman George Murray, 10th Duke of Atholl, Murray succeeded as 11th Duke. However, the day before the death of the 10th Duke, it was announced that he had given his ancestral seat of Blair Castle and most of his estates to a charitable trust, thus effectively disinheriting his heir. He had been unimpressed when his heir had indicated he had no desire to leave South Africa for Scotland. The new Duke thus inherited little but the titles and the right to raise a private army.

Atholl continued to live in South Africa, while making annual visits to Scotland. He died on 15 May 2012 in a South African hospital at the age of 83. He was succeeded in his titles by his elder son, Bruce Murray, Marquess of Tullibardine.


 The Last Dukes, BBC Two
Dukedoms are created by the monarch for reasons ranging from a grateful nation rewarding a major war leader to a king acknowledging his illegitimate son. The last dukedom to be created was by Queen Victoria. As they gradually become extinct, what will become of those that remain? Do they still have power and wealth? What is it to be a duke in the 21st century?

Answers come from a surprising variety of extraordinary characters - the Duke of Marlborough and his aunt, born Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill, who remembers being brought up in Blenheim Palace with 36 indoor servants, and the Duke of Atholl, who until 2012 was a rural South African sign-maker called Bruce Murray - on succeeding to the dukedom he now heads the only private army in Europe - the Atholl Highlanders.

The Duke of Montrose is a Scottish hill farmer and a politician, one of the few dukes who still sit in the House of Lords. The Duchess of Rutland made dozens of people redundant when she took over Belvoir Castle, but is determined to make it an efficient business.

The Duke and Duchess of St Albans don't have a stately pile, but do have their coronets and coronation robes. The duke's heir Charles Beauclerk is fascinated by the history of mental illness in the family. And if Camilla Osborne had been a boy, she would have become the 11th Duke of Leeds. But she wasn't and the dukedom is now extinct. Where does that leave her?


 Modern Times: The Last Dukes, BBC Two, review: 'over-egged'
The film’s insistence that British dukes are a dying breed felt exaggerated, says Gerard O'Donovan

By Gerard O'Donovan10:01PM GMT 26 Oct 2015

The decline of the English aristocracy is a current TV obsession. Downton Abbey has spent much of its swansong series frothing about it. Modern Times: The Last Dukes took a more contemporary view, exploring the 21st-century lives of members of the nobility’s highest rank below royalty and their imminent “extinction”.

Things got off to a somewhat predictable start with a peek at the splendours of Blenheim Palace, seat of the dukes of Marlborough since 1722. Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill recalled how being a duke’s daughter put her “top of the pile” to be a maid of honour at the Queen’s coronation in 1953. And how she and her parents had never even spoken of it because, in those days, one “had lots of very grand things that happened all the time”. How times have changed.

Bruce Murray’s experience was rather different. Until recently a sign-maker from an “obscure provincial town” in South Africa, in 2012 he inherited the title of 12th Duke of Atholl, along with a private army and an obligation to dress up in a kilt at Blair Castle once a year.
Strangely, the vexed question of primogeniture – dukedoms can only be passed down through the male line – didn’t ruffle many feathers in Michael Waldman’s film. The three daughters of the Duke of Rutland, for instance, were perfectly content that their younger brother Charles would inherit everything, including the stunning Belvoir Castle.

The Duchess of Rutland and her daughters Lady Eliza Manners, Lady Alice Manners and Lady Violet Manners (Photo: BBC/Spun Gold TV)
In the meantime the other dukes featured – of Montrose, St Albans and Marlborough – all seemed to be perfectly content with their lot. And while perhaps not rolling in the vast wealth and grandeur they might once have considered a birthright, they didn’t seem to be doing too badly. Curiously no mention was made of the thriving Duke of Westminster, one of the UK’s wealthiest landowners.

The 8th Duke of Montrose, in Robes for State Opening of Parliament in his House of Lords Office (Photo: BBC/Spun Gold TV)
As such, charming and fascinating as these glimpses into the still-privileged lives of others were, the film’s dogged insistence that British dukes were “a dying breed” did feel over-egged. At the outset we learnt that in 1953 there were 28 non-royal dukes. Now, 62 years on, there are 24. At that rate of attrition it could take centuries for the rank to die out. Rumours of extinction, one couldn’t help feeling, were greatly exaggerated.



Atholl Gathering and Highland Games 27th May 2012

Blair Castle, Perthshire, Scotland

Saturday 12 March 2016

Crockett and Jones / VIDEO below :Crockett and Jones 'Official Factory Tour'

Crockett & Jones was founded in 1879, in Northampton, by Charles Jones and his brother-in-law, James Crockett. They established the business with a grant of £100 each from the Thomas White Trust ‘to encourage young men of good character in the towns of Northampton and Coventry to set up business on their own’.

Northampton had always been renowned for shoe making in England since the middle ages; starting as a centre for tanning. The abundance of local oak forests provided the oak bark, which was considered the best tanning material at the time and the River Nene was the source of water for this process. The central location of Northampton, en-route to London, gave the town good communications and enabled the tanners to obtain hides from the butchers with ease. After this it wasn’t long before shoe makers naturally gathered where leather was readily available, working out of their homes and in small workshops. By the time that Crockett & Jones was established, shoe makers had begun to join together to open small factories using new machinery that had been developed specifically for the shoe industry during the Industrial Revolution.

The first Crockett & Jones factory in 1879 was a small building in Carey Street, Northampton with 20 employees. Here they concentrated on making men’s boots. The leathers were cut at the factory before being distributed to out-workers who would take the parts home. They would then return the finished components to the factory, so that the boots could be completed.

The business was successful and expanded rapidly with more and more work being done inside the factory. In the 1890’s the 2nd generation (Harry Crockett and Frank Jones) began to integrate new machinery, which was invented by Charles Goodyear from the USA for stitching the uppers, welts and soles together. This made the process much easier, and faster, and gave rise to the name for the superior construction process that we continue to use today, called ‘Goodyear Welted’.

Towards the turn of the century James Crockett and Charles Jones recognised the need to find a larger factory for continued expansion of the business. In 1897 they bought a new factory in Perry Street, which Crockett & Jones still occupy today. In 1910 a 5 storey wing was built onto this factory; the first all-steel structured building in Northampton. It boasted a huge proportion of glass to give superb natural lighting for production – an attribute which still benefits the workforce today.

Around this time most of the shoes were sold in the home market but the company was also exporting a significant volume through-out the world to: Australia, Argentina, Europe, New Zealand, South Africa, USA and the Far East. Crockett & Jones had now established a reputation as one of the best shoe makers in the country. In 1911 they were awarded the Diploma D’Onoro (Diploma of Honour) at the International Manufacturing Exhibition in Turin for their designs.

In 1911 Percy Jones, the brother of Frank Jones, joined the company – this was to be the start of a long serving, 67 year partnership in the business. In 1914 Crockett & Jones footwear was used for the 2nd time on a Shackleton Polar expedition thus emphasising the excellent quality of the shoes and their construction.

In 1924 Crockett & Jones was honoured with Royal Patronage; a visit to the factory in Perry Street by H.R.H The Duke of York (later King George VI) who paid great attention to the shoe making process on his tour around the factory. This visit sparked much national press interest and people crowded the streets to get a glimpse of The Duke.

In 1927 Gilbert Jones, the son of Frank Jones, started at Crockett & Jones becoming the 3rd generation of the Jones family involved in running the business. By this stage the company employed over 1000 people and production had reached record levels of 15,000 pairs per week; the majority of which were women’s shoes and boots.

An intensive advertising campaign was launched in the 1930’s to drive sales using the Swan and Health brands. As the company continued to succeed a second wing was added to the Perry Street factory in 1935, providing a new office block, showroom and an in-stock department. The original front door was moved from Magee Street to Perry Street with a new staircase and reception. This is still used as the main entrance today and retains its impressive 1930’s Art Deco design.

During the 2nd World War Crockett & Jones manufactured over a 1 million pairs for the armed forces. They were under instructions from the government to switch the majority of the production to military footwear; making officers’ shoes and boots for the army, navy and air force. To produce this volume many retired men and married women came back to work to join in the war effort.

After the war in 1947 Richard Jones, son of Percy Jones and grandson of founder Charles Jones, joined the business. Today Richard is still involved as Chairman and imparts his vast knowledge of shoe making to everyone. In 1948 the Crockett & Jones Partnership was dissolved in order to found Crockett & Jones Ltd and Percy Jones became Chairman.

In the 1950’s the bulk of production was sold in the home market, although exports had begun to expand again. By 1961 around 21% of the output was exported. The factory continued to embrace new technologies to aid production, while keeping the traditional hand processes passed on through the generations, in order to maintain high quality standards at all costs. In the 1970’s however, sales in the Commonwealth countries began to decline following Britain’s entry into the European Economic Community (EEC). In 1974, Crockett & Jones dropped the 'Swan' brand for women and 'Health' brand for men. After this all shoes made by Crockett & Jones were made under the Crockett & Jones brand.

Jonathan Jones, son of Richard Jones, joined the company in 1977, the same year that Richard was appointed Managing Director. At this time, a decision was taken to re-focus the business. From now onwards they would concentrate on producing men’s high quality Goodyear Welted footwear and developing export sales in Europe, USA and Japan. A new marketing division was put in place under Jonathan’s management and the UK and International collections were re-defined.

As the business began to build again over the next 15 years, exports reached 70% of the overall production and in 1990 Crockett & Jones was awarded the coveted Queens Award for Export Achievement. Crockett & Jones continued to supply some of the world’s best known “own label” collections but now as Managing Director, Jonathan also wanted to increase the ‘Crockett & Jones’ branded distribution. As part of this strategy it was decided to re-visit the company’s long standing interest in retail. In 1997 Crockett & Jones opened their 1st retail shop in Jermyn Street, London. Over the next 14 years another 10 retail shops and concessions were opened by Crockett & Jones across London, Birmingham, New York, Paris and Brussels.

In 2004 the factory in Perry Street was designated as a Grade II listed building, in order to preserve the history of the shoe trade in Northampton. The building has, in fact, changed very little since the 1930’s. In 2005 Nicholas Jones, Jonathan’s brother, joined the company as Production Director and Jonathan, as Managing Director, concentrates on strategy, sales and development. In 2006 Philippa Jones, Jonathan’s daughter, started in the family business as the 5th generation of the Jones family.

Crockett & Jones continue to export about 70% of the production. The expansion of the retail division together with on-going development of worldwide distribution has led to the brand becoming internationally established. The strong reputation of Crockett & Jones, which continues to flourish, is built on solid foundations and a great ethos started many generations ago. The fact that the business remains in the hands of the family who started it, ensures that the standards of the past are maintained today and lends a more personal touch to the fine shoes that they produce.

Now after more than 130 years Crockett & Jones' shoes still retain the attention to detail, quality, comfort and durability that was the hallmark of their founders, Sir James Crockett and Charles Jones.



Crockett & Jones is a shoe manufacturing company, established in 1879 by Charles Jones and Sir James Crockett in Northampton, England. They were able to establish the company with a grant from the Thomas White Trust. It specialises in the manufacture of Goodyear-welted footwear. It is currently being run by the great grandson of its co-founder, Charles Jones. Crockett & Jones produces both men's and women's footwear with three collections offered for men (Hand Grade Collection, Main Collection and Shell Cordovan Collection) and a limited range of boots and low heeled shoes produced for women

Though the manufacturing of shoes has changed since Crockett & Jones was founded, the company's aim is to produce shoes of the highest quality. C&J uses a skilled workforce in labour-intensive operations. A Goodyear welt in Crockett & Jones' shoe assembly gives a high level of reliability and strength in the shoe.

Northampton is traditionally known for its shoe-making skills, one reason for setting up the factory there in 1879. At the start of operations they produced men’s boots. In the 1890s the second generation of Harry Crockett and Frank Jones began to modernise with more advanced machinery, particularly equipment produced by Charles Goodyear. It produced shoes at a faster rate with lighter manual work.

In 1897, Crockett and Jones expanded the company into a larger factory and purchased the facility, which is still in use by the company.

In the 1910s the company began exporting a large part of their production to Australia, Argentina, South Africa, USA and the far east though the UK still remained its principal market.

In the 1930s with the third generation of the founders and still a family business, production reached 15,000 pairs of shoes each week. The majority of these were women’s boots and shoes. They also supplied the 1940s war effort producing over a million pairs of officers' boots. The company stopped production of their usual footwear during this time.

The company has continued to evolve and absorb the changes necessary to make it competitive, but still maintaining a high quality product. The is also where all operations for the company take place, including production, design and development.

The factory in Perry Street, Northampton, dates back to the 1890s with additions to the main building in 1910 and 1935, giving a large internal working space. It has a large proportion of glass to give good natural lighting throughout the building and a pleasant working environment, but can get rather cold in the winter and extremely warm in the summer.

In 1947, the grandson of Charles Jones, Richard Jones, joined the family company. In 1977 he was appointed Managing Director and is still involved with it today as acting Chairman. Jonathan, Richard's son, also became involved with the family business in 1977.

Jonathan Jones says: We're flat out at the moment and our biggest problem is managing that demand and finding the skilled labour we need to do it. The majority of shoes produced today are being exported worldwide. The majority of shoes sell in the $400–550 range.


As at 2014 there are 11 Crockett & Jones retail shops and concessions based in London, Birmingham, Paris, Brussels and New York. The shops provide a stylish and contemporary showcase for ready to wear footwear, including velvet slippers and driving shoes and accessories. An extensive range of Crockett & Jones shoes can also be found at high-end shoe retailers such as Double Monk in Melbourne.