S. M. Franck & Co. Ltd specialised in the import of Near and Far Eastern works of art and crafts. It sold (and occasionally presented) a great many objects to the V&A Museum. The firm S. M. Franck & C...
S. M. Franck & Co. Ltd specialised in the import of Near and Far Eastern works of art and crafts. It sold (and occasionally presented) a great many objects to the V&A Museum. The firm S. M. Franck & Co. Ltd imported objects from India, China, Japan, Turkey and Persia and operated out of premises at 25 Camomile Street in the City of London. Between 1883 and 1935 the V&A Museum purchased a wide range of ceramics, metalwork, textiles (particularly carpets and wall hangings) and woodwork; objects were sent on approval to the Museum and curators regularly visited the firm’s warehouse to inspect the latest imports. S. M. Franck & Co. Ltd’s moderate pricing meant that it was cheaper for the Museum to deal directly with an importer than with a Bond Street dealer but it also meant that it had to be quick to react to the arrival of new objects on the market. The company was wound up voluntarily on 9 March 1943. (http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/s/s.-m.-franck-and-co.-ltd./)