Joseph Saldarini, ca. 1803 - 1888

by Brian Stevenson
last updated December, 2023

A single microscope is known that bears Joseph Saldarini’s signature (Figure 1). It is almost certain that he did not manufacture this instrument, but instead acquired it wholesale from G. & W. Proctor, of Sheffield. The Saldarini-signed microscope is identical to the picture in Proctor’s 1815 catalogue (Figure 1).

Saldarini is included in this series of historical essays as an example of the movement of instruments from wholesale manufacturers to distant retailers, who often engraved their own names on those microscopes.

Joseph Saldarini was primarily a maker of barometers, and numerous examples are known that bear his name (Figure 2). Italian immigrants such as Saldarini were the major producers of “banjo-style” barometers in Britain during the 1800s, that version of the wheel barometer having been developed in Italy.

Directories of Peterborough, Northamptonshire recorded Saldarini’s occupation as “carver”, “gilder”, and “optician”. The first two descriptions would refer to his making and decorating wooden frames for his barometers. In 1800s Britain, “optician” might refer to anyone who crafted glass, such as makers of barometers, microscopes, telescopes, etc., although it is possible that Saldarini sold eyeglasses from his shop. Spectacles could also be acquired wholesale, so a retailer need not know how to grind lenses.

Figure 1. Figure 1. (left) the only microscope known to be signed by Joseph Saldarini, and (right) illustrations and description of “Martin’s Microscope” from G. & W. Proctor's 1815 catalogue. Images adapted for nonprofit, educational purposes from the Whipple Museum and Crom, 1989.

Figure 2. Some barometers that were made by Joseph Saldarini. Images adapted for nonprofit, educational purposes from internet auction sites.

Census records indicate that Joseph Saldarini was born in Italy in about 1803.

The Whipple Museum cites R.W.E. Hillier, a historian of Peterborough, as stating that Joseph’s father, also named Joseph, was the landlord of the Windmill Public House, on Church Street, Peterborough. The father may have been the man of that name who married Elizabeth Arnold on November 7, 1823, in Peterborough. Parish records state that this man was “single”, although he may have been widowed/unmarried when he moved to England. That Joseph Saldarini died in Peterborough in 1835, and his wife, Elizabeth, died there in 1837.

The earliest record that I located of our Joseph Saldarini is an 1830 directory of Peterborough, where he was reported to be an “optician and gilder”, with a shop on Long Causeway (Figure 3). He moved his home and shop to Cowgate around 1840.

Joseph married Frances Southwell on September 15, 1831. They had two children, Frances (born in 1832) and Isadore Joseph (born in 1849).

Joseph Saldarini died in early 1888.

Additional note: Joseph Saldarini may have had a brother or other relative in business with him. The London Gazette reported in 1838, “The creditors of Antonio Saldarini, formerly of the Marketplace, Peterborough, in the county of Northampton, afterwards residing at the Red Lion Inn, Bull and Mouth-street, in the city of London, and late of Oundle, in the said county of Northampton, Jeweller, Clock and Watch Maker, Optician, and Gilder, an insolvent debtor, 46,069, C., are requested to meet at the office of Mr. Fraser, Solicitor, situate No. 2, Furnival's-inn, in the city of London, on Thursday the 14th day of June instant, at twelve o'clock at noon of the same day precisely, for the purpose of choosing an assignee of the estate and effects of the said insolvent.” Antonio re-established his business, and was listed in an 1842 directory as a carver, gilder, and looking glass manufacturer, at 8 Laurence Poutney Lane, London. He may have been the “Antonio Saldareni” who died in February, 1842, and was buried at St. Andrew Holborn. That man was reported to have been 26 years old, giving a birth date of ca. 1816.

Figure 3. Entries from the 1830 Pigot’s Directory and 1877 Post Office Directory.

Acknowledgement

Thank you to Joe Zeligs for assistance in locating images for this essay.

Resources

Banfield, Edwin (1993) The Italian Influence on English Barometers from 1780, Baros, Taunton, Somerset

Burial record of Antonio Saldareni (1842) Parish records of St. Andrew Holborn, London, accessed through ancestry.com

Crom, Theodore R (1989) Trade Catalogues 1542-1842, Crom, Melrose Florida, pages 357-370

England census and other records, obtained through ancestry.com

The London Gazette (1838) page 1268

Pigot’s Directory (1830) page 627

Post Office Directory of Berkshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire (1847) pages 2286 and 2331

Post Office Directory of Berkshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire (1854) page 479

Post Office Directory of Berkshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire (1877) pages 382 and 493

Robson’s London Directory (1842) page 1332