Birmingham pen trade same time Osmiroid International had a large production plant in the city. Birmingham pen trade The Birmingham pen trade evolved in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter and its surrounding area in the 19th century; for many years, the city was the centre of the world's pen trade. In Newhall Street, John Mitchell manufactured pens; he pioneered mass production of steel pens (prior to this, the quill pen was the most common form of writing instrument). Mitchells are credited as being the first manufacturers to use machines to cut pen nibs, greatly speeding up the process. John's brother William later set up
Sounds of the 20th Century Sounds of the 20th Century Sounds of the 20th Century is a BBC Radio 2 documentary series originally broadcast in the UK between April 2011 and April 2012. Each 60-minute programme is dedicated to one year from 1951 to 2000 and features a montage of audio relating to that year. Featuring nothing that wasn’t heard, seen or read at the time, other than brief introduction to each episode by Jeremy Vine, the series does not feature any explanations, reminiscenses or reflections upon the clips. Instead, the series' website provided a list and description of the audio items, which was also