Grace's Guide
British Industrial History
Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 148,101 pages of information and 233,633 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.
A. Kershaw and Son
From Graces Guide
of 3 Soho Square, London; works in Leeds, maker of reflex cameras, cinematograph projectors, binoculars and scientific projectors.
1887 Abraham Kershaw of Brow Mill, Clayton, Bradford, were makers of Reeds and Healds for weaving textile fabrics. (is this the same business?)
1888 Abram Kershaw established his business of electrical and scientific instruments in Leeds: Abram Kershaw and Sons
c.1910 Started making Kalee cinema projectors.
1921 Camera manufacturer. Became part of Amalgamated Photographic Manufacturers [1]
1922 British Industries Fair Advert for the Kalee-Indomitable, World's Finest Cinematograph Projector. (Stand No. G. 61h) [2]
With the other camera manufacturers in APM, Kershaw Optical Co and Marion and Foulger, the company became part of the Kershaw group, including the sales arm, Kershaw-SohoLtd.
1948 Kershaw Group was acquired by British Optical and Precision Engineers Ltd; the group included A. Kershaw and Sons, Soho Ltd, Kershaw-Soho (Sales) Ltd, Soundcraft Ltd [3].
Presumably at some point this was the basis of G. B. Kalee Ltd, a sales organisation within Rank Organisation
1956 The name of British Optical and Precision Engineers was changed to Rank Precision Industries[4]
1964 Kershaws was controlled by Rank Organisation but also owned 40% of Rank Precision Industries[5].