Abraham Abraham
Abraham Abraham of Liverpool and Manchester
It seems that the late Frederick Luther of the USA was the fount of most information on Abraham Abraham, and thanks to Mr Derek Wood this information is available online [1]. Brief extracts:-
Abraham Abraham was born in Bath, the son of Jacob Abraham, an optician, and moved to Liverpool, where he advertized as an optician at 8 Lord Street in 1818. The Census of 1841 identifies him as an optician at Lord Street at the age of 40, living at 4 Duke Street, North, West Derby, Liverpool , with his wife Sarah, also 40 years old, and with two live‑in servants. (3)
In 1840, John Benjamin Dancer assisted Abraham in creating a line of "cheap, chromatic microscopes". In Summer 1841 Dancer moved to Manchester and until 1845 he acted as sole manager of the firm Abraham and Dancer. In 1845, Dancer bought out Abraham’s interest.
In 1858 Abraham he was advertising in the Liverpool and Manchester Photographic Journal.
He died prior to 1887.
Instruments
Some examples of instruments manufactured by Abraham are given in an advertisement placed by a Liverpool dealer (Lewis Heyman of 18 Castle Street - 'Forfeited Property Dealer')[2]: Surveyor's Level with tripod and staff, prismatic compass and tripod stand, box sextant, protractor, miner's dial, parallel rulers, pantograph, circular scales, and various drawing instruments. It was stated that these had been manufactured within the last two years.
It seems that the business was taken over by Messrs Wood:
'WOOD (Late ABRAHAM'S) OPERA GLASSES, FIELD GLASSES, MARINE GLASSES, Supplied to the Inman Steamships, the Mersey Dock Board, and the finest vessels afloat. Specimens of these Instruments may now be seen in the case In the left-hand gallery of the Hall of the Fine Art Exhibition at York. Price Lists may had on application by post. WOOD (Late ABRAHAM), 20, LORD STREET, LIVERPOOL.'[3]