The hammer and anvil played the first notes in the Grand March of Humanity in the civilized arts; and the genealogy of all the productions of Birmingham, present and to come, may be traced back to that origin. Fighting-ware—such as guns, swords, bayonets, and pikes—at first predominated among the productions of the hammers and anvils, though hatchets, hoes, and other implements of peaceful husbandry had their place in the early industry of the town. The skill and taste acquired in the manufacture of these articles prepared the way for ornamental works or for articles of luxury and fashion. The pioneer in the introduction of this new art and occupation was John Taylor, who died in 1775, at the age of sixty-four, having acquired a fortune of £200,000 from the business he established, which was the manufacture of metal buttons. Rich-witted, quaint Hutton calls him "the Shakespeare or Newton of his day." He seems to have been a kind of Wedgwood in his line, applying great genius of design to gilt buttons, snuff-boxes, and articles of japanned ware. It is stated that, as far back as the middle of the eighteenth century, he manufactured buttons in his shop of the value of £800 weekly, besides other articles. He also introduced or monopolized the production of painted snuff-boxes, of infinite variety of device. It is said one of his workmen earned three pounds ten shillings per week by painting
