Frederick Delius: Life and times in Bradford
Business In Decline |
Business in Decline
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In 1893 William Shaw, secretary to the firm Delius & Co., wrote
to Frederick, "Latterly business affairs have tended towards
an utter collapse. Your brother having no financial interest in
the concern, appears to have no control or say as to how the business
should be conducted. It is the general opinion of employees that
your father is not abreast of the times, and unless he ceases to
manage, not a customer worth a straw will be left in six months
time." Shortly after Max left the business, set up on his own
account, with unhappy results. ('Frederick Delius' , by Sir Thomas
Beecham, 1959) As an export house the firm would have been adversely affected, as all Bradford trade was in the late nineteenth century, by the setting up of tariffs by many European and American governments to protect their own trade. By 1906 trade directories show the firm of Delius & Co., export merchants as having moved to 153 Sunbridge Road, Bradford. There is no record of the firm after this date.
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Julius
Delius died in 1901. He left the house in Claremont, furniture and
an annuity to his wife Elise. His estate was divided among all his
children equally but Max's share was to be retained by the executors
so that in the event of his bankruptcy the income could be paid
to his wife and children. The will empowered the executors to carry
on the business. The value of Julius' real and personal estate in
England was declared to be £27,016.2s 6d, but there were further
assets abroad.