I started chemistry with a boxed set in 1962. In those days they contained serious amounts of chemicals, but I very soon ran out of most of them. Two discoveries turned what might have been a typical discarded christmas present into a lifelong career and hobby.
The first was 60 Stoke Newington High Street in north London, the home of Albert N. Beck, Chemist (or his son; my information comes from a historical listing of the shops present on the high street in 1921). I would set out from our home in London SW6 on the #73 bus route (top deck) and it would take about an hour to arrive. On entering the shop, I ventured down a set of stairs into the basement to replenish the chemicals with sensible stocks, and purchase the odd glassware, filter paper, etc. And then venture back across London carrying the proceeds of many weeks, possibly months worth of hoarded pocket-money (apart that is from 1 shilling every two weeks which I reserved for football at Craven Cottage). At some stage, health and safety legislated against 12-year-old boys (and certainly also girls) purchasing chemicals in this manner! However, I can assure you all that I never came to any harm with anything I purchased at A. N. Beck and Sons. Apart that is from giving my parents a good fright.
The second was coming across this book by A. J. Mee. I had thought it was well and truly lost; imagine my delight when I recently found it at home, complete with chemical stains, and dated as from a reprint in 1959.
The pages of this book list 289 experiments, and I assiduously recorded a tick against all the ones I actually did. This is a typical page (click to expand).
Lost unfortunately is the laboratory book where I recorded my results, but one or two samples still exist!
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I received a chemistry set when I was 12, and my father augmented the chemicals by buying anything he could get his hands on at the local chemists. The breakthrough came when I found out about "Beck's" from a friend. To stock up on chemicals and glassware would take the bus from the Royal Standard in South East London to Bow underground station and then take the tube to Seven Sisters station. My father helped me build a lab in the garage, bringing in water and gas from the house. I made amazing experiments in inorganic chemistry and no serious accidents ever happened. The family moved to Germany in 1975 (the year Beck's shut down), and I was overjoyed to find a chemistry shop in Darmstadt. I eventually studied chemistry, worked at BASF and recently retired here in Germany. Many thanks for the wonderful shared memories. I have a photo of Beck's and will try to upload it.
I bought chemicals and apparatus from A N Beck in the 1960s. I obtained all my purchases mail order on account of living in Norfolk. It's a great regret of mine I never got to visit the shop. I also got supplies from a chemist in Birmingham. I believe they were J N Hogg on the Parade in Birmingham. My father had a sister living in Birmingham and we did go and stay once and I was in the shop most days of my stay. They had a great stock of glass apparatus and chemicals. They also provided a mail order service. It's a great pity that these type of Aladdin's caves are no longer in existence and that my impression is that home chemistry experimentation is no longer encouraged but rather discouraged with the serious restrictions of what you can purchase. I would love to demonstrate some of the chemical experiments I used to carry out to my grandson. I have still got most of the glassware I amassed over the years. I have also still got a copy of A.N. Beck's Chemical Formulae and Tables, a great little booklet.
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I'm also a former A N Beck's customer, and am delighted to read of others' memories.
I loved Chemistry but had to leave the subject when I specialised in Maths at A level. Luckily I was allowed to sneak into the school's 'Extra Chemistry' sessions for keen students on Thursday evenings.
I nearly blew the lab up on one occasion, by making Grignard reagents in a boiling Ether solution in a room full of lit Bunsen burners.
While I was doing O level chemistry my Chemistry Lab Partner was Martyn (now Sir Martyn) Poliakoff, creator of http://www.periodicvideos.com/
I used to order chemicals and glassware from Becks, having found them in ads in the back of Meccano Magazine. Eventually my ambitions exceeded the limits of mail order safety, so one afternoon in about 1969, 2 friends and I took the train to Waterloo, and went to 60 Stoke Newington High St.
I had a long list of wants, some of which (eg. metallic sodium) were denied me by the assistant. Nevertheless I came away with most of them, including 500 ml each of 98% H2SO4 and 70% HNO3, securely nestling in the bottom of my clutch-top school briefcase. We went to a Royal Institution lecture the same evening.
We all went on to various university science courses. For me, an attempt at a Biochemistry PhD was derailed by a sudden interest in computing, which still keeps the wolf from my door.
I still have the bottle that held the H2SO4; the contents went into my swimming pool some years ago.
I well remember having a chemistry set for my birthday or Christmas present. I remember treating Iodine crystals with ammonia which created a very unstable compound as the crystals exploded when moved, much to my amusement! The set came from Beck’s and I would send for top ups from home in Shropshire. I remember the smells I was able to create and the enjoyment chemistry gave me as a boy. Later, I studied silversmithing, and after some time in industry I returned as technician, later senior lecturer at the School in the University. I retained responsibility for electroplating and my book, Electroforming, was published. Clearly the early lessons in chemistry thanks to Becks formed an important stage in my career. Thank you, A&N Beck and Sons!
Delighted to have found this blog! I too have been reminiscing about my pilgrimages to A.N. Beck & Sons as a teenager in the early 1970s. The branch I went to was in Seven Sisters Road as far as I remember - was that by then their main shop? It was a great place, their catalogue seemed to me like a treasure trove, and everything they sold gave the impression of being for serious use.
What had started out for 11-year-old me as a general interest in chemistry (and a delight in the paraphernalia of it all) quite soon degenerated into a focus on bangs/explosives/etc. So I, like many others, spent much time making nitrogen tri-iodide, plus the same sorts of entertaining gunpowder-like mixes referred to above, and other similar things. I still cherish the copy I bought ca 1972 of Pelican Books' 1942 "Explosives", by John Read. It is well-written and informative - from that book I began to understand that so much of the subject is about nitrogen bonds. I'm pleased to see that you can still find copies online.
Rather than becoming a chemist I ended up studying engineering, but my fondness for the subject of making bangs has always lingered.
In the 1960's used to get things from a pharmacy in Burslem, the Potteries. Had most of what I needed. Still a pharmacy in a town thats hardly recognisable
It was called Charles
Posted on behalf of Kinberly G Grant:
December 21, 2023 at 12:53 am
I am so excited to have found this blog! My husband is a descendant of A.N. Beck and & Sons. His mother is Albert Neve Beck’s granddaughter, Hilary Beck Grant, her father was Hugh Kingsley Beck who took over the business from his father. We have very few things from the shop (a few jars and his grandfathers scales) and I would love to acquire some as a gift for my husband, Angus Grant who is a scientist by training and has spent most of his life working for pharmaceutical companies in the oncology field. We now live in the States but travel back to the UK often to see friends and family. I can be reached at Kandagrant@aol.com.