The Eccentric Entrepreneur

The Eccentric Entrepreneur illustrates why Sir Julien Cahn was possibly the most successful eccentric in 1930's Britain. A second generation Jew from Nottingham, Cahn developed hire purchase and established Jays & Campbells, the largest, mass-market retail furniture empire in the country. A combination of intellectual brilliance, social chutzpah, political escapades and flamboyant acts of philanthropy facilitated Cahn's rapid ascent up the social ladder. The extraordinary wealth his business generated enabled him to indulge in his hobbies and donate huge sums to philanthropic causes. The Sir Julien Cahn XI cricket team is still widely acknowledged as the finest private cricket team ever assembled. An accomplished magician, he built a lavish art deco theatre and cinema at his sumptuous home, Stanford Hall near Loughborough in which he staged illusions so spectacular that he was requested to perform at London's Palladium Theatre. Despite anti-Semitism, he was a controversial Master of several of the leading Leicestershire Hunts. A keen patron of the arts Cahn organised concerts and entertained the likes of Sir Malcolm Sargent, Strauss and Kreisler.