Samuel Brothers Limited

Samuel Brothers are clothing retailers and manufacturers who specialise in making military uniforms.

The business was established in 1830 in London as a garment manufacturer and livery company. Samuel Brothers had shops in Piccadilly and later in Ludgate Hill, and a factory in Leeds. The company became well regarded as a boys' outfitters, supplying made to measure school uniforms. However, it was best known for manufacturing uniforms for the defense and civil forces. The firm also made a wide range of sportswear such as golfing, fishing, and cycling suits.


In 1993 Samuel Brothers moved to Deepcut, Surrey and in 2007 another manufacturing unit was opened in Harwich. The company continues to specialise in making uniforms for the military as well as uniforms for hotel staff and airline workers. Some notable clients that are currently being supplied by Samuel Brothers include: Royal Logistic Corps, Royal Corps of Signals, The Scots Guards, Surrey Fire and Rescue Services, and the Royal Thames Yacht Club.

By Mark Matlach

Petty, Wood & Co. Ltd.

Petty, Wood & Co. Ltd. is a leading distributor of premium food and drink brands to UK retailers and wholesalers.

The company was established by Matthew Wood and Edward Petty in London in 1816. The business initially specialised in the distribution and packing for teas and dried fruits. In 1879 Petty, Wood & Co. moved to new premises at Southwark Bridge Road, which became the centre for distribution and packing of cereals, spices, and oils. During the 1890s, the firm was a pioneer of the packaged food trade. Representatives traveled up and down the country dressed in frock coats and top hats. The company began to produce jams, honey, and chutney, which were branded "Epicure". The "Epicure" brand was registered as a trademark in 1896 and it still remains a household name in the food trade. In 1904 the business was incorporated as a limited company.


In 1974, Petty, Wood & Co. Ltd. relocated its distribution operation to Andover, Hampshire. In 1990 the remaining operations were also moved to Andover and the London offices were closed down. In 1993 the company moved to larger, purpose-built premises at Livingstone Road, Andover, where 160 staff are currently employed.

By Mark Matlach

Max Emanuel & Company

Max Emanuel & Company was a glass and porcelain importer and retailer with a medium-sized store in London from c1845 to 1914. The firm had a large network of suppliers and many renowned companies sold their items via the shop in London. Most notably, in 1898 Max Emanuel & Co. commissioned a large range of products from the famous Loetz glassworks in Bohemia.

By Mark Matlach

John Oakey & Sons Ltd.

John Oakey & Sons Ltd. was a manufacturer of sandpaper and polishing materials established by John Oakey in 1833 in South East London.

Oakey had been apprenticed to a piano maker where he had learned to make sandpaper by glueing sand or powdered glass onto paper. He developed a better process suitable for mass-production and consequently set up his business. In 1874 the company moved to Wellington Mill at Westminster Bridge Road. Oakey went on to develop many wet and dry sand and emery papers, and a range of polishing compounds including lead blacking, Wellington knife polish, Silversmith's Soap and Plate Powder, as well as furniture polishes. These products were used in most industries from furniture, metal and stonework, to leather production and telescope lens manufacture. Advertisements for John Oakey's products were a common feature on buses and trams in the early 20th century.

Advertisement 1928

John Oakey died in 1887 and the business passed to his sons, Joseph and John. Under the stewardship of the sons, the company went public in 1893, becoming John Oakey & Sons Ltd.

By Mark Matlach

The distinctive Oakey overprint was used in the Victorian era, along with at least two more standard layouts, which differ only slightly in the fonts used.

Ayrton, Saunders & Co. Ltd.

Ayrton Saunders is a manufacturing chemist and pharmaceutical wholesaler. The company was established in Liverpool in 1868, by A. H. Saunders, a retired partner in a firm of chemists in London, and F. Ayrton, who was a Liverpool doctor. The company manufactured cod liver oil emulsion, dyestuffs, and surgical instruments.

A. H. Saunders died in 1889, leaving the business to his two sons. The firm continued to grow and was incorporated as a limited liability company, Ayrton Saunders Ltd., in 1902. In 1903 two chemists' businesses, Henry Gilbertsons Ltd. and W. H. Kemp & Son, were acquired. The company was renamed Ayrton, Saunders & Kemp Ltd., and in 1908 was restyled as Ayrton, Saunders & Co. Ltd.


During the 1950s, Ayrton, Saunders & Co. Ltd. expanded into pharmaceutical wholesaling and two depots were established in Stoke and Preston. In 1998 the company was acquired by the O'Briens Group. who modernised and further expanded the business, which is now operated from Runcorn.

By Mark Matlach

Ayrton, Saunders overprints were used at least into the 1960s.

Alfred B. Pearce & Company

Alfred B. Pearce was a porcelain and glassware retailer that was established at Ludgate Hill, London in 1760.

The business appears to have been most active in the Victorian era, offering a wide variety of ceramic and porcelain tableware. The company traded until 1940.

Advertisement 1892

By Mark Matlach

The British Drug House Ltd.

The incorporation of The British Drug Houses Ltd. in 1908 may be regarded as a natural step in the evolution of the pharmaceutical trade. When a number of businesses have been conducted separately for over 150 years, they do not come together, join forces, and amalgamate through just a passing whim. Something must be happening in their industry to account for this.

From 1714 to 1908 – nearly 200 years — the firm of Hearon, Squire and Francis had an uninterrupted and successful existence; from 1750 to the same date, the firm of Barron, Harveys and Co; from 1755 and 1760 respectively, the firms of A. S. Hill and Son, and Davy, Yates and Co, later combined in Davy, Hill and Co; and from 1762, Hodgkinsons, Clarke and Ward.

All firms of long and honourable record, therefore of great tradition, and consequently of reputation and strength. They formed the nucleus of The British Drug Houses Ltd., under the leadership of Mr. Charles Alexander Hill, B.Sc., F.I.C.

Similarly, in 1919, after the war, the world shortage of goods in all countries stimulated British manufacturers in all industries to quickly re-establish their pre-war connections in all parts of the world, and the B.D.H., hitherto a mainly domestic institution just emerging from its infancy, also turned its attention to overseas markets. Thus, to extend these markets, an important addition to the company was made by incorporating the old-established business, founded in 1798, of George Curling, Wyman and Co, and John Wyman, export wholesale druggists.

The pooling of resources effected by this amalgamation resulted in a great increase in the overseas trade of B.D.H. and sent its products practically everywhere in the civilized globe.

The B.D.H. main factories were extended in 1935 and they occupied an area four times greater than in 1908.

The company appears in the 1947 British Industries Fair Advert for Laboratory and Fine Chemicals including Analar Reagents for Research and Analysis (Dorset) and Medical Products and Pharmaceutical Chemicals; Manufacturers of Medical Specialities including Liver Products, Insulin, Sex Hormones, Vitamins, Penicillin Preparations.

By the 1960s, laboratory reagents and chemicals had become the core business, so the drug ranges were sold to Glaxo and the business became BDH Chemicals, then subsequently BDH Ltd.

Along the way, the company had acquired a host of British instrument and apparatus companies, merged under the Baird and Tatlock name and these were integrated with BDH Ltd in 1987.

1973 The BDH group was acquired by Merck, but the UK company name was not changed until 1990 when all the businesses were consolidated as Merck Ltd. The BDH name is still retained as a brand name.

By Paul Green