Price's Patent Candles is a manufacturer and retailer of candles. The company has its headquarters in Bedford and is currently the largest manufacturer of candles in the UK.
The business was founded in 1830 as Edward Price & Co., by a merchant called William Wilson and his partner Benjamin Lancaster. The two men deliberately avoided using their real names as at this time there was an unwillingness among the middle classes to be associated with the candle trade, which was perceived as a very low-class activity, involving dead animals and unpleasant smells. The company began with a candle factory at Vauxhall, London and a crushing mill at Battersea. Limited dockside facilities at Battersea meant that the factory was later moved to Liverpool.
Price's are credited with bringing light to the working classes of Victorian Britain, making cheap nightlights and stearine "composite" candles for people who had previously been unable to afford artificial light. By the end of the 19th century, Price's were the largest manufacturer of candles in the world.
As well as the manufacture of candles, Price's were the first to introduce and produce "Cloth Oil" which was used in the machinery of the wool spinning industry. As gas engines began to be developed, the company introduced "Price's Gas Engine Oil" in 1877, which was still in use in the 1930s. For the petrol engine, "Price's Motorine" was produced in 1905 for Rolls-Royce, amongst others.
In 2001, due to the rising costs of raw materials and increased competition, Price's Patent Candles Company filed for administration. The business was acquired by an Italian company called Cereria Sgarbi, who were themselves acquired two years later by SER Wax Industry in 2003.
by Mark Matlach
Thomas Townend & Co. was a hat manufacturer and retailer. The company had a factory in Atherstone, Warwickshire and three shops in central London: at 16 Lime Street, 14 Fenchurch Street, and 110 Oxford Street. Thomas Townend & Co. also sold caps, umbrellas, leather bags, and overland trunks.
Burgess, Willows & Co. was established in 1751 at 101 High Holborn, London, as a wholesale druggist, manufacturing chemist, distiller, and oil presser. During the 19th century, the company acquired a number of long-established London drug firms. By 1888 the firm was trading as Willows, Francis & Butler and describing itself as a wholesale and export druggist and manufacturer of pharmaceutical and veterinary preparations. At the end of the century, the company was appointed wholesale druggist to the Royal Veterinary College in London. In c1904 the business was incorporated as a limited liability company, Willows, Francis, Butler & Thompson Ltd. and relocated to 40 Aldersgate Street, London.
Willows Francis Ltd. was acquired by Guinness Peat in 1979. In 1990 the company was sold on to American Home Products Corporation Inc. and relocated to Crawley where it worked closely with another subsidiary, Fort Dodge Laboratories, the second largest veterinary company in the United States. The Willows Francis trading name was finally abolished in the late 1990s.
The Dent, Allcroft & Co. was previously described in Volume 2 Issue 5 of the old COSGB site (scroll down the page for the article). During 1935 the firm received overprints with a misspelling of the company name—"Oent" rather than "Dent". At least two examples are known, so check your duplicates!
Price's Patent Candles is a manufacturer and retailer of candles. The company has its headquarters in Bedford and is currently the largest manufacturer of candles in the UK.
In 2001, due to the rising costs of raw materials and increased competition, Price's Patent Candles Company filed for administration. The business was acquired by an Italian company called Cereria Sgarbi, who were themselves acquired two years later by SER Wax Industry in 2003.
John Hall & Sons was a paint manufacturing company in Broadmead, Bristol. The business was established in 1788 by John Hall, a glazier from Dorset, and originally traded as a glazing and glass bending firm. The company excelled in the cutting and etching of glass and soon became the major importer, processor, and supplier of glass throughout the west of England. During the course of the 19th century, the company diversified and is listed in city directories as glass stainers; looking-glass manufacturers; and glass, oil, and white lead merchants.
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