Wilson, Matheson & Co.

Wilson, Matheson & Co. was a clothing manufacturer and wholesaler in Glasgow. The company was at its peak in the 1870s when it specialized in producing clothing and travel accessories for customers traveling to the British colonies. This was a time when the British Empire was expanding rapidly and the African and Asian colonies attracted tens of thousands of Scottish administrators, engineers and merchants.

The company had a huge five-story warehouse at 44 Glassford Street in Glasgow that stocked everything for the would-be traveler. There was a wide range of portmanteaus, trunks, and luggage accessories. Furniture items included portable desks and dressing cases, and air beds. Clothing items included tropical helmets, waterproof coats, walking boots and "hats made from every imaginable sort of material, and suitable for all climates."

Merino and fancy hats made by Wilson, Matheson & Co.
illustrated in the company's wholesale and export trade list of 1872.
 

 

by Mark Matlach