A. & R. Tod, Ltd.

Leith has been a port for more than a thousand years and Edinburgh's official port since 1329. Originally Leith was a little more than a mile from Edinburgh, but now the two areas are one urban center.

Over the past decade, the port area has become more upscale as the shipping industry moves to docks on the north side. However, as the picture below shows it was a rougher place during the 1920s.

One of the industries in Leith was the Leith Flour Mills, owned by A. & R. Tod, Ltd. Most of the flour for the mill came from outside the UK—particularly from Canada—as the local wheat was too "soft".

The A. & R. Tod, Ltd. overprint appears to be surprisingly scarce, considering how many customers a large flour mill would have.

 
Leith Mills c. 1922

Resources

• The Story of Leith
• Undiscovered Scotland: Leith
• Leith

Originally published July 1, 2006.