Condé Nast Publications Ltd.

Condé Nast Publications is the world's leading publisher of upmarket glossy magazines. It currently produces 18 consumer magazines, including G.Q., The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Vogue. The company is largely considered to be the originator of the "lifestyle magazine", a type of magazine focused on a particular class or interest, rather than targeting the largest possible readership. Its magazines focus on a wide range of subjects, including travel, food, home, and culture.

Condé Montrose Nast launched his magazine empire in New York in 1909 with the purchase of Vogue magazine. At first the magazine was published under the Vogue company name as Condé Nast Publications was not established until 1923.

Nast introduced British Vogue in 1916, making him the first publisher of an overseas edition of an existing magazine. Condé Nast Publications opened its UK office in 1927.


The company currently does not publish any magazines in the UK but is primarily concerned with producing web sites for various magazines such as Wired.co.uk, G.Q.com, and CNTraveller.com.

Condé Montrose Nast (1873 - 1942)

by Mark Matlach

Cavendish House Co. Ltd.

Cavendish House is the most prominent department store in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. It is the oldest department store in the town and its establishment was of great significance for Cheltenham's future reputation as a leading shopping centre.

Thomas Clark and William Debenham opened a small drapery shop close to Cavendish Square in London in 1813. The shop was later renamed Cavendish House and, as trade grew, the two partners expanded the business by opening a branch store in Cheltenham. The new shop sold a selection of silks, muslins, shawls, gloves, and lace.

The Cheltenham shop was extended and refurbished in 1844. By 1872 the store occupied a large site, with showrooms offering more than twenty departments and extensive workrooms to the rear. In 1883 Cavendish House Ltd. was registered as a limited liability company to acquire the Cheltenham business. A new frontage of plate glass was erected and in 1898 electric lighting was installed throughout the store. Cavendish House cultivated an air of exclusivity; uniformed concierges patrolled the main entrance who kept "undesirables" from entering the premises. The department store also boasted a food hall which became famous for its wide range of delicatessan items.

In 1928 the company was taken over by Standard Industrial Trust and, in 1931, the Cheltenham premises were entirely refurbished, creating a huge store of over 163,000 square feet. In 1962 Cavendish House Co. Ltd. was acquired by J. J. Allan Ltd., a department store in Bournemouth. J. J. Allan Ltd. was acquired by the House of Fraser group in 1970.


Cavendish House used a rubber handstamp of the company name as a security endorsement for its stamps. I have only seen the handstamp on SG 488, though there are two different styles.

by Mark Matlach

Hedges & Butler

Hedges & Butler was one of the oldest wine merchants in England, established in 1667 during the reign of Charles II by Edmund Harris at the Strand in London.

The company initially operated as a grocery business, but soon expanded into a magnificent emporium that sold fine wines, spirits, liqueurs, condiments, and Russian Caviar. Hedges & Butler was owned continuously by family members, and in 1819 William Hedges relocated the company to Regent Street. On 19th July 1821, Hedges & Butler supplied champagne, port and fine wines for the Coronation dinner and banquet of King George IV.The company's first major development occurred when when it was granted a Royal Warrant by King William IV in 1830. Since then, Hedges & Butler was an official supplier to successive monarchs, both British and foreign, including Queen Victoria, the King and Queen of Spain, Edward VII, the Emporer of Japan, the King of Portugal, George V and George VI.

Hedges & Butler was acquired by the Bass Charrington Group in the 1960s. The Hedges & Butler brand name has been owned by Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd. since 1998.

Pictorial Advertisement 1891

Despite the company's long history, Hedges & Butler used commercial overprints only in the Victorian period.

by Mark Matlach

Thomas Townend & Co.

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.

by Mark Matlach

Willows, Francis, Butler & Thompson Ltd.

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.

By the 1930s, the company had moved to Dalston and was manufacturing and supplying human and veterinary preparations and surgical instruments. In 1949 Willows, Francis, Butler & Thompson Ltd. merged with Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Co. Ltd. to form Willows Francis Ltd, which went on to become a major manufacturer of ethical drugs and anaesthetics and exporter of anaesthetics, veterinary and medical specialties and pharmaceutical chemicals. These were produced at the Dalston factory and at a second plant in Epsom, Surrey.

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.

by Mark Matlach

Dent, Allcroft & Co.

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!

by Harvey Russell & Michael Behm

Price's Patent Candles Company Ltd. (P. P. C. Co., Ltd.)

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