Commercial Overprint Society of Great Britain
Vol. 2 No. 5; November 1, 2004
J. S. Fry & Sons
by Michael Behm
In 1728, Walter Churchman started an apothecary business in Bristol. The following year he was granted Letters Patent for chocolate making by George II. This was reasonable for the time: medical literature in that period recommended chocolate both for its beneficial medicinal qualities and to make other medicines more palatable. Walter Churchman was succeeded by his son Charles until he died in 1761.
Also in 1728, Joseph Fry was born in Sutton Benger, Wiltshire. He became a fully qualified physician, settled in Bristol in 1748, and opened an apothecary shop in Small Street.
In 1756, Fry started making chocolate at a factory in Bristol. Fry was also involved in several other business ventures, including the manufacture of china, candles, soap and chemicals, the formation of a type-foundry, and book publishing. Fry became successful enough that he moved to larger premises in 1759. When Charles Churchman died, the Churchman's business was taken over Doctor Joseph Fry, who purchased the patent and the firm's recipes.
In those days, eating chocolate was unknown—consumers would make a chocolate drink by placing a chocolate tablet in the bottom of a cup and adding hot water or milk. Production was small, often hindered by inadequate supplies of raw materials. Further, heavy import duties excluded all but the richest people from the purchase of Fry's Bristol chocolate. In 1776, one pound of Fry's famous chocolate retailed at 7/6d (35p), roughly a week's wage for an agricultural labourer. Still, business was such that in 1777, Dr. Fry moved to newly constructed premises.
The company passed from generation to generation, growing slowly. By 1835, when Fry's employed 16 people, the total world exports of cocoa beans amounted to 14,000 tons per annum. Fry's introduced their first eating chocolate in 1848. Demand for cocoa and chocolate increased, particularly when the heavy duty on cocoa was repealed in 1853.
From 1860 until World War I, factory after factory was built to meet the increased trade. These factories obliterated several streets, including a church, a school, numerous business premises, and the chapel in the Pithay. Cocoa beans had become more readily available with the introduction of cocoa trees into West Africa from South America in 1879. In 1888, the total world exports of cocoa beans amounted to 45,000 tons.
On 1 January 1896 the firm became a registered limited liability private company with an authorized capital of £1 million. There were nearly 4,500 employees and seven members of the Fry family were directors, with Joseph Storrs Fry II the Chairman.
In 1919, J. S. Fry & Sons Ltd merged their financial interests with Cadbury Brothers Ltd of Bournville Birmingham (founded in 1831) forming the British Cocoa and Chocolate Company.
In 1921 the decision was taken to transfer the entire Fry business from Bristol to Somerdale, mid-way between Bristol and Bath. At its height, the Somerdale workforce was in excess of 5,000.
In 1935 Fry's became a wholly owned subsidiary of Cadbury. The involvement of the Fry family was declining, although the factory maintained its identity as J. S. Fry & Sons Limited, a subsidiary of Cadbury Group Limited, until the 1967 re-organization of the business.
Despite this long history and enormous volume of business, Fry overprints are reasonably scarce.
Resources
Dent, Allcroft & Co.
by Michael Behm
Dents was founded in 1777 in the cathedral city of Worcester, England. John Dent had begun his business at a very favorable time, and it enjoyed many years of rapid growth. His sons served a seven year apprenticeship which they began at the age of fifteen. John Dent became a wealthy man and, with his sons, was prominent in the social life of Worcester. In later years, it was the partnership of John Junior and William that founded the dynasty of craftspeople who were to make the name of Dents famous throughout the world.
Worcester's gloving industry reached its peak between 1790 and 1820 when 150 manufacturers of gloves employed over 30,000 people in and around Worcester. At this time, nearly half of all glovers in Britain were based in and around the city of Worcester. Trade was strictly regulated by the government to protect home industries from foreign competition by placing large taxes on goods. Under this system the Worcester glove industry prospered greatly.
However, during the 19th century the government encouraged free trade, eventually lifting taxes on foreign gloves in 1826. This happened at a time when French gloves had increased in popularity and caused a huge reduction in trade, which led to mass unemployment throughout the city. While many of the smaller businesses did not survive this period, Dent, Allcroft and Co. Ltd. survived by reorganizing their workforce, introducing a factory system, and improving the overall quality of the products. Dents went on to become a leading glove manufacturer in Europe.
Dents used a vide variety of overprint patterns over a period of at least half a century.
Resources
Send comments or questions to [email protected]