T.
Pellett: History
The
Company[1]
This
business was established as a fancy repository or cutlery by Thomas Pellett,
who was in his mid-fifties, sometime between 1875[2]
and 1877[3]
and was known as Thomas Pellett at 62 High Holborn. “In the early Victoria period shops described
as fancy repositories might sell a very wide range of merchandise, offered for
the most part to middle-class women and above.
The goods covered the expressive arts and crafts, personal items, stationery and trinkets.”[4]
Prior to forming this business Thomas worked
as a hairdresser for at least 20 years from 1849 until at least 1871. Why he decided to
change careers in middle age is
unclear. Perhaps as a hairdresser he
became familiar with what middle and upper-class women were willing to spend
their money on and decided he would become more successful if he changed
careers. Another possibility is that
Holborn Street became a popular destination for shoppers because of other
stores in the area and Thomas knew he would attract more customers if his
business changed. It’s interesting to
note that another company known as Muller & Co., which was an artist’s colormen, had the same address as Thomas Pellett in 1880[5]
and was a neighbor since at least 1860[6].
An artist’s colourmen was a business that
manufactured and suppled artists materials such as canvases, stretchers
and board
s[7].
Perhaps the two businesses supported each
other, Muller making artwork for Pellett’s fancy repository shop. Thomas’s son Walter William joined him in the
business by 1881. During the 1880’s[8]
the firm was listed in city directories as a fancy repository whereas in the
1890’s[9]
it was listed as a cutler and dressing case maker. Thomas retired around 1891
and his son Walter carried on the
business. Although the firm continued to
be listed as Thomas Pellett in 1895[10],
by 1900[11]
the name was changed to Walter Wm. Pellett, cutler & c at 62 Strand. Presumably the Pellett cutlery business
ceased to exist after Walter’s death in 1910 because he had no children to pass
it on to.
Only
two Avery style needle cases have been found to date stamped with the T. Pellet
name: the Quadruple Golden Casket - Butterfly with Leaf, pictured here[12],
and the Postal Weight which can be seen in the Images section of this
chapter. Both of these
needle cases were patented or registered by W. Avery and Son of Redditch and
would have been the perfect type of items to sell at Pellett’s fancy repository
shop.
The
Pellett Owners[13]
Thomas
Pellett was born in Canterbury, Kent in 1820.
By age 29 he was living on Motcomb Street,
approximately a mile west of Buckingham Palace.
In 1849 he married Emma Laura Wheeler at St. George, Hanover Square
about a mile north of his residence.
After their marriage they moved southwest to neighboring Chelsea where 2
of their children were born between 1851 and 1853: Edgar Thomas and Walter
William. By 1855 they moved again this
time 4 miles northeast to High Holborn street and by
1861 where living at 62 High Holborn where the family remained for the rest of
their lives. At first
they may have lived at 61a High Holborn as that is where Thomas’s first
business was located until sometime between 1875 and 1880. Thomas and Emma had 2 daughters born on that
street between 1855 and 1857: Laura Ann and Catherine Jane who died at age 1,
although it is unclear whether they were born at the 61a address or the 62
address. A couple years after the birth
of their last child, Emma died in 1859 at age 38. Two years later in 1861 Thomas’s cousin,
Elizabeth Pellet, was living with the Pellett family presumably helping raise
his children who were 5, 7 and 9 years old that year. Elizabeth was born in Willesborough,
Kent, a village about 15 miles southwest of Canterbury, around the same time as
Thomas and was single. Three years later
in 1864 Thomas married his cousin Elizabeth.
During his early years, from 1860 until
around 1875, Thomas worked as a hairdresser and a perfumer at 61a High
Holborn. The drawing seen here of a
hairdresser in the 1850’s-60[14]s
provides a view of what his early business life was like. Based on his occupation listed in his son’s
marriage records in 1875 and 1877, he changed careers and became known as a
warehouseman in 1877 and by 1880 a repository of fancy goods now at 62 High
Holborn. It’s possible that his business
address did not change, perhaps the street was renumbered then as there was no
61a listed in the 1880[15]
city directory. Then in the 1881 census
he was listed as a cutler although his business continued to be listed as a
fancy repository until 1890 when it was listed as a cutler & c. Thomas’s second wife, Elizabeth, died in High
Holborn in 1886 at age 66 and was buried at the Brompton Cemetery. At some point between 1881 and 1891 Thomas
retired and his youngest son took over his business. Thomas died at his home in 1900 at age 79 and
was buried at the Brompton Cemetery. He
left an estate of £305 to
his two sons. Thomas must have achieved
a degree of business success as he was listed as a gentleman in his probate
record as was his eldest son, Edgar Thomas who spent his life working as a
hosier.
The
youngest son of Thomas Pellett and Emma Laurie Wheeler was Walter William
Pellett who was born in 1853. Walter was
baptized in 1854 at St. Luke in Chelsea.
By age 17 in 1871 Walter was following in his father’s footsteps and was
working as a hair dresser. In 1877 he married Louise Fersham
Whaley at St. Mary Islington and was listed as a salesman, presumably in his
father’s shop. Walter and Louise lived
in Marylebone for a few years later moving to the Hornsey section of London by
1891 and to Finchley by 1891. Walter was
listed as a shopman cutler in 1881 and as a cutler employer in 1891 and
1901. Walter and Louise had no children
and by 1910 moved to Parkstone in Dorset, a town on the coast 105 miles
southwest of London. Walter died there
in 1910 at age 58 and left an estate valued at £7,055. Louise
continued to live in Parkstone where she died 24 years later in 1934 leaving an
estate of £2,388.
