Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1836-1979 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
49 production units.
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The origins of this firm may be traced to Liverpool and the formation, in 1834, of the partnership Gillanders, Ewart and Company to open a trading house in Bombay concerned with shipping, piece goods and general agency business. In 1836, the Bombay House took the name Ewart, Lyon and Company. The name of the Liverpool firm was changed in 1842 to Arbuthnot, Ewart and Company. By the mid 1850s, business was dominated by the export from India of rice, cotton, sugar and wool and the import of consumer goods. A Karachi partnership, Ewart, Ryrie and Company, was established at this time to deal in wool from north west India. The Bombay firm was redesignated Ewart, Latham and Company in 1883.
The timber trade connections of W. M. Macaulay, a partner in Ewart, Latham and Company from 1883, turned attention to the possibility of obtaining teak from Siam at lower prices than that supplied by the Bombay Burmah Trading Company. Consequently, in 1885, the Siam Forest Company Limited was set up in Bombay to take on the lease of teak forest in the Me Ngow river valley, northern Siam. Its shareholders included partners of the English and Indian firms. Ewart, Latham and Company acted as agents and secretaries of the new company.
In 1897, the Siam Forest Company Limited was reformed in London to acquire the Bombay-registered company and also the saw mill and timber business of Clarke and Company of Bangkok. General trading and agency work was also significant over the next two decades. In view of this, the company was redesignated the Anglo Siam Corporation in 1917. The entire businesses of Arbuthnot, Ewart and Company, Ewart, Latham and Company and Ewart, Ryrie and Company were acquired in 1920. Thereafter, they continued to trade as branches of the corporation. The firm was restyled again in 1939, becoming the Anglo Thai Corporation. After the Second World War, trading interests continued to expand into Malaysia, India, Thailand, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Indonesia.
The corporation was acquired by the Inchcape Group of trading companies in 1975. The firm had offices at 67 Cornhill, 1897-1908; 2 Fenchurch Avenue, 1909-23; 5 and 7 St Helen's Place, 1924-44; 80 Bishopsgate, 1945-55; Gerrard House, 31/45 Gresham Street, 1956-68; Lee House, London Wall, 1969-?82; and 40 St Mary Axe, 1983-8.
Repository
Archival history
GB 0074 CLC/B/123-01 1836-1979 Collection 49 production units. Gillanders, Ewart and Co , traders in goods from India x Arbuthnot, Ewart and Co , traders in goods from India
Ewart, Lyon and Co , traders in goods from India x Ewart, Latham and Co , traders in goods from India
Anglo Siam Corporation x Anglo Thai Corporation
The origins of this firm may be traced to Liverpool and the formation, in 1834, of the partnership Gillanders, Ewart and Company to open a trading house in Bombay concerned with shipping, piece goods and general agency business. In 1836, the Bombay House took the name Ewart, Lyon and Company. The name of the Liverpool firm was changed in 1842 to Arbuthnot, Ewart and Company. By the mid 1850s, business was dominated by the export from India of rice, cotton, sugar and wool and the import of consumer goods. A Karachi partnership, Ewart, Ryrie and Company, was established at this time to deal in wool from north west India. The Bombay firm was redesignated Ewart, Latham and Company in 1883.
The timber trade connections of W. M. Macaulay, a partner in Ewart, Latham and Company from 1883, turned attention to the possibility of obtaining teak from Siam at lower prices than that supplied by the Bombay Burmah Trading Company. Consequently, in 1885, the Siam Forest Company Limited was set up in Bombay to take on the lease of teak forest in the Me Ngow river valley, northern Siam. Its shareholders included partners of the English and Indian firms. Ewart, Latham and Company acted as agents and secretaries of the new company.
In 1897, the Siam Forest Company Limited was reformed in London to acquire the Bombay-registered company and also the saw mill and timber business of Clarke and Company of Bangkok. General trading and agency work was also significant over the next two decades. In view of this, the company was redesignated the Anglo Siam Corporation in 1917. The entire businesses of Arbuthnot, Ewart and Company, Ewart, Latham and Company and Ewart, Ryrie and Company were acquired in 1920. Thereafter, they continued to trade as branches of the corporation. The firm was restyled again in 1939, becoming the Anglo Thai Corporation. After the Second World War, trading interests continued to expand into Malaysia, India, Thailand, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Indonesia.
The corporation was acquired by the Inchcape Group of trading companies in 1975. The firm had offices at 67 Cornhill, 1897-1908; 2 Fenchurch Avenue, 1909-23; 5 and 7 St Helen's Place, 1924-44; 80 Bishopsgate, 1945-55; Gerrard House, 31/45 Gresham Street, 1956-68; Lee House, London Wall, 1969-?82; and 40 St Mary Axe, 1983-8.
The records of the companies within the Inchcape Group, though not those of Inchcape and Company Limited itself, were deposited in the Manuscripts Section of Guildhall Library in 1987-88. They were catalogued in 1988-9. The Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section merged with the London Metropolitan Archives in 2009.
Records of the Anglo-Thai Corporation and predecessors; including partnership deeds; agreements; articles of association; Directors' minute books; press cuttings; annual reports; papers relating to shares; financial records; correspondence, tenders; employment contracts; deeds for property and photographs.
Records arranged by MS number, assigned during cataloguing at the Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section.
Access by appointment only. Please contact staff.
Copyright to this collection rests with the depositor.
English
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
This collection is a sub-fond within the Inchcape Group fonds. See CLC/B/123 for a list of all the companies represented in this collection and a history of the Inchcape Group.
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
January to May 2011. Ewart , Lyon and Co , traders in goods from India x Ewart , Latham and Co , traders in goods from India Anglo Siam Corporation x Anglo Thai Corporation Cotton trade Overseas trade Timber industry People Importers People by roles Documents Information sources Business records Trade International trade Industry Manufacturing industry Textile industry Wool trade Enterprises Companies Trading companies Export trading companies Trade (practice) Food trade Sugar trade Gillanders , Ewart and Co , traders in goods from India x Arbuthnot , Ewart and Co , traders in goods from India England UK Western Europe Europe Australia Oceania Canada North America India South Asia Indonesia South East Asia Thailand Hong Kong East Asia Malaysia Liverpool Lancashire
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
The records of the companies within the Inchcape Group, though not those of Inchcape and Company Limited itself, were deposited in the Manuscripts Section of Guildhall Library in 1987-88. They were catalogued in 1988-9. The Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section merged with the London Metropolitan Archives in 2009.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Records of the Anglo-Thai Corporation and predecessors; including partnership deeds; agreements; articles of association; Directors' minute books; press cuttings; annual reports; papers relating to shares; financial records; correspondence, tenders; employment contracts; deeds for property and photographs.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Records arranged by MS number, assigned during cataloguing at the Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Access by appointment only. Please contact staff.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright to this collection rests with the depositor.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
This collection is a sub-fond within the Inchcape Group fonds. See CLC/B/123 for a list of all the companies represented in this collection and a history of the Inchcape Group.
Finding aids
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English