Records of W Grant & Co (Agents) Ltd, timber and esparto merchants, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Reference:GB 248 UGD 237/1
- Dates of Creation:1880-1971
- Name of Creator:
- Physical Description:[to be confirmed]There are no physical characteristics that affect the use of this material.
Scope and Content
- Ledgers 1880-1884
- Accounts 1880-1965
- Journal 1955-1956
- Cash book 1954-1956
- Memoranda and articles of association 1955
- Correspondence 1887-1971
- Esparto reports 1928-1965
- Press cuttings 1880-1907
- Arbitration records 1913-1965
- Records relating to Grant's involvement with the British Wood Pulp Association 1955
Administrative / Biographical History
W Grant & Co was founded by William Grant in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1880 as a timber and esparto merchants and agents. The company's main office was at 5 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh.
William Grant began his career with Hutchinson Brothers, timber merchants in Leith, Edinburgh. He left in 1872 for Sweden where he entered the sawmill of Nils Wilkstrom at Sundswall, where he acquired practical knowledge of the wood shipping business. W Grant & Co later became agents for many of the business connections he made in Sweden. Upon his return to Leith, William continued to work for Hutchinson Brothers, but in 1880, established himself as W Grant & Co as an agent for Baltic wood goods. The business also traded in wood pulp, becoming associated with many of the leading chemical and mechanical wood pulp factories. Grant also acted as arbitrator between shippers and importers.
In December 1955 , W Grant & Co (Agents) Ltd was incorporated as a limited liability company to acquire the business of W Grant & Co. The company's first directors were Leslie Renwick Grant, Amy Balmer Grant his wife, Ronald Dingwall Hodge, timber merchant, and Robert Alexander Henderson Morton, office manager. Leslie Renwick Grant had previously been a director of L R Grant Ltd , timber and esparto merchants, Edinburgh, which had gone into liquidation in 1940. He was also a director of William Sommerville & Son Ltd, producers of high quality printing and paper, Milton Bridge, Edinburgh, from 1934 until at least 1969.
W Grant & Co Ltd traded in wood and esparto, a tough wiry grass from northern Africa whose fibre is used to make paper and cordage. The company traded with Tunisia and Algeria
In 1999, W Grant & Co (Agents) Ltd was dissolved.
Arrangement
This material is arranged into series, which consist of numbers of items related by format and/or function. Within series, the items are generally arranged chronologically.
Access Information
Open
Acquisition Information
Deposit : via BAC(S) surveying officer: March 1987 : ACCN 0090
Other Finding Aids
Digital file level list available in searchroom
Manual file level list available at the National Registers of Archives in Edinburgh (NRA(S)) and London (NRA)
Alternative Form Available
No known copies
Conditions Governing Use
Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the University Archivist
Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use & condition of documents
Appraisal Information
This material has been appraised in line with standard GB 248 procedures
Custodial History
Unknown
Accruals
None expected
Related Material
GB 248 UGD 237/2 Records of L R Grant Ltd
GB 248 UGD 237/3 Records of Berner Nicol & Co Ltd
Material in other repositories: no material associated by provenance
Bibliography
No known publications using this material
Additional Information
This material is original
No alterations made to date
Subjects
Corporate Names
Geographical Names