Dimensions (cm): 56 x 39 x 91

Year: 1890's

The first representative of the Wolverhampton firm of Shaw & Crane (later John Shaw & Sons) in India was Thomas E Thomson (an early traveller for the firm). He established T E Thomson & Company in 1834 at 2 Old Court House Street, Calcutta. The nature of the business was an "indent business" - it took orders from native firms, then transmitted them home for execution. However, extensive stocks were kept from the outset. The first shipment of goods charged against the Calcutta branch on 7 November 1834 was for £2,383, and up to mid-1848, goods to the value of £127,000 were shipped to India. The earlier stocks were primarily railway supplies, but the business later developed into a large wholesale and retail concern, carrying heavy stocks of hardware, tools, machine tools, pumps and agricultural implements.

John Shaw junior travelled out to India, but died in 1839 of a recurring illness during a journey to Meerut. T E Thomson died in 1846, and was succeeded by Mr Turner, who continued to conduct the business under the name of T E Thomson and Company. In 1853, Mr Turner died, and Edward Dethick Shaw travelled to Calcutta to see to the affairs of the business. He left early in 1854 and appointed a Mr Webb as manager. It was about this time that the company moved from 2 Old Court House Street to 14 (later renumbered 9) Esplanade East, Calcutta. Mr Webb was manager only briefly, and was replaced by a Mr Gentle, whose health failed, and who in turn was replaced by a Mr O'Brien, who died shortly afterwards.

In 1860, two brothers, Thomas & Boughton Newman because managers, until they both died in 1876 (one in April, the other in June). They were succeeded by George Irving and W W Burgess.

Following the deaths of E D Shaw and T W Shaw in England in 1886 and 1887 respectively, T E Thomson & Co was registered as a limited liability company, at the same time as its parent company, John Shaw and Sons.

In 1890, Sir Charles E Shaw visited the Calcutta House, during the course of a journey around the world.

In 1947, "TET and Co", as it had become familiarly known, was sold to the Maharaja of Nepal.

Bar Code: 10301