How has the firm of Swaine Adeney Brigg, one of Britain's oldest and most prestigious manufacturers of leather goods and umbrellas, survived for so long? What are the ingredients of its lasting success? This book charts how the company has kept pace with the shifting needs and demands of the marketplace, seizing trading opportunities, for the most part successfully, along the way. Swaine & Adeney began as makers of driving, riding, and hunting whips, becoming whip-makers to the royal family. With the coming of the railways, horse-drawn transport was greatly reduced and demand for whips shifted away from driving accessories to hunting and fashionable riding accessories. As the twentieth century dawned Swaine & Adeney survived the advent of the motor car by applying their leatherworking skills also to the making of luggage. Other equestrian accessory companies were absorbed: J. Kohler & Son, makers of coaching and hunting horns, and G. & J. Zair Ltd, whip-makers of Birmingham.
In the dark days of 1943, Thomas Brigg & Sons, London's leading umbrella and walking-stick manufacturers joined forces with Swaine & Adeney, bringing with them their own long and impressive history of craftsmanship and royal patronage. Together, as Swaine Adeney Brigg, they emerged into the post-war era with renewed vigour. The hatters Herbert Johnson and the luggage-making arm of Papworth Industries were later added to the group. Neville Chamberlain, Margot Fonteyn, Augustus John, and Stirling Moss have been among the proud owners of the group's stylish products, and Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones and Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau both wore Herbert Johnson hats.