This London company is a leading producer of high class toiletries based on the products of the old English manor house still-room of earlier centuries.
Cyrus Harvey owned a motion picture theater. After World War II, he saw that television would adversely affect their business; he began to sell hard milled hand soap from the foyer.
While Harvey was a buying trip in London, Harvey was looking for a British manufacturer to add to his stock. He wanted to evoke an image of English heritage and tradition, and to use London in the name to establish a cachet.
After a lot of research they were inspired by John Evelyn (1620-1706 and George Crabtree. John Evelyn was a celebrated English diarist of 17th century who wrote on food, was a horticulturist and planned English country parks while George Crabtree, an English horticulturist, was a figure of the same period with an archetypally English name.
Later the business grew and Harvey sold the theater and concentrated on the business of retailing toiletries and later comestibles.
When the company moved into direct retailing in the late 1970s the first shop was designed based on the idea of the English apothecary.
They cleverly packaged their products as Crabtree and Evelyn of London, Ltd and there is a London address as well s one with Woodstock, CT, USA.
Crabtree and Evelyn
