Seed Merchants, Sutton & Sons First Trade Mark

Sutton & Sons First Trade Mark.

From 'Trademarked: A History of Well-Known Brands, from Aertex to Wright's' by David C. Newton.
"The House of Sutton was founded as a corn merchant in 1806 by John Sutton in King Street, Reading. In 1832 he was joined by his sons Martin and Alfred, and in 1836 Martin became a partner and the firm became Sutton & Son. A few years later the business was transferred to the Market Place, when the sons persuaded their father to start in the flower and vegetable seed trade. Martin started a nursery and greenhouse in Queens Road and by mid-1838 he was selling greenhouse plants. In 1840 a seed-testing station was set up and in 1873 new offices and warehouses were built in Market Place, Reading.
Two trademarks were registered in 1876 (numbers 2,934-5). The first, for Sutton & Sons good seeds, is still registered, although originally it stated 'Carriage free', a phrase that has since been replaced by 'For all climates'. Alterations are allowed to British trademarks only if they do not substantially affect the identity and in this case this seems to have been permitted in 1946. Other trademarks were registered in 1878, 1881 and 1886; the last of these, for Sutton's seeds, is also still registered.
In 1962 Sutton moved premises in the Reading area, relocated again in 1976, this time to Torquay in Devon, and then in December 1998 moved to brand-new premises in Paignton, Devon. At one time Sutton was part of the AB Volvo Group but is now part of the international company Vilmorin, the largest packet seed distributors in the world. Vilmorin also owns Carters Seeds."