Pompadour Cosmetics, 17 Upper Baker Street

[Debra A]

"We formed a company named the Pompadour Cosmetique
Company, and took premises in Baker Street on the site
where Baker Street Tube Station now stands."
The True face of Jack the Ripper, p 51 by Melvin Harris

The following advertisement appeared in The Women's Penny Paper The Women's Penny Paper Saturday, October 18, 1890



This Pompadour Cosmetics advert appeared weekly in the 'Women's Penny Paper' and monthly in 'The Ladies' Monthly Magazine, Le Monde Élégant, or the World of Fashion, etc.'
The first insertion I could find was on August 16th 1890 and the last one, September 1st 1891.
The address used for the company in the September 1891 advert was still 17 Upper Baker Street.

No names are mentioned in the advert, however, in court in May 1891 and reported in Reynold’s Newspaper of may 17 1891, Mabel Collins revealed that she had just sold her third share in a cosmetics company.

Mabel Collins and her bills.
A lady journalist and novelist was in the box at Bloomsbury County Court on Tuesday. Mabel Cooke is her name but when engaged in writing novels she is known as Mabel Collins. She appeared in answer to a judgement summons at the instance of Harman and Hardy, a firm of printers and stationers in the City. Mrs Cooke said she had no money and could not meet the instalments. She advanced a Madame Clarisse £1,500 with which to carry on a millinery business, but she had lost that. She owed £30 for rent , and was also in debt to her servant. She was now writing for the St Stephen's Review alone. Previously she wrote for lots of papers, but Lucifer never paid for its contributions. Ward and Downey published her novels, but she got very little for them. One of her books was called "A ride through Morocco" and the gentleman who appeared for the plaintiffs wanted to know whether the defendant had been through Morocco. Thereupon Judge Bacon said very properly, "What a question to ask. It is not necessary that she should go to Morocco." Defendant said she had been paid for no books this year. She was the third person in a business for the sale of cosmetics, &c., but her share was sold for £12 10s, she was a pretty frequent visitor to the theatres. Here again the judge wished to show that he knew something about journalism, and he said "These newspaper people are all on the free lists."Defendant said she made about £4 a week, and half of that she spent. His honour said she would have to pay or go to Holloway, and there would be £1 per month.

By April 1891, 17 Upper Baker Street was housing a family of clothiers and their two servants, a journalist and his wife, and a tailor, in three separate
households.

[Rob Clack]

Thanks for posting the information here Debs.
Here's the map with the location marked.

Upper Baker Street 1894:



Rob

[Tom_Wescott]

By April 1891, 17 Upper Baker Street was housing a family of clothiers and their two servants, a journalist and his wife, and a tailor, in three separate
households.

Assuming the journalist wasn't D'Onston himself, perhaps it was an acquaintance?

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Debra A]

An acquaintance perhaps, Tom. I can't recall or find his name at the moment though. It definitely wasn't Stephenson himself, his whereabouts in the 1891 census has been well documented by various researchers.

[Debra A]

Thanks for posting the information here Debs.
Here's the map with the location marked.

Thanks for reposting this Rob.

[Debra A]

Assuming the journalist wasn't D'Onston himself, perhaps it was an acquaintance?

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

Here's the full entry for 17 Upper Baker Street in 1891, the journalist is George T Braine, variously described as a journalist, author and newspaper correspondent:

FORSKAT, Walter Head Single M 40 1851 Tailor St George's London

243 BRAINE, George T Head Married M 41 1850 Journalist Tulse Hill Surrey
243 BRAINE, Florence E Wife Married F 35 1856 Cape of Good Hope
British Subject

244 HAWKINS, Frederick J Head Married M 34 1857 Clothier London
Cambridge Terr W
244 HAWKINS, Elizabeth H Wife Married F 28 1863 Clothier London
Cleveland St W
244 SHOOLBRIDGE, Mary A Employee Widow F 81 1810 Monthly Nurse
Colchester Essex
244 HAWKINS, Henry F Son M 7 1884 Marylebone
244 HAWKINS, Robert G Son M 5 1886 Marylebone
244 HAWKINS, Mabel G Daughter F 0 1891 Marylebone
244 BRISTON, Amy Servant Single F 14 1877 General Domestic Servant
Uxbridge Middlesex

[Rob Clack]

Here's some photos I took last Friday of Baker Street.

No 17 Upper Baker Street is approximately where the bus stop is. The huge building to the right covers Baker Street Station.


another view


These are the houses on the West side and No. 17 would have looked like these.


And this is the huge building covering Baker Street Station that was built around the 19203/30s


Rob

[Debra A]

Great pics, thanks for posting them Rob.
nice to see what #17 would have looked like too.

[Debra A]

Rob, the houses on the West side, most seem to have shops on the ground floor, would most of the buildings have had shop premisies there too in 1891and the original #17 as well?

[Rob Clack]

Hi Debs,

I think some did and some didn't going by the directories, No. 17 in 1895 was a confectioners so I think there was a bit of a mixture.

Rob

[Mike Covell]

Great stuff as always Debs.

When the company was taken over, on October 15th, and became a Limited Company it was run by:

H. Y. Dickinson, 56 Grays Inn Road, W. C.

Dickinson had a number of shareholders including,

Stanley Evans, 20 Theobalds Road, Bedford Row, London, W.C., Solicitor.
Herbert Young Dickinson, 56 Grays Inn Road, London, Engineer.
George Henry Rayner, 37 Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agent.
Albert Edward Ellen, 87 Chestnut Avenue, [illegible] Gate and Clerk.
Frederick Thos Rushton, 14 New Inn, Strand, Solicitor.
Joseph Richard Crellin, 82 Gurney Road, Leytonstone, Gentleman.
Archie Bellingham, 45 Brownfields Road, Clapham, S.W., Clerk.

[Debra A]

Thanks for posting this information Mike.
Was the company taken over on October 15th 1891?

You've probably looked at these people on the 1891 census yourself, but I noticed that Joseph Richard Crellin, gentleman, was actually only 23 and a solicitors clerk earlier in April 91.
I always wondered what gave someone the status of 'gentleman' is it because they have given up working for a living by coming into money or relying on investments for an income etc. Or can someone be a solicitors clerk and still class themselves as a gentleman?

[Mike Covell]

Morning Debs, Dickinson signed the papers on the 15th October 1891, which is written in pen, the local Registration Office stamped them the following day.

I have seen the Gentleman classification on the burgess rolls and in the polling books too. The gentleman classification usually meant that they had either inherited money, or were living off income from investments.

In some cases, however, it can just mean gentleman!

Richard Stephenson was listed as a Gentleman when he was living on Mason Street in Hull, prior to his involvement with the Dawber family.

[Debra A]

Dickinson signed the papers on the 15th October 1891, which is written in pen, the local Registration Office stamped them the following day.

Thanks Mike, so there is no real reason to expect the names Stephenson, Cremmers or Collins should appear in these papers then, as the company was allegedly sold before Oct 1891 anyway. In fact, if what Collins said at her May 1891 court case about having a share in a cosmetic comepany does relate to to the Pompadour, then she sold her share before May 1891.

[Mike Covell]

Sadly the papers do not list who sold the company to Dickinson, or how he came to own it.