James Shoolbred and Company was a

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

and later a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

, located on

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tu ...

, London. James Shoolbred and Co. (aka Jas Shoolbred) were established in the 1820s at 155 Tottenham Court Road. It was originally a drapers supplying the furniture trade. In the late 1860s/early 1870s the company began designing, manufacturing and selling high quality furniture, of their own design. Their sophisticated designs referenced

Regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

aesthetics which were informed by antiquity (Greek/Roman styles). The company's sales catalogue features guides to Victorian home owners about how to put room sets together to achieve a desirable aesthetic, 'a guide to good taste'. In the 1880s, Shoolbred had opened the city's first large department store on Tottenham Court Road, London. In the mid 1880s Schoolbred was granted a Royal Warrant, testament to the quality of their furniture. The company ceased trading in 1931.
Brighton And Hove Museums

References

Defunct department stores of the United Kingdom, Shoolbred James Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Demolished buildings and structures in London Furniture companies of England Shops in London Tottenham Court Road {{UK-retail-company-stub