Samson Clark

History

1896-, London

Samson Clark established his agency in one room in Regent Street in 1896, but moved to bigger premises Great Portland Street in 1899. In 1912 it became a private limited company and Miss J.A. [Jessie] Reynolds became a director in 1915, probably the first woman director of an advertising agency.

In 1923 there was a move to purpose-built premises in Mortimer Street and by this time there was a second woman on the board, Mrs E.M. [Ethel] Wood. Jessie Reynolds was listed as Managing Director of the agency in 1937, one of the first women to head a London agency. (It is now believed that Ethel Wilson – Mrs A.J. Wilson – was the first woman to head a London agency. She became the Managing Director of A.J. Wilson in 1926. Source: Lizzie Broadbent author of the Women Who Meant Business blog).

The agency was re-formed in 1965 as Davidson Pearce Berry & Tuck, amalgamating in 1970 with Spottiswoode Advertising to form Davidson Pearce Berry & Spottiswoode Ltd before this in turn became Davidson Pearce in 1980.

See also Davidson Pearce
Spottiswoode Dixon & Hunting

Archive content

Date range: 1896-1967

Scope

The collection runs from the first records (letter books) of the company in 1896-97 to correspondence from around 1967.There are accounts, share ledgers, committee minutes, salary records and copies of the staff gazette. There is also a good collection of press cuttings about the company from the trade press and a selection of sample print advertisements.

Formats: scrapbooks, boxed news cuttings and advertisements, business records and correspondence.

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