Colman Prentis and Varley; CPV

History

1934-1974 (merger), London
In 1934 in London T S J C Prentis and Mrs B K Prentis started a new agency. They had previously been associated with the creative side of the Jaeger account at W S Crawford Ltd and this client was the first of the new agency.

By July 1934 they formed a partnership with Mr R H Colman and Colonel Arthur N C Varley (appointed Chairman) and CPV was under way operating from 34 Grosvenor Street London W1, where it remained throughout the agency's existence. Another important early account was the well-known cotton manufacturing company, Horrockses, Crewdson & Co Ltd.

From 1946 until his death in 1959 Jack Beddington was the company's Deputy Chairman. He played a role in commissioning contemporary artists (1903-1989) such as Abram Games (1914-1996) who had a contract for the BEA /BOAC account between 1946 and 1949. On taking over the Fortnum & Mason account from Stuart's Advertising Agency Ltd. CPV continued to commission Edward Bawden (1903-1989) as an illustrator on the store's promotions during the 1950s. 

CPV expanded and opened branches in several countries between 1947 and 1960. An important London agency in the late 1950s, it was employed by the Conservative Party under Macmillan and continued to be a significant agency through the 1960s and into the 70s before merging with French Gold Abbott in 1974.

Archive content

Date range: 1947-1962

Scope

This archive has originated from two sources:
1. Mrs Elizabeth Varley, widow of Colonel A N C Varley: 8 guardbooks containing home and export press advertisement proofs, 1947-1962, with some campaign background information and CPV in-house publications.
2. Miss Joyce Booth, CPV Art Studio Director, 1950s-1970s: 2 guardbooks containing advertising proofs and original artwork plus a small collection of unbound items.

Brands represented include: Amplex, BEA, Charnos, Conservative Party, D H Evans, Elizabeth Arden, Fortnum & Mason, Goya, Jaeger, Kolynos dental cream, Norvic, Ryvita, Shell, Westclox etc.

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