Vincent Brooks, Day & Son call it a day

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
CHANCERY DIVISION
COMPANIES COURT

NO. 0062 OF 1940

MR. JUSTICE SIMONDS
IN THE MATTER OF VINCENT BROOKS, DAY & SON, LIMITED
AND
IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPANIES ACT, 1229
SUMMARY OF THE STATEMENT OF AFFAIRS
As at 25th January, 1940, the date of the appointment of a receiver for the debenture holder Submitted by Wilfred Vincent Brooks, a director on the 4th day of March 1940

OBSERVATIONS

1. The Winding-up Order was made on 5th February, 1940, upon a creditor’s petition to the Court on 24th January, 1940.

2. The Company was incorporated on 14th May, 1898, under the Companies Acts, 1862 to 1893, with a nominal capital of £10,000 in £1 shares and was formed to acquire and take over as a going concern the business carried on at 48, Parker Street under the style of Vincent Brooks, Day & Son and to carry on the business of printers, lithographers, etc. By special resolution confirmed on 17th June, 1908, the company became a private company.

3. The issued capital is £10,000 consisting of 7,000 shares issued as fully paid and 3,000 shares issued for cash.

4. The Company’s registered office has throughout been at 48, Parker Street, Kingsway, W.C.2. and its business has been conducted from these premises.

5. At the date of the Winding-Up Order the directors of the company were Wilfred Vincent Brooks, who was appointed on 18th August , 1920, Mrs. Marjorie Mary Brooks, who was elected on 25th July 1935, and Douglas John Helme Coulson, who joined the board on 30th January, 1936. The qualifications for directorship was the holding of shares in the Company to the nominal valve of £100.

6. Under the Articles of Association the remuneration of the directors was fixed at the sum of £2. 2. 0 a piece for each attendance at a board meeting. On 26th October, 1922, Wilfred Vincent Brooks and Frederick Allan Brooks were appointed joint managing directors at the salaries of £1000 each per annum after the death of their father, who had been the managing director from September 1898. F. A. Brooks’ appointment as managing director was terminated in October, 1928. He was then engaged as Manager of the photo-litho department at a salary of £750, his brother’s salary being increased to £1250 as sole managing director, with an allowance of £500 for expenses. F. A. Brooks became the assistant managing director in 1928 and in 1930 his salary was again increased to £1,000 per annum. In 1932 the board suspended the assistant managing director as 28th February, 1933, and removed him from that position and from the board. W.V.Brooks has returned himself as a creditor for £2,654. 8. 10 in respect of indrawn salary. Coulson has been the Company’s secretary since 7th January 1932.

7. By an agreement dated 17th May, 1898 between F. G. Bowen (vendor) and the Company, the latter acquired the goodwill and all other assets of the business of Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, which business is said to have started in 1823. The consideration was fixed at £9,880 and was satisfied by the payment of £2,880 in cash and the balance by the allotment to the vendor and his nominees of 7,000 £1 shares in the Company as fully paid.

8. Annual accounts of the business have been prepared and audited regularly. These disclose fluctuating results until 1919 and then a general upward trend in turnover with an average of over £1,000 per annum net profit until 1927. Dividends at the rate of 10% per annum, free of tax, were paid for each of the eight years to 30th June, 1927. Dividends for the four following years were as follows:- 1928, 5%; 1929, 7 ½%; 1930, 10% and 1931, 5%. No dividends were paid after that year. From 1932 to date profits were earned in only two years namely, 1937, £256 and 1938, £551.

9. It appears that the original lease of the premises at 48 Parker Street was surrendered and that a new lease was granted to the Company for a term of 28 years from 29th September, 1902, at a rental of £215 per annum for the first 14 years and £230 per annum for the remainder of the term. During 1920 the Company acquired the freehold of these premises for approximately £5,000. Additions and improvements have been made to the premises from time to time, the balance on the asset account as at 30th June, 1934, being £17,141. 8. 3. In accordance with a valuation obtained on 30th May 1935, the freehold premises account was appreciated to £22,500. On 29thJune, 1939, the Company disposed of the freehold for £21,000 out of which the mortgage debt of £14,425 and various other commitments including a bank overdraft of £5,000 were discharged. The balance of the purchase money was retained by the purchasers against the rent payable under a 44 years lease of the premises which was granted to the Company at an annual rental of £1,450.

10. In January, 1936, the Company agreed to the terms of a resolution passed at a conference of certain creditors under which they were prepared to grant a moratorium of three months from 29th January, 1936, in respect of liabilities as at 31st December, 1935, provided Mr. A. Granville White was appointed financial supervisor and that all the Companies cheques were countersigned by him. The moratorium was extended from time to time in order to give the Company an opportunity of finding new working capital. Several financial schemes were arranged but they could not be satisfactorily completed. Eventually the Company entered into negotiations for obtaining an advance of £7,000. Pending completion of these negotiations overdraft facilities were arranged on the understanding that the overdraft would be discharged immediately the advance was received by the Company.

11. On 29th June, 1939, the Company issued a debenture charging its undertaking and all other property and assets with the payment of all moneys due or to become due to the Bank.

12. W. V. Brooks states that the returns of sales for the last three months of the year 1939 did not average more than £600 a month as against a normal turnover of £1,400 or £1,500 a month; that the Company had practically no orders on hand for January and that, therefore, he decided not to accept the advance.

13. On 10th October, 1939, a creditor for £186. 3. 1 obtained judgment against the Company in that sum and costs. Leave to proceed to the enforcement of the judgment was suspended provided the Company paid a sum of £50 within 4 days of the Order and the balance by installments of £50 a month. The Company paid £50 on 21st November, 1939, but the cheque for the second installment was dishonored on presentation. No further payment was made by the Company and the creditor presented the petition on which the Winding-Up Order was made. In the meantime, on 25th January, 1940 the debenture holder appointed Mr. A. Granville White of 73, Cheapside, E.C. as Receiver.

14. W. V. Brooks and Coulson attribute the failure to the outbreak of the war.

15. The Receiver for the debenture holder is continuing the business in the hopes of disposing of it as a going concern, but he states that having regard to the specialised and somewhat ancient type of plant he doubts whether the assets will realise sufficient to discharge the debenture liability, particularly bearing in mind the somewhat heavy claims of the preferential creditors.

16. As a result of the statutory meetings of creditors and contributories held on 14th March, 1940, the Official Receiver remains the Liquidator of the Company.

Dated this 24th day of June 1940

H. P. Naunton,
Official Receiver.

33, Carey Street,
Lincoln’s Inn,
London, W.C.2.

Jennie Jots her Borman History

"This is a copy of some notes written by my mother [Mary Jane Elizabeth Brooks, wife of F. Vincent Brooks] and found after her death":-

27 Hornsey Rise Gdns
London N.

I don’t know if any of my children care about family history, but it has always been a matter of interest to me to know that my father’s people were old country Gentlepeople. The Bormans originally were Reading (Berkshire) people. Early in the 1700 my grandfather William Borman, settled at Tetney Lincolnshire where he built Tetney House and married at Kingston-on-Hull Elizabeth Burnett, a niece of a Bishop. Grandfather had some rights in the Chancel of Tetney Church, for all his people are buried in the chancel and till the church was restored [1861-2] the stones were there, but have been removed to the Vestry. The Bormans took great interest in the Church matters and Shepherd [Sheppard] College at Bromley, Kent was built by the widow of Dr. Shepherd [Sheppard] who was a Borman [or was she not Sophia Routh?!] and she also left a good deal of money towards the endowment of Magdalen School Oxford.

Grandfather’s sisters were [Mary] married to the Revd Charles Wildbore [1801-1876], vicar of Humberstone & head master of the Grammar School since divided into separate positions, Mrs. [Mary, not actually William's sister] Hutchins, wife of the vicar of Bridgemouth nr. Nottingham [East Bridgford, John D'Oyly Hutchins], Mrs Atkins wife of a sheep farmer at Oldhill (Lincs) and Mrs. Heath [actually Sabina, Mary Borman's daughter] wife of a Banker [William Hawkins Heath] at Andover. As far as I know all these had family. Great Uncle Wildbore’s son Charles was rector of Old Hunstanton. My father Allan Borman was the 2nd son and by profession a surgeon. He settled in Derby & married my mother [Fanny Borman Redhead nee Tipping abt. 1831-1898] coming from Chelmill [Chilwell] near Nottingham. Of my father’s 3 sisters one married a Mr. Henry Morley [1822-1882] the leading partner in the firm of Morley & Boden the Lace Mills Derby. They had one son [Henry d. 1880] who died at birth. The two Aunts Borman put up the stained glass window in the church at Cleethorpes in the memory of Mrs. [Ann] Morley, her husband & son and they with the other two aunts [Maria Sabina and Mary Jane Borman] are buried in Cleethorpes Cemetery. My father had 2 brothers the elder Richard came in for Tetney House and all the land. The youngest Fred Borman went to South Africa early in 1800 and has not been heard of for sixty years- he was then a widower without children. My father never kept in touch with his relations so only knew them by name but the 2 Aunts who lived at Cleethorpes said they had many relations in different parts & that the Bormans at one time were very wealthy and grandfather had a great deal of property in Louth.

Your father’s people were said to come from Doncaster. The Grandfather John Brooks married a Miss Elizabeth Steggall. He was a man who travelled a great deal and at one time owned a lot of land in America. He finally settled in Jersey where he is buried. He had three sons Vincent, Thomas & Frederick and one daughter who married a Jerseyman named Buttfield. She had three sons & 2 daughters. Vincent Brooks married a Miss Rhoda Wybrow. They had two sons Alfred William & Frederick Vincent. Frederick Vincent & myself were married at St.Saviours Church, Eastbourne on December 15, 1888. Of our 5 children Edith, my only girl married Edward Jarrett June 1908 at Christ Church, Crouch End, Hornsey. My boys are Frederick Allan, Arthur Reginald, Wilfred Vincent and Herbert Cecil. All my children were born at 22 Santos Road West Hill, Wandsworth and were christened at St. Stephens Church with the exception of Herbert Cecil who was christened at St. Andrews, Shepherds Hill, now pulled down and Christ church enlarged to take its place

Jennie Brooks

Notes:
Rev Charles Wildbore, b. 22 November 1801 Tilton-on-the-Hill, d. 14 November 1876 Humberstone, Lincs.
Son of Charles Wildbore and Frances Stimson. Married Mary Borman 25th June 1829 at Great Grimsby, Lincs.
Children: Rev. Charles Wildbore, b. 25 March 1830. d. 2 November 1912.
Source: Family history of Roger williams Link

HUMBERSTONE or Humberston, is a near and well-built village, finely interspersed with trees, and pleasantly situated nearly two miles from the river Humber and Waltham Station; and 4½ miles SSE of Grimsby.
It’s parish contains 259 souls, and about 2930 acres of land, mostly the property of Lord Carrington, who is lord of the manor, and patron of the vicarage, which is valued in KB at £5 18s 4d and now at 63, in the incumbency of the Rev Charles Wildbore, who is also headmaster of the free school.
Source: White’s Directory 1856

Henry Morley's Lace Mill:
The History of the County of Derby: Drawn Up from Actual Observation, and from the Best Authorities; Containing a Variety of Geological, Mineralogical, Commercial, and Statistical Information
By Stephen Glover, Thomas Noble
Published by Printed for the publisher by H. Mozley and son, 1829

The photo of St. Peter's is taken from this marvellous site.

A description of the Morley stained glass in St.Peter's Chapel of Ease, Cleethorpes
Found in: A History of Clee and the Thorpes of Clee ...: being a brief account of the townships of Clee, Hoole, Itterby, Thrunscoe, Weelsby, Holm, Cleethorpes, New Clee, Beaconthorpe, and New Cleethorpes
By Charles Ernest Watson. Published by Grimsby News Co., 1901

John Hassall Draws W. Vincent Brooks

This piece, from the trunk of ephemera, is a menu for an occasion on January 12th 1937. It is illustrated with the unmistakable figure of Wilfred Vincent Brooks. The circumstances of the meal remain a mystery, although, like many of the conferences and celebrations documented before, the inclusion of cheese, biscuits and celery is comfortably replicated. The menu itself is in French and headed with the handshake logo of 'Entre Nous 1910'. The plot thickens. Who was or is 'Entre Nous'? A terribly difficult title to search for on the Internet and does the illustration give us any clues?

Entre Nous or 'between us' is captured in the illustrations of folk engaged intimately behind Wilfred. Wilfred clutches, with his partially drawn hand, what appears to be printed matter and written correspondence is in evidence but tantalisingly less than legible. Was he part of Entre Nous or working with this company?

The only positive connection I can make at this time is the signature on the bottom right.

'Hassall' refers to the illustrator John Hassall (and not the bassist with the Libertines). He designed a number of posters for the Underground Group 1908-1913 but might be most readily identified with the poster entitled 'Skegness is So Bracing'. He set up an Art school which later amalgamated with that founded by Frank Brangwyn, a name mentioned by Wilfred in one of his speeches. Vincent Brooks, Day & Son may have been associated with Hassall in the later years before the company's final demise when seemingly incorporated by the Baynard Press in 1960.

Some more investigation is needed to pin this one down.

Come let us cut the cackle

Yet another speech written by W. Vincent Brooks has been transcribed addressing those in the company of a certain Douglas Cockerell of bookbinding fame. It can be found here.

The speech is clearly written in anticipation of great and somewhat unsettling changes within lithography, the print industry and the wider world. Despite this, Wilfred remains defiantly optimistic in this between war era of considerable uncertainty.

Educating Good Taste and Art in Industry

On Monday 29th April 1935 Wilfred Vincent Brooks gave a speech to the Lincolnshire branch of the National Council of Women. Having served as chairman of the Commerical Printing Section of the Royal Academy of Art's 'British Art in Industry' exhibition earlier that year he gave a luncheon talk entitled:

"How Improved Art in Industry can help to conquer Ugliness and add to the Happiness of our fellow countrymen."

As the article is lengthy we have posted it here. The paragraph below is just a taster...

"The day, I hope, will come when quality and quantity will come together in happy alliance and the most ordinary commodities will benefit in form as well as in substance. Ugliness is at all times and in all places to be vigorously rejected; it is a coarsening and debasing influence, a clear sign of deterioration in a nations life. Since the products of industry are so widespread amongst the people, there influence for a good or evil condition of taste is immense. Hence the conquest of ugliness is of even greater moment in industry than elsewhere."

Introducing Captain Wilfred Vincent Brooks

After Frederick's death on the Seventh of August 1921, control of Vincent Brooks, Day and Son passed on to Wilfred Vincent Brooks (centre) and Frederick Allan Brooks (right). The latter of these two has been described by his nephew as a bit of a lay about and it is perhaps for this reason that Wilfred seems to have played the major role in the continuation of the firm.

Below are two 'Who's Who' articles from trade journals that give some insight into the man.


Who’s Who
In the
Printing & Allied Trades

A prominent London Lithographer.

Captain W. Vincent Brooks, M.C., who has consented to take the chair at the concert of the Lithographers’ Auxiliary to be held at the Cannon Street Hotel on the 17th inst., in aid of the funds of the Printers’ Pension Corporation, is the managing director of Messrs. Vincent Brooks, Day and Son, Ltd. This well-known establishment, now in its 104th year of existence- can justifiability boast of many interesting historical connections with the evolution and practice of lithographic printing. In spite of its long association with the industry, however, it retains a foremost position among firms devoted to this branch of the graphic arts. Amongst the many outstanding happenings in this firm’s long history, it may be mentioned that it was granted a Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria in 1837, whilst in 1855 the grandfather of Captain Brooks held a class for the teaching of lithography at St. James’s Palace, at which class the Princess Royal, Empress of Germany, was a pupil. This celebrated pupil sketched her own originals, which were afterwards transferred on to the lithographic stone, then printed by the firm. In 1867 Messrs. Vincent Brooks, Day and Son secured a gold medal at the Paris International Exposition for the excellence of their productions, and in 1921 and 1925 were successful in gaining awards for chromo and offset printing at the exhibitions held in London. It is also interesting to mention that Messrs. Vincent Brooks, Day and Son hold the original plates for the illustrations for the Chapman and Hall’s editions of Charles Dickens’ works, and for over forty years printed the Vanity Fair cartoons. As indicative of the progressive nature of the business, it may be stated that a factory comprising 2,000 square feet has recently been acquired in Parker Street. Captain Brooks has much meritorious war service to his credit. Though he received eight wounds during his period overseas, he, fortunately, to-day feels no ill effects of the strenuous years of war. He joined up as a private in 1914 in the Seventh City of London Regiment, and when to France in 1915 as a Lieutenant. He was taken prisoner in May 1916, at Vimy Ridge, and afterwards spent two years as a prisoner of war in Germany, being eventually exchanged in Holland in 1918. Captain Brooks is a valuable member of the Colour Lithography Committee of the London Master Printers’ Association and is also a member of the London Central Districts Master Printers’ Association. Though he has no outstanding hobbies, except it be[sic] his absorbing interest in his own particular craft, he is a believer in open air exercises, and finds time occasionally to indulge in a game of tennis. He is looking forward with pleasure and anticipation to the laudable task he is setting himself in raising funds for the Lithographers’ Auxiliary, and hopes that the occasion may prove in every way successful.

Source:
British & Colonial Printer & Stationer
Volume 100, Number 2. January 13th 1927
Page 22.

Printer’s Who’s Who
W. Vincent Brooks
Managing Direct, Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Ltd.


Captain Vincent Brooks is best known in the printing industry for his activities in the allied spheres of lithography, art and education. Head of a firm of lithographers which specialises on poster work, he is closely connected, as a Chairman of the Education Committee and member of the Advisory Sub-committee, with the London County Council School of Photo-Engraving and Lithography in Bolt Street, Fleet Street, and has been an inspector of the London printing schools for the Board of Education. He represents the London Master printers’ Association on the Federation Lithographic Committee, and the Federation itself on the Industrial Art Committee of the Federation of British Industries. He as acted also as Arbitrator and has frequently given expert evidence in legal cases in which lithographic questions have been involved. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the London Master Printers’ Association.
Educated at Merchant Taylors’ School, he joined the 7th London Regiment in 1914, went to France the following year, was taken prisoner in May 1916, and retired at the end of the war with the rank of Captain and the Military Cross. His clubs are the Eccentric and the Royal Automobile.

Source:
World Press News
Vol. 4, No. 81. September 18th, 1930
Page 47.