Ask any London taxi-driver for "Lock's" and without question he will take you to Number 6, St James's Street, S.W.1, the home of James Lock & Co., Hatters.
A postcard from abroad was once promptly delivered there, although it was addressed simply to 'The best hatters in the world, London'. Established not later than 1676 to wait upon the Court at St. James's the business now serves customers from all corners of the earth. Its survival is the consequence of progressive conservatism, of confidence in quality and a demonstration of the effectiveness of persistent personality and individuality in an increasingly mass-minded world.
The history of the business is inseparable from the history of the street. It reflects continually the passage of events in the 'corridors of power' radiating from Westminster and St. James's, for its conduct has always been sensitive to economic, political and social change. It is also inseparable from the history of the Lock family, and in particular of the personality of James Lock as the head of that family. |
