In 1740, in London at the north side of the intersection of Exchange Alley and Birchin Lane, was the Sword Blade coffee house.
Next door were the stationery shop and work rooms of Thomas Witherby.  Thomas was born in 1719 and since then the firm
has passed from father to son in a direct line since its beginnings, represented today by Thomas Alan Forbes Witherby, who is

shipowners and their Captains and insurance documents for merchant ships. Lloyds of London, was another company that started
in and around the London coffee houses of the time where there earliest home was Edward Lloyd's coffee house. This initially small
club of marine underwriters went on to be a world leader in insurance.


Thomas's eldest son William came out of his years of apprenticeship to his father in 1779 at the age of 21, with a company name
change to Witherby & Son. In 1778, Thomas's younger son George Henry (now 22) was admitted to the partnership of Thomas
and William.

Thomas Witherby died peacefully at the house of a watchmaker friend of his in Fenchurch Street on the evening of the 26th
November 1797. An obituary commented on "his amiable conduct, on all occassions, gaining the esteem of his fellow citizens
at large".


Though only 39 years old, George Henry died in Trafalgar year of 1805 of a sudden stroke, having earlier that year taken on his
eldest son George as an apprentice. This indenture was transferred to William, his uncle , who was shortly to have his son
William Henry as a second apprentice to train. By 1816 William and his two apprentices had all been united in partnership.
Georges son Walter became a partner in 1851 at the age of 25. In 1857 George had decided to retire, and after two years, as a
salaried clerk, Walters younger brother, Henry Forbes, joined William Henry and Walter.

1862 saw a great storm blow in the world of law writers with the Lord Chancellor issuing a decree that all documents had to be
printed. In 1860, Witherby's acquired a printing business in Holborn and it was here that letterpress printing was first carried out by
the firm. 1868 saw the retirement of Walter and William Henry and at the age of 33, Henry Forbes became sole partner and remained
so for the next 25 years.

In 1889, a book title called the 'Royal Navy List' was purchased for £250. This was a quarterly record of the Royal Navy; it became a
standard work, was supported by the Admiralty and placed in every ship in the fleet. In 1894 two of Henry Forbes' sons joined the
business. Theodore, the eldest, stayed for two years before departing to take holy orders and work amongst the poor. Harry a keen
naturalist, had his first book, Forest Birds, published in 1894. Harry's younger brother George, joined as partner in 1899 allowing
Henry Forbes to retire and take up painting again.

In 1902 Harry published a book account of his vist to Sudan and the birds of that region. With Harry Witherby's growing
interest in ornithology, some thirty books mainly on birds were published in the years up to 1913. A long line of distinguished
ornithologists were associated with Harry's publications up until and after his death in 1943. Witherby's suffered many losses
during the First World War and out of 71 members of staff who fought in the services, 19 were killed in action and 17 were
wounded or gassed.

In 1925 Harry's eldest son, Thomas joined the firm with Thomas's brother Richard joining in 1927. In 1935 the decision was made
to turn the business  in to a Private Limited Company, its full title becoming "Witherby & Company Limited", with George's son
Anthony joining in1936. In the Second World, the night of the 10th May 1941 was to be the worst that Witherby's experienced,
being hit on two fronts simultaneously with over 15,000 books representing over 100 titles being lost at Bread Street Hill and the
Holborn office also being bombed. In the early 1960's the seventh generation of the family joined the business with Alan in 1962
and David in 1964. In 1965 the business moved to Aylesbury Street and over the next 40 years. with Alan as Managing Director
it steadily grew. During this period Witherbys once more focused on publishing, this time in the specialist areas of marine,
insurance and legal. By 2007 the company published 300 specialist titles and looked to make its next big move.