The House of Carreras was a tobacco business established in London in the nineteenth century by Don José Carreras Ferrer, a nobleman from Spain. It remained an independent company until merging with Rothmans of Pall Mall in November 1958. In 1972 the name was used as the vehicle for the merger of various European tobacco interests to form Rothmans International.
History
19th century
The antecedents of the Carreras business began trading in the eighteenth century (the company's products and advertising materials consistently bore the motto 'Established 1788'), and forebears of the founder’s family were Spanish apothecaries. The founder of the business was a Spanish nobleman, Don José Carreras Ferrer, who fought in the Peninsular War under the Duke of Wellington (1808–1814). After serving and receiving the highest military honours, it is believed he was obliged to leave Spain on account of his political views.
During the early years of the 19th century, Carreras began trading in London at a time when cigars were increasing in popularity and Don José became a pioneer in his field. However, although the business prospered it did not become a major concern until his son, Don José Joaquin, began to specialise in the blending of tobaccos and snuff. By 1852 Don José Joaquin Carreras had established himself near Leicester Square at 61 Prince's Street W1, and in 1853 was granted a warrant as the sole supplier of cigars and tobacco to the Spanish Legation in London. His fame as a tobacco blender soon spread, and he produced blends to suit the individual tastes of the highest members of society, with customers visiting his showrooms to select their own tobaccos. One of Don José's most famous customers was the third Earl of Craven. Some of Don José's tobacco brands became world-famous, including Guards' Mixture and Hankey's Mixture. Over one thousand brands of cigar could be bought from Carreras, together with snuffs, cigarettes, pipes and other requisites of the trade.
In 1860 Carreras became the founder committee member of the Tobacco Trade Benevolent Association, and soon opened another shop, this time in the Arcade in London's newly developed Regent Street W1.
The business remained in the hands of the Carreras family until 1894, when Mr. W J Yapp, a well-known figure in the shoe leather industry, took control. Prince's Street became part of Wardour Street in 1878, and Number 61 became known as Prince's House, No 7 Wardour Street. The House of Carreras became a London landmark, and it was here that Prince Edward (later Edward VII) often came to select the finest cigars.
Early 20th century
In 1881, the first cigarette-making machine was patented in the United States by James Bonsack, and by 1883 one of the British manufacturers, W. D. & H. O. Wills, had pioneered the use of the Bonsack machine in England. Wills joined with twelve other companies to form the Imperial Tobacco Group, from which both Rothmans and Carreras chose to remain independent, and by 1901 the Bonsack machine, making 200 cigarettes a minute, was exclusively available only to members of this Group. Around this time another of the cigarette machine makers, Bernhard Baron, had returned to London from the United States in 1896 with a patent for a new machine which could make 450 cigarettes a minute. Baron's progress was watched with interest by Mr. Yapp who was by then running the Carreras business but who was keen to make cigarettes a paying venture.
Having been unable to sell his machines to the newly formed Imperial Tobacco Company, which had a monopoly on the Bonsack machines, Yapp was able to negotiate a business arrangement with Baron in 1903. On 6 June 1903, Carreras became a public company with Yapp and Baron as directors and, under the leadership of Bernhard Baron, heralded the beginnings of competition for the Imperial Tobacco Group and the new American maker, James Buchanan Duke, who was also capturing large slices of the British market with Ogden’s Guinea Gold, the first Virginia cigarette made in England. The original Carreras prospectus was heavily criticised in the City press, but within a short time, the shares were fully subscribed, particularly by members of the tobacco trade, who saw potential in the new venture. The Baron family had a reputation as good employers who treated their staff well. Bernhard Baron would walk amongst his employees daily, enquiring after their families, and his son, Louis, and his grandson, Maurice, also made regular visits to the factory floor. A tradition developed that on Bernhard's birthday, each December, all employees were given two weeks' wages and a cake to take home.