We pride ourselves in the incredible selection of gloves that we hold in our museum, and are always looking for new pairs to be added to our collection. So when a new pair arrived on my desk a few weeks ago, with merely a 'Dents for Webster Bros' stamp inside it, I had nothing to go on with in regards to the history and the origins of the piece. So began the mystery..

Dents for Webster Bros gloves

When you do a search for Webster Bros you will not get many hits, however I did find out through a menswear forum, that Webster Bros were shirt makers and no longer exist. However there were mentions of Budd, another bespoke skirt makers in London, who still carried Websters Bros shirts in their Piccadilly shop.

So after a friendly email conversation between Dents and Budd, we find out that Budd, established in 1910, were bought by Webster Bros in the early 1900s. Webster Brothers was established in 1847 by two brothers, whose aim was to create beautiful pieces for the bankers, stockbrokers and gentlemen of London. The company moved around to various locations in the city over the space of 50 years, and in 1965 their London workshop moved to Andover in Hampshire. This workshop was taken over by Budd after Webster Brothers dissolved, and many of the original Webster staff still work there.

Webster Brothers shirts haven’t changed for over 40 years, with a semi-spread collar which holds a fuller knot and a slightly longer cut sleeve, they’re unique to the standard fit. About 100 years ago Dents worked with Webster Brothers on a range of gloves, and one pair have found their way home to us! A lovely pair of tan leather ladies gloves with buttons down the back, which are still individually covered in tissue paper! It’s been great finding out all this information about Webster Brothers, and we are so grateful for all the help and knowledge Budd have passed on to us. It’s wonderful to work with a company that’s very much like us, traditional craftsmen striving to provide luxury products to the sartorial gentlemen of Britain.

 

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