Neilson, Shaw & Macgregor Explained

Neilson, Shaw & Macgregor
Image Alt:	Advertisement for Tartans sold by Neilson, Shaw & Macgregor at Glasgow International Exhibition
Image Caption:	‘Descriptive Catalogue of the Clan tartans and Family tartans’, APS.1.78.163, National Library of Scotland.
Industry:	Textiles
Founded:	1866
Defunct:	1917
Hq Location City:	Glasgow
Hq Location Country:	Scotland

Neilson, Shaw & Macgregor was a Glasgow–based silk mercers and warehouse store that specialised in tartan. It was founded in 1866 at 44 Buchanan Street, taking over the former premises of Campbells, Neilson, Shaw & Company.^[1] The building on Buchanan Street was known as 'The Pavilion', which resulted in the firm's telegraphic address of 'Pavilion, Glasgow'.^[2]

By the 1880s, the firm had expanded into carpet manufacture and upholstery, and was a significant retailer of Scottish tartans.^[3] At the 1888 Glasgow International Exhibition, Neilson, Shaw & Macgregor exhibited the tartans of over 140 clans and families.^[4] At this time, the firm employed around three hundred members of staff and supplied many prominent individuals from Glasgow and the west of Scotland.

Exhibitions

• 1888 Glasgow International Exhibition.
• 1889 Paris Exhibition – winning a silver medal for tartans.^[5]
• 1908 Franco-British Exhibition.^[6]

Closure of the firm

Neilson, Shaw & Macgregor closed its doors in 1917. An article in the Hamilton Advertiser declared that the closure 'will leave a blank in Buchanan Street as noticeable as a missing front tooth, for Neilson, Shaw and Macgregor is a well-known city landmark'.^[7] The company's stock was sold for a sum of £12,000.

External links

Glasgow Museums Collections holds four garments made by Neilson, Shaw & Macgregor:

• E.1947.108.a+b, silk dress
• E.1964.5, woollen dress
• E.1981.85.1.a, wedding dress in ivory satin
• E.1982.33, wedding dress of grey silk

Notes and References

1. News: 6 December 1866 . Business . 1 . The Glasgow Herald . 7 March 2022.
2. Book: Glasgow of To-day: the metropolis of the north [...] . Historical Publishing Company . 1888 . London . 186.
3. 1888–1889 . Neilson, Shaw & Macgregor . Post Office Annual Glasgow Directory . 471 . National Library of Scotland.
4. News: 1 August 1888 . A Visit to Glasgow Exhibition . 3 . Forres, Eglin, and Nairn Gazette . 7 March 2022.
5. News: 21 December 1889 . Neilson, Shaw, & Macgregor . xv . The Queen, The Lady's Newspaper . 7 March 2022.
6. News: 2 August 1908 . The Royal Tartan Warehouse . iii . The Gentlewoman . 7 March 2022.
7. News: 17 March 1917 . A Big Drapery Deal . 4 . The Hamilton Advertiser . 7 March 2022.