Aviss Brothers

While doing research in Yorkshire last weekend, I came across the above advertisement. Different cartoons were used during the year (1904). Has anyone any information about the company, presumably the cigars were imported and not made in Coventry? Why would a Coventry company advertise in an obscure northern industrial town's local weekly paper (The Keighley News)? Does this fact imply that they placed ads in local papers across the whole country - if that was the case it must have had a considerable turn over in sales? And what happened to the company and the brothers?

Nice find, I found this - London Gazette - the owners petitioning to have a company wound up (they are owed money.) They're described as a tobacco importer and cigar importer, and appear to have a place in London as well.

90 Gosford Street is this building: The factory behind it was taken over by Hotchkiss and used to make machine guns:

It seems they were involved in a trademark dispute in 1908 involving their ABC Cigars, (the ABC standing for Aviss Bros Coventry), with various companies including Albert Brommell & Co who sold the ABC Eldorado cigar. The History Centre have some of the company records 1878-1905.

My paternal grandmother was apprentice to Avis Bros. Her indenture is dated 1st August 1876.

Hello 2elephants, Welcome to our forum. Thank you for your post.

Hi 2elephants, welcome to the forum. Funnily enough, I've just been rummaging through this area trying to identify demolition photos in the papers. Comparing the maps, I think that the later (post 1888) cigar factory was incorporated into the car/munitions factory rather than all demolished. I've marked the area in red. As you can see there was a change in roof styles and that area roughly fits the right spot. The partial photo is from Godiva's Heritage: Coventry's Industry by Albert Smith and David Fry. I recommend the book for the full photo alone. The second photo is from Coventry Graphic and shows the demolition in preparation for the first big factory fronting Gosford Street in November 1915. The buildings in the foreground are the rear of Hotchkiss but the three storey building in the distance is part of the Roulette Cycle Works... I think. The older part of the cigar factory might have been the buildings being demolished in the foreground, or even the buildings at the front in Dutchman's photo. Number 90 listed as William Aviss in 1878 would have been the 3 storey Georgian (ish) building. I'm not sure of the actual construction date but was built before 1850.

And courtesy of Anne, a view of the same demolition works but viewed further west and looking west, this view shows what I think was part of the cigar factory on the very left of the photo. The 'new' block was attached to the south end of that building.

Hello Thank you for your welcome. In answer to Harrier, they did make cigars, that was my grandmother's apprenticeship, she made cigars.