William Burnell, the owner of this business, was born in about 1868 in Bishopthorpe, near York.  He was probably the son of George Burnell, a blacksmith.   By 1905, William was working as a hairdressers’ sundries man in Randall Street, with a residence in Meersbrook Road, Heeley.   In 1911, he described himself in the Census as a razor manufacturer (besides selling hairdressers’ sundries) and was helped in his warehouse by sons George and William Maurice.  In 1913, W.  Burnell Ltd was registered with a capital of £3,000 as a manufacturer of razors, scissors, and a general merchant, Randall Street.  Burnell still dealt in hairdressers’ sundries.  Besides ‘W.  BURNELL’, trade marks included ‘AVIATOR’, ‘BURNL’S REVUE’, ‘TASHFIXR’, and ‘LENRUB’.  The business was bankrupt in 1928.   Whitham & Sykes (1953) listed the firm, with the trade mark ‘MINSTREL’ (formerly used by Austin Nicholson).  William Burnell, Meersbrook Road, died in Sheffield on 24 October 1955, aged 87.  He left £2,083.