Dawson advertisement, c.1940. Image courtesy of Gary Dawson
Dawson (Birmingham) Ltd was founded in 1884 by Stephen Harold Dawson initially as S. D & Co. They traded from 82-83 Unett Street, Birmingham using the Trade Mark Unett Plate. In 1940 the company established a presence in Sheffield, at 136 West Street, through the takeover of an existing company believed to be named Wall. This was likely to have resulted from a Government Order that all flatware production be concentrated in Sheffield. The company traded from the two sites in Birmingham and Sheffield until 1958, when Birmingham city centre redevelopment resulted in the closure of the Birmingham factory and transfer of all production to Sheffield. Here the company expanded into re-built premises next door at 138, West Street. They ceased trading in 1972.