Medici Society
of 7 Grafton Street, Bond Street, London, W1; and at 63 Bold Street, Liverpool. Also: Boston, Mass., USA.
1908 The Medici Society was founded by Philip Lee Warner and Eustace Gurney, with the aim of advertising artists' work to the general public.
The Medici name was chosen out of respect for the famous Florentine family who encouraged art during the Italian Renaissance period. The original trade mark featured the profile of Lorenzo de' Medici (1449 - 1492), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent.
To start with, the business was run as a society by subscription; members were entitled to copies of prints, at no extra cost, as they were published. Later, prints were sold by shops and galleries on a commercial basis.
1930s Medici began to publish greeting cards.
The company also diversified into other publications, including social stationery, calendars, seasonal cards for Christmas and Easter, reproduction prints and children's books.
1999 After more than 60 years in Islington, London, in what was originally the cabinet making factory used by Sir John Betjeman's father, Medici relocated to modern office premises in North London.
Note: Now in Thurloe Street, London, SW7, Medici has its own website: