THE SHELL TRANSPORT AND TRADING CO was the brainchild of two brothers - Marcus and Sam Samuel and was formed in 1897. Their father had been a London trader sending merchandise out to the Far East and it was this market that the two brothers first exploited in 1892 by shipping lamp oil by the tanker load. In honour of their father, who had previously shipped seashells to this region, they gave the brand name of "SHELL" to their new product. By 1897, after a very successful 5 years, Marcus and Sam were ready to launch their new company. In 1900 the company had its first logo - a mussel shell but this was not to last that long and was replaced in 1904 by the first Pecten (scallop shell). The company grew quickly and in 1907 Shell merged with the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and from there Shell became a worldwide brand with many affiliate companies.

During the early 1900's Shell's products were marketed by the German controlled British Petroleum Co Ltd but by 1915 Shell had set up the Shell Marketing Co Ltd for the sole purpose of importing the products of the Shell Group into the UK for distribution to its consumers and by 1917 this new marketing company took over where BP left off. This had been forced by the assets of BP being seized by the British Government at the outbreak of the Great War of 1914 to 1918. Shell was to play its part in the Great War by helping to keep the wheels of the allied war machine moving.

The history of the company is so vast and diverse that this brief account is limited to that as it applies to the UK and then only to those matters that relate to the branding of the company as seen through its advertising and products.

There has been many variations of the company's logo over the years with a gradual modernisation of the Pecten to that which we are familiar with today. There has also been changes to the colour schemes throughout the past 100 years with yellow on red, red on yellow etc. Shell paper advertising can be described as varied and inconsistent in style. By the late 1920's things started to change. The Art Deco influence was certainly an improvement in advertising styles which Shell fully exploited and which is illustrated by the Shell "Stick-Man" design to be found on signs, tins and equipment worldwide. Other general advertising was mixed and remained inconsistent and seemed to be designed more for the media it was carried in, such as the Punch Magazine, than for the message it was delivering - however, putting a touch of humour to a product can often make it much more memorable.

The legacy left by Shell from the pre 1940 period, can today be found in the company's vast range of period enamel signs, petrol pump globes, printed tins, petrol cans and printed ephemera such as posters etc. The Shell story is still evolving today and through its "Pecten" logo it has become one of the world's most recognised companies.

SHELL - MEX was founded in 1919 to be the UK marketing and management organisation of Shell and Mexican Eagle. The business arrangement was later formalised in 1921 with the formation of Shell-Mex Ltd when Shell acquired a controlling interest in Mexican Eagle (see also the history of Bowrings). Mexican Eagle had access to wide tracts of land deemed to be rich in oil potential and Shell saw the merger as making good economic sense. The original offices were located at Kingsway WC2 but new larger premises were soon required so in 1930/31 Shell-Mex House at 80, Strand, London was constructed to serve the enlarged business. Whilst at Kingsway branding of the company was a combination of Shell Motor Spirit, Mex Motor Spirit and Shellmex Motor Spirit. This can be seen through the branded 2 gallon petrol cans of the period and also the various petrol pump globes which are illustrated on this site. Another company that played a big part in the Shell-Mex story is Bowring's which you can also read about in this history section.

SHELL - MEX AND B.P. LTD was formed in 1931 as a joint UK marketing venture between Shell-Mex and British Petroleum mainly as a result of the difficult trading conditions being experienced at that time. Shell and BP owned 40% each and the Mexican Eagle Group 20% but in 1959 Shell's holding increased to 60% when it took full control of the Eagle Group. The headquarters was located at Shell-Mex House, 80, Strand, London. In 1934 the company acquired The Dominion Motor Spirit Company and in 1957, the National Benzole Company Ltd had become wholly owned by the organisation. 1976 saw the end of Shell-Mex & BP Ltd as the two founding companies went their own ways.

Throughout the relationship the companies continued to market their own brands. This can be seen on both Shell and BP petrol pump globes which whilst carrying the singular brand the globes are usually marked on the neck "Property of Shell-Mex and B.P. Ltd.

In 1900 the company had its first logo - a 'Mussel' shell but this did not last long and was replaced in 1904 by the first Pecten (scallop shell). The Shell Company states that there have been some 10 different logo designs in the UK, however examination of company products and advertising shows the following various logo designs are known to have existed. In particular, and including the Shell Aviation logo, there were approximately 6 different designs of the Shell Pecten during the 1920's alone. Click the images for dates.