Floris of London
One of the oldest shops in London is the Floris perfume shop, founded in 1730 by Juan Famenias Floris and his wife Elizabeth, who began selling perfume, combs and shaving products at 89 Jermyn Street, St. James.. In 1820, Floris received their first Royal Warrant as Smooth Pointed Comb Maker to King George IV. Skilfully made combs were a speciality of Floris at this time and greatly valued by the company’s elite clientele. While living abroad in 1818, Mary Shelley, author of ‘Frankenstein’ and wife of the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, wrote to her friend Thomas Love Peacock in London asking him to send her “two hairbrushes and a small toothbrush” from Floris. Today, the shop is still run by the descendants of Juan Famenias Floris.
