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Private company

Waterlow Sons Ltd

Design company

Waterlow and Sons Limited was a major worldwide engraver of currency, postage stamps, shares and bond certificates based in London, Watford and Dunstable in England. The company was founded as a family business in 1810. It was acquired in 1961 by De La Rue.2 It ceased to exist in 2009.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1810Founded1
  • HeadquartersUnited Kingdom1

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1925 Waterlow sample stamp
Photo: Waterlow & Sons Ltd., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

Waterlow and Sons Limited was a major worldwide engraver of currency, postage stamps, shares and bond certificates based in London, Watford and Dunstable in England. The company was founded as a family business in 1810. It was acquired in 1961 by De La Rue.2

The story

Waterlow and Sons originated from the business of James Waterlow, who began producing lithographic copies of legal documents at Birchin Lane in London in 1810. The company gradually grew; it began printing stamps in 1852, and Waterlow's sons Alfred, Walter, Sydney and Albert joined the business. James Waterlow died in 1876, and the company became a limited-liability company. In 1877, due to a family dispute, the company split, and Alfred and his sons formed Waterlow Bros. & Layton. The two companies later reunited in 1920.

In 1924, the Imperial Bank of Persia commissioned the company to print 1, 5 and 10 toman banknotes that bore the watermark of Lion and Sun for the first time.

From Wikipedia’s article on Waterlow and Sons, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

  • banknote

Listed on Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 2009Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1810Founded Founded1

Sources

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