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Historically...
The highest quality products and service.
As much as we like to think about how Ben Franklin was a customer and that we are the oldest luggage retailer in the country, providing you with exquisite style and service is our singular focus.
Below, read obout our roots going back to 1776.
Today, we invite you to explore the finest variety of luggage, leather goods for business and home, gifts, and now handbags.
Come visit us and explore before you shop at one of our locations, or call us. We promise you an experience unlike any other, and service you'll know only here at The London Harness Company.
Our History of Style and Service
In 1776 Zachariah Hicks was operating a harness making and saddle shop in the heart of Boston. Hicks joined forces with legendary Boston trunk maker W.W. Winship. Winship is credited with the innovation of the domed trunk, a storage staple in Boston attics for generations. The Winship family continued the tradition of selling fine luggage until 1973, when the firm was acquired by The London Harness Company.
At the same time the Winships were fulfilling Bostonians' taste for trunks, James R. Hill was building his harness making trade in Concord, NH. By 1847, Hill's Concord Harness had become a household word. Wells Fargo used it in their overland delivery service. Buffalo Bill and P.T. Barnum relied on the Concord harness for their circuses. By 1865, Hill & Co. looked for new markets to conquer, and that meant Boston.
In 1890, Kennedy & Murphy was Boston's premier harness shop. Capitalizing on Victorian Boston's love affair with English goods, the firm characterized themselves as the London Harness Agency. Hill & Co. did the competition one step better. In a bold move, the New Hampshire firm opened a competing shop on Devonshire Street in 1895, and co-opted their rival's name. Operating as The London Harness Store, it was a clear attempt to attract Murphy's trade. By 1897, Murphy & Co. was gone from the scene. Flush with success, Hill sold out to Boston investors, with the majority of stocks held by the Dwight family.
The London Harness Company continued to prosper. By 1919, true to their name, English leather goods were the principal wares. The Dwight's acquired the business in 1973. In 1981, Dan Woodman, a resident of Norfolk, MA, began to acquire all of the London Harness locations.
Along with Mr. Woodman's accountant, Gary Jacobson of Wellesley, the two have expanded The London Harness Company with stores in Hingham, as well as having one of the 50 TUMI stores in the world, which is next to The London Harness Company of Wellesley.
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