LONDON. 1 Share of £50. black. No 1765. Folds. The oldest brewery share we have ever seen. Founded 1804 by William Brown and Joseph Perry when they took over the existing Combrune's Brewhouse. The brewery was at the Barbican, City of London, and produced 'genuine malt liquor'. They wished toattack the London porter brewers who were selling (often adulterated) beer at fixed prices. Brown and Perry promised to sell their beer at discounted prices to the pubs and guaranteed its quality by using only malt and hops. The company capital amounted to £250,000 divided into £50 shares. The share capital was spread amongst hundreds of investors, including 120 pub owners. The company started to increase its production facility to what we can call 'mass production of beer'. It was an immediate success with by the end of 1806 already 200 bar owners signing up with the London Genuine Beer Co. and its share price more than doubling. The success story lasted until 1926 when the brewery had to close due to the largely increased cost of the high quality malt they were using. Very large format. High quality engraving by J. Girtin of Covent Garden. Since many years, only two pieces are known to us. Top piece.