ICI: Imperial Chemical Industries c1930s

ICI, was a very well known British company synonymous with the production and development of chemicals, fertilisers, insecticides, dyestuffs, metals, paints, and explosives. During the 1930s, ICI diversified into pharmaceuticals and developed drugs to control bacterial and parasitic infection. The Company was also credited with the development of the first effective synthetic malaria drug (1940s), and invented beta blockers for heart problems in the 1960s.

 

I came across this very early ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries) lapel badge in 2000, eight years before ICI ceased trading as a company. I bought the badge from an antique/collectables/bric-a-brac shop and was immediately intrigued by the lion trademark as it differed greatly from the familiar ICI roundel logo. Its size is also impressive, measuring approximately 2 x 2 inches.

 

In order to glean background information about the design, I wrote to ICI at its Millbank, London HQ in 2000 and received the following detailed information (via letter) from their public relations department.

 

'We can confirm that it has been associated (the design) with the company for the best part of its history and probably, the use of the lion as a symbol, predates the formation of ICI in 1926.

 

My research indicates that it probably made its first appearance as a design competition winner for the cover of the new house journal called 'ICI Magazine' which was published for all ICI staff throughout the world. The first edition published in 1928 carried the results of a competition with 421 entries and the designs of five of the winners were illustrated, including the lion device designed by W E Anderson of the British Dyestuffs Corporation Ltd., Sales Department, Blackley, Manchester.

 

British Dyestuffs Corporation Ltd (BDC), was one of the four major chemical companies (the others being Nobel Industries Ltd., Brunner Mond & Co Ltd and the Alkali Co Ltd) which were amalgamated to form ICI late in 1926 to combat foreign competition, particularly from the German chemical industry at that time. Incidentally, the present ICI roundel logo originated through an adaptation of one of the Nobel Industries logos which we felt to be the most easily adapted.

 

There may have been some use of a lion in BDC's product promotion prior to Mr Anderson's competition entry, but this would appear to be the first use of a lion combined with the ICI initials. It symbolises ICI and British Imperialism striding across the industrial world, a popular sentiment of the time.

 

Subsequently the device in various forms was used by the ICI Dyestuffs Division and their agents in certain product promotion overseas, particularly China and the Far East, Africa and the Near East, in the 30s and 40s. It was registered with adaptations as a trademark in some territories and was also used by ICI Paints Division later in the 1940s and 1950s. Indeed a large version of the ICI lion device was still affixed to the end of one of the buildings at our Paints site at Slough in the early 1990s and may still be there.

 

The Lion device gained popularity with the internal workforce and adopted as a symbol for factory recreation and social clubs, including some of the inter-site personnel activities which required a strong identification with the workforce.

 

Health and Safety has always been a prime consideration of the Company, who ran competitions to promote good practice and employees were encouraged to qualify as 'First Aid' staff. The badge is therefore an example of an award given to an employee of one of our sites.....'

 

This badge was purchased near Merthyr, South Wales and a calculated guess would suggest that the piece is linked to the former ICI Landore plant near Swansea, thirty miles west of Merthyr.

 

Photography, layout and design: Argy58

 

(This image also exists as a high resolution jpeg and tiff - ideal for a variety of print sizes

e.g. A4, A3, A2 and A1. The current uploaded format is for screen based viewing only: 72pi)

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