1820 is the earliest date for which records of the Company's activities still exist.
The founder, whose portrait hangs on the wall of the present Boardroom and is shown in the Company logo was Thomas Aubin, his nephew, Philip Germain, joined him in the business upon leaving school and it was from Philip's son, John Francis and his son John Philip, that the Company took its present name during the 1920s.
John Philip's two sons joined him in the business as did their own sons, so bringing us to the present day.
The business has been both a Partnership and Solely-owned over the years and is now a privately-owned Limited Liability Company.
The modern Tobacco Factory stands on the original site and much of the building still dates from the first development.
Lacking a deep-water port on its south coast, Given the rise of tide, this is not the problem it might seem, and at the beginning of the 19th century a new `Quai des Marchands' - Merchants Quay - was developed on the foreshore of St. Helier and warehouses constructed to form the `Commercial Buildings'.
Ships would lie alongside the quay across the road from the warehouses and the deeds of the properties

still show rights of access over the quay to load and unload from shipping,
although the moorings are now given over to pleasure craft and the former warehouses across the Old Harbour on the New North Quay are now an award-winning Maritime Museum.
Modern vessels from Portsmouth, Poole, St. Malo, Dielette and Rotterdam now use the dredged berths in the Main and Elizabeth harbours and goods arrive by Coaster, Ro-Ro Ferry or fast Wavepiercer.
Leaf tobacco still arrives at the same place in Hogsheads, Bales and Cases by sea from Rotterdam, even though the transport is faster and the original factory was rebuilt in the 1960s: the rearmost part of the present building is original and built of local granite. On the uppermost floor there still exists the wooden jib-crane which hoisted goods to the loading doors on each floor; now out of use, spare a thought for the original operators as they laboured at the winding handle!