Card of the Day - 2021-12-30

Now these are in most dealer`s catalogues under M for Melox. However Melox dog food was just a brand made by W.G.Clarke & Sons of Limehouse, who were founded in 1851. Most of their products in trade guides are listed as "biscuits", and in fact they were based at the Anchor Patent Biscuit Works, in Thomas Street. They also had premises in Liverpool.

By the outbreak of the First World War they had expanded their business to cater to poultry keepers, and also to His Majesty`s Forces, to whom they supplied biscuits as well, the sort which are known as "Hard Tack" - and now you know why.

What I do not know is if there was any difference between the recipes used for animal and human consumption.

They supplemented and advertised their business by way of issuing booklets on proper dog and puppy keeping, and also by sponsoring dog and puppy shows.  

In the late 1950s they became part of Spratts

The cards all have this reverse, but no actual issuer, and no title, which is why our original British Trade Index also lists them under Melox and calls them “Happy Family Game” This means that when they were recorded they must have just seen the cards, and not the packet, because it is that on which it says all the important gen : “The Game of Happy Melox Families Presented by W.G. Clarke & Son (1929) Ltd., Thomas St, London, E.14.” And it also has the rules of how to play printed on the reverse. You can see the whole set courtesy of the World of Playing Cards.

Melox issued another set, MEL-210 : MEL-2 in 1937, this was “The Melox Series of Famous Breeds of Dog”. It also issued several advertising postcards, including the “Marvels” series, and ones of Polar Exploration, because their biscuits were supplied to one. Its emblem, of a fox terrier on a circle, thought to be a globe, but probably just a ball, also appears on other items, including metal ware and dog bowls, and they produced several booklets on dog care. Lastly, they sponsored dog and puppy shows.

Sadly I have not been able to find out when they closed. The cards seem to have stopped with the arrival of the Second World War, and Thomas Street is in the docklands (actually in Limehouse), so must have got a battering during the Blitz. and because of its levelling the area has seen much regeneration over the recent years, so I imagine the factory is almost certainly no more, if it stayed upright, it is probably now converted into housing. If anyone knows, do tell.