The Philip & Tacey heritage began in 1826 when John Tacey secured the appointment as Headmaster at the British School in City Road, London. He soon became a well-known figure in the community and his school a meeting place for teachers from all over the London area. Each evening a schoolhouse was the venue for a gathering and each evening rarely did the other teachers leave without asking John Tacey to help them obtain some item or other which they had neglected to provide for themselves, for use in their own school. In those days it was no easy task to secure the necessary materials for equipping a school. Items such as slates, chalks, and sponges were obtained from the oil shop; books from the booksellers; ink and paper from the stationers; even furniture from a builders.

Requests for materials continued to increase and cupboards were packed with stock, a far larger amount than for the school itself therefore a system of book-keeping became essential, and this brought about John Tacey's decision to open a central shop rather than simply over-stocking his own school.

The First Shop Opens

Finally in 1829 he opened one of the first school supply houses in the world, close by his school in City Road. He continued for many years in his unassuming role and, after his death, was succeeded by a nephew. Changes had already started to occur; the business was rapidly growing into an extensive enterprise and other trading houses were springing up around the country. The City Road business was experiencing serious competition for the first time.

Younger members rejuvenated the business, and in 1902 an association was formed with Messrs. George Philip & Son, a publishing company of Fleet Street, and the new name of Philip & Tacey was adopted.

Friedrich Froebel and Madam Montessori

In 1918 Philip & Tacey became the first supplier of Friedrich Froebel materials, the man credited for forming the kindergarten. Madam Maria Montessori, after satisfying herself that the organisation would manufacture good quality equipment to meet her high standards and also provide a satisfactory world-wide sales and after-sales service, appointed Philip & Tacey Ltd as the sole manufacturer and distributor of her didactic materials. They retained these exclusive rights until the outbreak of the Second World War.

In 1920 there was a change in the firm; George Philip felt that the needs of their own publishing business must come first so the association was dissolved and a period of reorganization and expansion resulted.

After the Second World War the range of products continued to grow, particularly for Primary and Kindergarten education. The 1950's heralded a new understanding of the role of education with governments recognizing that is was in education that their country's future lay. During the 50's and 60's the company created a whole new catalogue called ‘Teaching Aids' which fulfilled the needs of the new style of education. Expansion and growth followed throughout the 70's and 80's with Philip & Tacey moving to new headquarters in 1971 and continuing their development.

Philip & Tacey Today

Now in the 21st Century, Philip & Tacey continues to grow their own-developed curricular resources and they have refined their exercise book offer to create a range which fulfils all educational establishments' needs, specialising in raising the profile of schools by offering an excellent range of overprinted exercise books, the quality of which cannot be beaten in the marketplace.