The original company was founded by Benjamin Rutter, possibly prior to 1726 when he was fined for having carried on business in the City of Bristol without being a freeman of the City.   Benjamin died in 1768 and the company was continued by his son Thomas.   The company became Rutter and Harding, though nothing is known (by me) of this partner.   Thomas died in about 1800 and in 1809 the company became Rutter & Co. when his son Samuel succeeded him.  In 1826 a new partner, Samuel Wade joined and when Samuel Rutter died in 1845, Samuel Wade continued until his death in 1855.

The business was sold to E. Hunt, J.B. Walter and E. Brison.   After the retirement of E. Hunt in 1857 and J.B. Walter in 1862, Emanuel Brison renamed the business E. Brison & Co.   When Emanuel died in 1864, Thomas Baker and William Henry Brison (Emanuel's nephew) kept the company name and were joined by in 1869 by Alfred Brison, William's cousin.   About two years later Thomas Baker retired and the two Brisons traded as E. Brison and Co until 1897 when William Brison died.   Alfred continued the business until about 1912.   The engraving, right, was made in 1912 and clearly shows the company name on the buildings (enlarged below).

In the 1881 census both Alfred and William are shown as Brush and Bellows Manufacturers.   The business employed around 90 workers, though the cousins' memory and estimate of the breakdown of the workforce varied considerably.   (Alfred: 45 men, 15 boys, 30 women and William: 54 Men, 1 Boy, 36 women ! )   By 1900 or so this number had dropped to about 70.

By the end of the nineteenth century the Company made brushes of many types including Household and Painting Brushes, Metal Bound Compressed Sash Painting Tools, and Scrubbing Brushes 'machine bored and filled'.   They also made the 'Bristol' House Bellows.   Other lines included the manufacture of Zinc Washing Boards, the import of Woodware products and they were factors of Mats, Matting and Baskets.   They worked long hours with the office open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Summer and half an hour longer in the Winter, the factory opening two hours earlier than that in the Summer and one hour in the Winter.   The company trademark is shown above with a boar which was registered in 1876.   The Company bankers were The National Provincial Bank of England Ltd. in Bristol.

The site of the original business is not known to the author, but the site in Peter Street, Bristol was acquired in 1857 providing an extensive and well equipped factory with river frontage, most important for the carriage of goods and materials.   Interestingly this site in 1690 had belonged to the wife of William Penn (the founder of Pennsylvania).   It was sold to 'Incorporation of the Poor of Bristol' by a deed signed by both William Penn and his wife.   This formed part of the site of the first Workhouse in England and later buildings used as Bristol Workhouse until the sale in 1857.
May be the business was struggling in the early 20th century, it would appear that the premises, rather than the business, were put up for sale when Alfred retired sometime between 1910 and 1912.