John F. Wilson is Pro Vice-Chancellor (Business and Law) at Northumbria University at Newcastle. Steven Toms spent fifteen years in senior management at Nottingham University as head of the undergraduate programme, chair of teaching committee and research director before becoming Head of York Management School in 2004. Ian Jones is a Senior Research Assistant at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University.

• Introduction John F. Wilson, Ian Jones, and Steven Toms 1. The origins of competitive advantage in the marketing of branded packaged consumer goods: Colman’s and Reckitt’s in early Victorian Britain Roy Church and Christine Clark 2. The cartel in oregrounds iron: trading relationships in the raw material for steel Peter King Oregrounds iron: Afterword Peter King 3. ‘Made in Britain’? National trade marks and merchandise marks: the British experiences from the late nineteenth century to the 1920s David M. Higgins Made in Britain: A retrospective analysis David M. Higgins Index