The British wool manufacturer J & J Baldwin and Partners, founded by James Baldwin in Halifax, England, during the late 1770s, merged in 1920 with John Paton Son & Co., established in 1814 in Scotland.

By the mid-1930s, the newly combined entity, Patons and Baldwins, had operations spanning Scotland, Northern England, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and even China.

The company's entry into China began in 1922, with advertisements for Beehive Wool appearing in local newspapers.

In 1924, Patons and Baldwins established an office in the bustling trade port of Shanghai, and their knitting wools quickly gained popularity. The brand's success was such that it was even counterfeited by local manufacturers.

By the early 1930s, the company’s BB brand (“Britain’s Best”) or Fēngfáng pái in Chinese (蜂房牌) - as featured on our advertisement sign - had become a household name in China.

Under the leadership of W.A. Kearton, the business thrived despite rising import tariffs, prompting the establishment of a factory in Shanghai in 1934.

This facility, described as "by far the biggest woollen mill in China," employed nearly 2,000 workers and helped meet growing demand while reducing costs.

It was planned by Russian architect V. N. Dronnikoff for Palmer & Turner.

Only three years later, in July 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out and soon reached Shanghai. The Patons and Baldwins mill, located on Yangtszepoo Road in the outskirts of the city was heavily affected by the fighting.

At that time the Japanese however were not yet at war with the Allied Powers and the city center of Shanghai with its International Settlement and the French Concession were spared. 

That was until the fateful day of August 14th 1937, later dubbed Bloody Saturday, when at 4:27 pm, two misdirected bombs by the Chinese Airforce struck near the Great World amusement center on Avenue Edward VII (now Yan'an Road) and Yu Ya Ching Road (now Middle Xizang Road), where 10,000 Chinese refugees had gathered. The devastating blasts left over 1,200 people dead and 1,400 injured. Panic broke out in the foreign sections of the city and private and commercial life was disrupted for months. 

Despite this tragedy, Shanghai's resilience was symbolized by the unveiling of Beehive’s spectacular neon advertisement sign approximately a year later in September 1938, at the very same corner of Ave. Edward VII and Yu Ya Ching Road. Heralded by newspapers as the "Monster Neon Sign That Reveals Faith in the City," the installation became a beacon of inspiration during turbulent times.

One can only imagine how this sign, which was titled “the largest in the Orient and the second largest in the world”, inspired both business leaders and commoners when it was first illuminated. The new display reached a height of 120 feet (37m) from the side walk and was installed by Claude-Neon Lights, the company named after the French inventor of Neon, Georges Claude. 

Thousands of people thronged this area, which was rapidly becoming the busiest cross section of Shanghai’s daily life. The design of the signs main section was carried out by the use of over 1,300 neon tubes in red, blue, light and dark green, white and golden flashing colors. Below the moniker “The King of Knitting Wools”, the Chinese brand term was displayed in orange-red tubing – all in the glowing colors of its trademark. 

And indeed, with the influx of millions of Chinese refugees to Shanghai’s international concessions, the city did experience an ironic boost in commercial and cultural activity. This ambivalent "solitary island" period of Shanghai lasted until the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, when Japanese forces occupied the city’s Western concessions. Allied residents were interned, and businesses, including Patons and Baldwins, were seized.

Although the company resumed operations briefly after the war, it never regained its foothold in China. Following the Communist takeover in 1949, Patons and Baldwins exited the market. Its former factory was renamed to Shanghai No. 17 Woolen Mill in 1959.

In 1961, the company merged with J & P Coats Ltd., and ownership eventually passed to Mez Crafts and then to DMC in 2020. While the Beehive "BB" brand was discontinued, the Patons trademark remains in use today, still adorned with its iconic beehive logo.

Meanwhile, back in Shanghai, many of the sprawling buildings that once housed Patons & Baldwins' colossal mill remain intact, now preserved as culturally significant landmarks, echoing the city's industrial and historical legacy.