It was established by John Watson and James Ferguson in the mid nineteenth century as a firm specialising in book selling, stationery manufacturing, lithography and printing.
[1][2][3] John Watson was born near Glasgow, Scotland around 1830 and, at the age of sixteen, left for Indiana in the United States of America, prior to arriving in New South Wales, Australia, in pursuit of gold.
John Watson and his wife, Elizabeth Selim, died when the RMS Quetta was wrecked on the Far North Queensland coast in 1890.
[11] In 1909, Watson and Ferguson commenced offering subscription and circulating library services from their Queen Street premises and, during the holiday season, at Southport and merged their business into a limited liability concern.
[12][13] In 1914, the business built a large printery and bookbinding factory on the corner of Glenelg and Stanley Streets with the assistance of the Municipality of South Brisbane.