A large and handsome portrait of William Brown, c.1840. Oil on canvas.William Brown was the great-great-grandfather of Aubrey Brown (d.1935), the founder of the silk tie company ''Holliday & Brown''. Holliday & Brown is still flourishing today with its founder Aubrey Brown front and centre of its history - the below is a quote from their website:''At the beginning of the 20th century, the Brown family owned haute couture stores for men''s clothing in the historic Mayfair district. The area had been the home of the best British craftsmanship since 1819. The brave and visionary Aubrey Brown sensed that there was room in the men''s fashion world for a specialist to design and distribute silk for ties. In 1919 he opened his store in the famous Burlington Arcade.In 1926, he founded ''Holliday & Brown Ltd'' with his family friend Mr Holliday. It was a brand of ties with unmistakable prints and unique and elegant colours. When Aubrey died, his brother Basil and son Colin took over...