English firm of goldsmiths and jewellers. This celebrated business was probably founded by Henry Hurt (bapt 1697; d 1785), who became a freeman of the Clockmakers' Company, London, on 3 April 1721. The date of establishment is thought to be 1724-5, as, at that time, Hurt took possession of premises, known from c. 1732 as the 'Golden Salmon', in St Paul's Cathedral Churchyard, London. In 1745, recorded as a goldsmith and toymaker, he moved to new premises, also known as the 'Golden Salmon', at Ludgate Hill; he retired in 1757-8. He was succeeded by William Theed I in partnership with his son-in-law, William Pickett (d 1796). Theed retired in 1762, and, about 1767, Pickett was joined by Philip Rundell (1746-1827), who had recently left the firm of William Rogers, a jeweller in Bath, to whom he had been apprenticed in 1760. The name of the firm in London was changed to Pickett & Rundell on Philip Rundell's admittance as a partner in 1771 or 1772.
See the Abbreviations for further details.
