The firm Edwards, Dunlop and Co. was founded in Sydney by law stationer and bookseller Frederick Lewis Edwards (1828-1906) and paper manufacturer William Phillip Dunlop (died 1906). Dunlop, who had come to Australia from Scotland in 1861 initially worked as a salesman for Alexander Cowan and Co. After returning to Scotland in 1867 he founded Murray, Dunlop and Co (with George Murray) and in 1873 began his partnership with Frederick Edwards. The company initially traded in London and Sydney as paper merchants and wholesale stationers, with the Sydney headquarters being located in Clarence Street. It later expanded to Brisbane (1880), Melbourne (1920) and Perth (ca. 1937). Frederick Edwards managed the company's office in London, while William Dunlop and his brother John Sym Dunlop (1844-1912) managed the Sydney operations. John Dunlop's sons James Matthew and William Phillip (Junior) both joined the company and took leading roles in its early development.
The business was incorporated as a limited liability company in 1886, and through careful and conservative management Edwards, Dunlop and Co managed to survive the depression, a disastrous fire in 1906 and paper shortages during World War I. Following the death of his uncle in 1906 and father in 1912, James Dunlop became chairman and managing director, and under his leadership the company continued to expand both its market reach and financial returns. In addition to its stationary and paper manufacturing interests, Edwards, Dunlop and Co also printed and published from the 1880s onwards, a wide range of Australian books, including cookery, sport, politics, music, poetry, novels and children's books.
Since 1959 the firm has expanded vigorously throughout Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South East Asia and the United Kingdom, and has played a leading role in the development of the newspaper and printing trades. Among its agencies for newsprint and other papers is Stora Kopparbergs of Sweden, the oldest known company in the world. In 1961 the company amalgamated with stationary producer W. Nevill and Co, and five years later undertook another merger, this time with paper manufacturers B. J. Ball Ltd. In the early 1980s Edwards, Dunlop and Co was itself acquired by Amcor Ltd. The company was relaunched in 2001 with its original name, however, following a merger with Commonwealth Paper. This new company subsequently became Australian's largest paper manufacturer. In 2009, Edwards, Dunlop and Co became part of the CPI group and is an equity partner in the European paper manufacturer merchant group IGEPA.
