Buyer protection
Contents
Robert Hammond of Knightsbridge defends himself in a 1789 pamphlet against competitors who falsely claimed to be the successors of his firm. His firm had been supplying customers with donkey milk for over 60 years.
We report what the source says and provide a critical assessment. Donkey milk is a food.
The source in brief
- Author: Robert Hammond, donkey milk dealer in Knightsbridge
- Work: Pamphlet "To the Nobility, Gentry, and Others" (printed by H. Reynell, Piccadilly)
- Format: Single-sheet print, dated "Knightsbridge, March the 1st, 1789"
- Time and place: March 1, 1789 · England (London, Knightsbridge)
- Type of source: Promotional leaflet
The exact wording
certain Persons selling Asses Milk, have falsly and deceitfully assumed themselves to be the Successors of Lowther, Payne, Hoare, and Hammond, of Knightsbridge
certain persons selling donkey milk had falsely and deceitfully claimed to be the successors of Lowther, Payne, Hoare, and Hammond of Knightsbridge
English, pamphlet 1789, para. 1
N. B. The Royal Family have been served with Asses Milk by this House, more than Sixty Years.
N. B.: The Royal Family has been supplied with donkey milk by this firm for more than sixty years.
English, pamphlet 1789, N. B.
German translation: own, sense-for-sense translation by the DON DONKEY'S editorial team.
Background
In 18th-century London, donkey milk was a business: dealers kept donkeys on the outskirts of the city and delivered the fresh milk to their customers. Knightsbridge, then still a suburb west of the city, was one of the locations.
The pamphlet is a business notice, not a medical text. It shows that donkey milk was so popular that there were disputes over names and origins – an early form of trademark protection.
What the source reports
Hammond writes that he had repeatedly received complaints from customers: other donkey milk sellers were claiming to be the successors of the firm "Lowther, Payne, Hoare, and Hammond" and were selling milk of inferior quality.
He makes it clear that he is the sole successor and lives in the same house – "next to Morley's Floor-Cloth Manufactory" –, which his predecessors had inhabited for over sixty years. There, the milk had always been valued thanks to the feed and special treatment of the donkeys by the doctors ("Gentlemen of the Faculty").
In a postscript, it is stated that the firm has been supplying the Royal Family with donkey milk for more than sixty years.
Figures and facts
- 1789 – Date: Knightsbridge, March 1
- 60+ – Years the firm had been in business according to its own statement
- 4 – Names in the succession of firms: Lowther, Payne, Hoare, Hammond
- 1 – Printer: H. Reynell, No. 21 Piccadilly
- around 1729 – calculated start of the firm (60 years before 1789)
Critical assessment
- Type of source: An original single-sheet print from the Eighteenth-Century Collection, fully legible and digitized. It provides first-hand evidence of the donkey milk trade in London.
- Promotional claims: Statements such as the supply to the Royal Family or the special quality are self-promotion by a dealer and have not been independently verified.
- Modern assessment: The leaflet says nothing about health effects, but rather about demand, competition, and delivery practices. It is a piece of economic history, not a medical document.
Our assessment
For us, this leaflet is particularly appealing: As early as 1789, it was about the origin and feeding of the animals – and about imitators. We report the promotional claims as what they are: self-promotion.
Original quotes, all facts, and the complete assessment: London donkey milk dealer: pamphlet from 1789. Further sources and studies in the Research Archive.
Evidence: Digital copy of the pamphlet (archive.org) · Summarized by the DON DONKEY'S editorial team, as of November 2026.
End of source summary. The source does not refer to DON DONKEY'S® or our products. Our donkey milk is a food.
