A notable treasure of the Winterthur Library is the collection of watercolor, pencil, and wash drawings of furniture and house furnishings by the English firm Gillow and Company. Beginning around 1730 as a small, family-run cabinet shop in Lancaster, England, Gillow remained in operation for nearly two hundred years. Expansion brought more success to the company after the opening of a London branch in 1769 and the addition of full upholstery services in Lancaster starting in 1785.
