1910
Rayner is founded
 

Rayner logo

     



John Baptiste Reiner
The story of the Rayner Company begins in 1910, when
Mr John Baptiste Reiner and Mr Charles Davis Keeler opened their first optician's shop at No 9, Vere Street, London, England.

They registered their company as Reiner & Keeler Ltd on
the 30th October of that year. Before forming the company, J.B. Reiner had completed an apprenticeship in 'the art of
an optician and scientific instrument maker' in 1891 and
had gone on to work for E.B. Merrowitz Ltd, a branch of
a well known American optical company.



No. 9, Vere Street, London
In 1915, during the First World War, the company name was changed to Rayner & Keeler Ltd. This was almost certainly a commercial decision of the time as J.B. Reiner retained his name all his life. The two founding directors separated in 1917 when C.D. Keeler resigned and severed all his interests with the Company.