Burroughs, Wellcome and Company was the pharmaceutical firm established in London in 1880 by two young American pharmacists, Silas Mainville Burroughs and Henry Wellcome. They brought not only new pharmaceutical preparations and production techniques, but also new methods of marketing and advertising to the UK.  Part of that strategy was the provision of free drug samples and gifts in the form of blotters, specially written medical guides and books, and annual medical diaries.