Asprey & Co were established in 1781 in Mitcham, Surrey as a silk printing business, which developed in a luxury goods manufacturer, especially well-known for the manufacture of dressing cases;. their premises in New Bond Street were opened in 1847. In the 20th century Asprey began to make and sell silver and jewellery and opened an antiques department.
From the late 1960s to the 1980s the antique department was run by Paul Clarke, who formerly worked at the antique dealers Stanley Pratt of Mount Street, London during the 1960s.