Fore more than 100 years the word "Shell", the "Pecten" emblem and the company's distinctive red and yellow colours have identified the Shell brand and promoted its corporate reputation.

These symbols have stood not only for the quality of their products and services, but also as very visible representations of their professionalism and values in all of their business activities.

The word "Shell" first appeared in 1891, as the trade mark for kerosene being shipped to the Far East by Marcus Samuel and Company. This small London business dealt originally in antiques, curios and oriental seashells.

These became so popular — the Victorians used them to decorate trinket boxes in particular — that soon they formed the basis of the company's profitable import and export trade with the Far East.

The word was elevated to corporate status in 1897, when Samuel formed The "Shell" Transport and Trading Company.

The first logo (1901) was a mussel shell, but by 1904 a scallop shell or "Pecten" emblem had been introduced to give a visual manifestation to the corporate and brand name.

The choice of the shell as an emblem was not surprising, as it was the company's name, but each of Samuel's tankers carrying kerosene to the Far East were also named after a different seashell.

There is also some evidence that the Shell emblem was taken from Samuel's family coat of arms. The "St. James's Shell" had been adopted by the Graham family after their ancestors made the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella in Spain.

Whatever its origins, the original design was a reasonably faithful reproduction of the "Pecten" or scallop shell.

When the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and "Shell" Transport and Trading merged in 1907, it was the latter's brand name and symbol which then became the short form name ("Shell") and the visible emblem (the "Pecten") of the new Royal Dutch/Shell Group. And so it has remained ever since.

The form of the Shell emblem has changed gradually over the years in line with trends in graphic design.

The current emblem was created by the great designer, Raymond Loewy and introduced in 1971. Thirty-five years on it stands the test of time as one of the world's most recognised symbols.