Alf Cooke (1842 - 1902) was born in Hunslet, Leeds. In 1866, he established a business there selling newspapers, stationary, and letterpress prints which he had made. He quickly moved into chromolithographic prints and found great success, relocating to Headingley in the early 1870s. In 1880, a fire destroyed his shop and he had to start over nearly from scratch but was able to repeat and even exceed his earlier successes. His print shop developed a specialty in chromolithographed portraits, such as of Queen Victoria, which were extremely popular. In 1885 he was granted a Royal Warrant as 'Chromolithographer to Her Majesty' and afterwards preferred to be called 'the Queen's Printer.' Around the same time, he moved into a grand country estate (Weetwood Hall) to match his lofty reputation. Cooke also entered politics and in 1890 was elected Mayor of Leeds. In 1894, his print shop burned down again but a grand new factory was quickly built on the same site - the building still stands and is now part of Leeds City College. After Alf's death in 1902, his sons took over the company - it was merged twice in the following decades but continued to use the name 'Alf Cooke' for many years, even after the founder's descendants were no longer involved in its operation. The company eventually became part of the Bemrose Corporation, which produced printing and packaging products.