Charles Mellier was first listed in London directories as an upholsterer at 2 Frith Street, Soho in 1870. This address was a shop established in 1861 by Georges-Alphonse Monbro (1807-84), the renowned Parisian cabinet maker. It has been said that Mellier bought the London shop on his death changing the business name to his own but a 1927 advertisement stated that the Mellier business was established in 1865.