Spratt's was the world's first large-scale manufacturer of dog biscuits. Its "Meat Fibrine Dog Cake" was the brainchild of American entrepreneur James Spratt who launched the biscuit in London circa 1860. The company began operations in the United States of America in the 1870s and, after Spratt's death in 1880, the company went public and became known as Spratt's Patent, Limited, and Spratt's Patent (America) Limited. Spratt's pioneered the concept of animal life stages with appropriate foods for each stage. The company successfully promoted their array of products for dogs and other domestic animals through the astute use of snob appeal. The company was the first to erect a billboard in London. For an advertising poster they hired Auguste Jean-Baptiste Roubille (1872-1955). He was an engraver and a painter (he did café murals), a book illustrator, and a designer of posters and dioramas.