J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd
J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd was a book printer and publisher based in Bristol, England.[1] It became a limited company in 1911, having been an unincorporated company named Arrowsmith. It was closed in 2006.
The company published the first edition of the novel Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome in 1889.[2] Also published by J. W. Arrowsmith were:
- Called Back by Hugh Conway (1883)
- Diary of a Pilgrimage by Jerome K. Jerome (1891)
- The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith (1892)
- Rupert of Hentzau by Anthony Hope (1898)
- Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome (1900)
History
The business began in 1854 when Isaac Arrowsmith moved to Bristol from Worcester. Isaac Arrowsmith was a founder member of the Worcester Typographical Society.[3] Arrowsmith and Hugh Evans, a stationer on Clare Street, published a railway timetable for a penny, an original copy of which is held at the British Museum.[4] When Isaac died in 1871 his son, James Williams Arrowsmith, ventured into general publishing.[4] Arrowsmith's first success came in 1883 with Hugh Conway's ‘Called Back’ was reviewed positively by Henry Labouchère in ’Truth’.[4]
James Arrowsmith was a friend of the famous Bristolian cricketer, WG Grace, and published Grace's book entitled 'Cricket'.[5] Their surviving letters show the process was not a smooth one:
- Dear Arrowsmith,
- It is very annoying to think you won’t do the little book as I wish. If you do it at all, why not properly? The specimen you have sent is too common a style.
- Yours in haste,
- WG Grace[4]
In 1930 J W Arrowsmith printed the first of the Bristol Record Society's volumes, with transcriptions of historic records of Bristol, primarily material now held at Bristol Archives.[4] During the Second World War the Arrowsmith's factory hosted seven local competitors whose sites had been destroyed.[4] In 1952 a 27,000 square foot factory on Winterstoke Road, Bristol, was begun, finally alleviating the company's need to expand from the small, inadequate factory on Quay Street.[4] Arrowsmith remains a publishing imprint.
Archives
Most of the records of J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd are held at Bristol Archives (Ref. 40145) (online catalogue) along with copies of many Arrowsmith publications.
References
- ^ "J W Arrowsmith Ltd". iAvon, UK. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
- ^ Jerome, Jerome K. (1889). Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog). J. W. Arrowsmith. ISBN 0-7653-4161-1.
- ^ "National Archives Discovery Catalogue page, Records of JW Arrowsmith". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g ’Arrowsmith Printers, 1854-1954’, 1955, JW Arrowsmith
- ^ – via Wikisource.
External links
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