J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd
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J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd was a book printer and publisher based in Bristol, England. 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.[1] Also published by J. W. Arrowsmith were:
- Called Back by Hugh Conway (1883)
- Diary of a Pilgrimage by Jerome K. Jerome (1891)
- The Great Shadow by Arthur Conan Doyle (1892)
- 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
[edit]The business began in 1854 when Isaac Arrowsmith moved to Bristol from Worcester. Isaac Arrowsmith was a founder member of the Worcester Typographical Society.[2] 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.[3] When Isaac died in 1871 his son, James Williams Arrowsmith, ventured into general publishing.[3] Arrowsmith's first success came in 1883 with Hugh Conway's ‘Called Back’ was reviewed positively by Henry Labouchère in ’Truth’.[3]
James Arrowsmith was a friend of the famous Bristolian cricketer, WG Grace, and published Grace's book entitled 'Cricket'.[4] 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[3]
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.[3] During the Second World War the Arrowsmith's factory hosted seven local competitors whose sites had been destroyed.[3] 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.[3] Arrowsmith remains a publishing imprint.
Book series
[edit]- Arrowsmith's Bristol Library[5][6][7]
- Arrowsmith’s Fiction Favorites (ca. 1924)
- Arrowsmith’s Fiction Series (1943-1948)[8]
- Arrowsmith's Shilling Reprint Series
- Arrowsmith's Six Shilling Series
- Arrowsmith’s Three & Sixpenny Series (1892-1924)
- Arrowsmith’s 2/- Net Novels (1928-1941)[9]
- Arrowsmith's Two Shilling Series[5][10]
- Broad Arrow Thrillers (1937)
Archives
[edit]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
[edit]- ^ 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 (1979). Arrowsmith 1954-1954 1954-1979 (2nd ed.). Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd.
- ^ Wikisource. – via
- ^ a b Michael Sadleir, XIX Century Fiction : A Bibliographical Record Based on His Own Collection, Vol. 2, New York : Cooper Square Publishers, Inc., 1969, p. 12. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ J. W. Arrowsmith, arthur-conan-doyle.com. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ Troy J. Bassett, Title Tag: Publisher Series: Arrowsmith's Bristol Library, At the Circulating Library: A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837—1901, victorianresearch.org. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Arrowsmith’s Fiction Series, seriesofseries.com. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ Arrowsmith’s 2/- Net Novels, seriesofseries.com. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ Troy J. Bassett, Title Tag: Publisher Series: Arrowsmith's Two Shilling Series, At the Circulating Library: A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837—1901, victorianresearch.org. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
Further reading
[edit]- Arrowsmith (1979). Arrowsmith 1954-1954 1954-1979. Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd.
- "The Property of J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd.", Sotheby & Co. sales catalogue, March 1968