J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd

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Logo of Arrowsmith as used in 1891

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:

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]

  1. ^ Jerome, Jerome K. (1889). Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog). J. W. Arrowsmith. ISBN 0-7653-4161-1.
  2. ^ "National Archives Discovery Catalogue page, Records of JW Arrowsmith". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Arrowsmith (1979). Arrowsmith 1954-1954 1954-1979 (2nd ed.). Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd.
  4. ^ Cricket (Grace)  – via Wikisource.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ J. W. Arrowsmith, arthur-conan-doyle.com. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Arrowsmith’s Fiction Series, seriesofseries.com. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  9. ^ Arrowsmith’s 2/- Net Novels, seriesofseries.com. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  10. ^ 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]

External links[edit]

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