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
editThe 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
editMost 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.
- ^ – via Wikisource.
- ^ 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