The FOLMI volunteer team has been wintering in the comfort
of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery's reading room, sorting and
listing the records of the Mechanics' Institute. One of the joys of filing the
nineteenth century correspondence and accounts has been to see the variety of
letterheads and billheads belonging to Launceston businesses.
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| Craw & Ratcliff billhead. click to enlarge |
This ornate example was discovered by Anna Lynde last week
and it belongs to a bookseller none of us had heard of before. We are indebted
to Ross Smith, a member of the QVMAG staff, whose detective work revealed the
sad story of Messrs. Craw and Ratcliff's brief appearance in the annals of the
book trade in Launceston.
Their shop was established in Central Brisbane Street in
1887, after they took over the book and stationery business of Kerkham and
Banks. Following some initial success and achieving a modest return from the
business, they invested heavily in stock in anticipation of the Tasmanian
Exhibition which was to have opened in 1890.
Most unfortunately for them, the Exhibition opening was
postponed for a year, largely because of a shipping strike which affected all
of the colonies. Its delayed opening left Leslie Craw, the senior partner, and
Henry Ratcliff carrying £1600 of stock much of which could not be sold. In an
attempt to trade out of difficulties they invested in the tea trade and were
again left overstocked. The partnership's creditors had their stock revalued
and the new valuation came in much lower, at £920.
Insolvent, the partners were
forced to close the business well before the Exhibition opened its doors in
November 1891.
The small cash purchase by the Institute appears to be
mainly aimed at younger readers – three titles from Ward Lock's 'Minerva
Library' and a book from Martha Finley's Mildred Keith series are included.
A portrait of Leslie Craw, who was in his early twenties
when he established the partnership with Henry Ratcliff, may be found on the
excellent Launceston Family Album site maintained by the Friends of the
Library, Launceston. Both Craw and Henry Ratcliff had previously worked for
Hopwood and James Booksellers and were active in local sporting and musical
circles.
