Launceston Booksellers in the 19th Century. Part Two

On Saturday November 23rd, 1844, Samuel Tegg purchased one and a half double columns on the front page of the Launceston Examiner to announce his imminent arrival in the town.

To the Inhabitants of Launceston and its Vicinity.

S. A. TEGG respectfully intimates to his friends and the public generally that he has taken those eligible and spacious premises, lately in the occupation of Mr. Cameron, situated in Brisbane-street, which he will OPEN ON MONDAY NEXT, the 26th instant, with a SPLENDID ASSORTMENT of BOOKS, STATIONERY, FANCY GOODS, &c., which it is his intention to offer at such prices that he hopes will insure him a share of their kind patronage. S. A. T. will always be enabled to afford novelty from the advantage he has over the rest of the trade by receiving NEW GOODS direct from the LONDON MARKET by every vessel.

To which was appended a detailed inventory of books, stationery, playing cards, perfumery, fancy goods, drawing materials and music.

Tegg's incursion may have surprised some residents in light of a protracted law suit brought against him by prominent local newspaper owner, publisher and bookseller Henry Dowling, and settled in Dowling's favour in 1841.

Samuel Tegg was a son of one of London's most successful booksellers Thomas Tegg (1), who pioneered the "remainder trade" and sent three of his sons to the colonies with a view to establishing a global business empire. Samuel first assisted his brother James in Sydney before returning to London for stock to establish himself in Hobart in 1838. He sold this business to James Walch in 1845.

Tegg's plate from a book inscribed 'Tegg's Circulating Library Launceston'

In a short period in the colonies Samuel Tegg publications included James Knox's Poetic Trifles (1838), David Burn's Plays and Fugitive Pieces (1842), James Bonwick's Geography for the Use of Australian Youth (1845), and Nathaniel Kentish's Essay on Capital Punishment (1842) and Work in the Bush (1846).

His residence in VDL was interrupted by several voyages back to Britain, and most significantly by the deaths of his brothers Henry, in South Africa in 1844, James (1845), and his father Thomas (1846) whose passing was followed by the sudden death of younger brother Alfred Byron the following day.

Samuel was required to assist his brother William in Britain, and he left the Launceston business in the hands of Robert Blake with a promise that he would continue to supply the establishment from London. He returned to sell the Launceston store to Mr Blake in 1847, but by 1849 the business was insolvent and Mr Blake's stock was sold at auction on April 25th of that year.

The enterprise was then re-established on the same site by John Alfred Huxtable, who also operated a bookshop in Hobart's Murray Street. Huxtable and Co. opened for business at the beginning of 1851 and a year later was taken over by its manager Mr A Duthie.

Four owners in five years may not have been a promising start, but this bookshop was about to enter a long period of stability and commercial success. Duthie sold the business to Hobart bookseller James Walch at the beginning of 1858, and it traded under the name J Walch and Sons until 1867. James Walch had employed Andrew Birchall as his Launceston manager, and between 1867 and 1893 the business operated as a partnership, Walch Bros. and Birchall.

An advertisement from Wise's Tasmanian Post Office Directory, 1891

Andrew Birchall purchased the business outright in 1893, and from that date traded as A. W. Birchall and Sons. His name is perpetually associated with the business which still operates from the same premises, offers a very similar product range, and since 1921 has traded as Birchalls Pty Ltd.

Examples of blindstamps found in LMI books

In addition to close commercial ties with the Launceston Mechanics' Institute, Andrew Birchall served on the Board of Management – as a member (1868-1874), as a vice-president (1875-76, 1883-93), and as President (1878-1882). He was also a member of the Launceston Hospital Board, vice-president of the Benevolent Society, a member of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a Justice of the Peace, superintendent of Christ Church Sunday school and secretary to the Church building committee.

On his retirement as President the Board passed a motion thankfully acknowledging his "earnest and unwearied service ... [and] their thanks for the valuable gifts of various kinds bestowed upon the Institute, and congratulate him on its present prosperity."

In a further appointment which closely linked Birchalls with the Mechanics' Institute, Joseph Reginald Forward held the position of librarian at the Institute for over forty years. His first job in Tasmania was with A W Birchall and Sons, following which he served as assistant librarian for five years, before being appointed librarian in 1906.

(1) The LMI collection includes a copy of Henry Curwen's A History of Booksellers [1873]which contains an excellent chapter on the life and career of Thomas Tegg.

Launceston Booksellers in the 19th Century. Part One.

At first glance, 1842 in Launceston would not seem to be an auspicious time or place to open a publicly funded, subscription based, Mechanics' Institute and library. It was a period of economic uncertainty in the colony, with falling prices and reduced trade; the town's population was around 10,000 and not more than half of those were literate. Yet this small community was served by three newspapers; several private subscription libraries; and an active trade in bookselling.

What made Launceston special at this time was the combination of entrepreneurial spirit, business acumen, foresight and energy among its community leaders. 

One of these was Henry Dowling, Jnr. By the age of 21 he was editor and publisher of the Launceston Advertiser. At 24 he commenced business as a printer, publisher, stationer and binder, in Brisbane Street. His leadership extended well beyond business to include immigration schemes, railways, a savings bank, and a long career in local and colonial politics.

Binder's Ticket from an LMI item circa 1848

In 1837, he established a bookshop and circulating library. He made arrangements with Samuel Tegg of Hobart Town for the supply of books from London, arrangements which led to a court action which was resolved in Dowling's favour in 1842. He published a "pirate" edition of Dickens' Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, in twenty-five parts and in July 1839 a bound volume of that novel with locally engraved illustrations, which was promoted as "the largest publication which has issued from either the New South Wales or Tasmanian Press".

Launceston Advertiser 25 January 1838, p4

Henry, his father the Rev. Henry, and his brother John, were all active members of the Board of Management of the Mechanics' Institute. He is recorded as an early donor of books to the Institute's collection, and he served two terms as Vice-president.

In 1852, the same year that he published John West's landmark History of Tasmania, Dowling sold his bookselling and stationery business to a new arrival in the colony, James John Hudson.

Hudson operated the business until 1868 when he entered into a partnership with Stephen Hopwood, a partnership which continued until 1885. The close business ties between the bookseller and the Institute is evidenced by the large number of books in the surviving collection which bear their blind stamps. Institute members frequently expressed a wish that more books be purchased from local suppliers. In addition, Hudson and Hopwood supplied stationery to the Institute, including ledgers and accession books. As well as his business activities James Hudson was involved in the Launceston Benevolent Society, founded the Northern Tasmanian Permanent Building Society and was instrumental in the establishment of the Launceston Working Men's Club which operated its own library (and competed with the Institute for members).

Blindstamps from books in the LMI Collection

Stephen Hopwood had started in the book trade as an apprentice to Alexander Duthie, and later in the employment of Walch Bros. and Birchall. Following the partnership with Hudson he continued the business, in partnership with John James until 1891, and then as Hopwood and Co. until his death in 1901. At this time arrangements were made for the continuance of the business for the benefit of his widow and family. The bookselling side of the business appears to have been transferred to T Hood and Co. (they also operated bookshops in Hobart and Zeehan) in the mid-1890s. They operated a circulating library from the long-established Brisbane Street premises, as had Henry Dowling back in 1837. This arrangement appears to have been shortlived as T Hood and Co. were no longer trading in Launceston in 1900, whereas Hopwood and Co. operated well into the twentieth century.

Daily Telegraph, 3 Sep 1895, p1.

Hopwood label from a book published in 1922

 In the second post in this series we will look at another bookselling business in Launceston, established in 1844, which continues to the present day.

“Rudiments of Physiology” by Dr John Fletcher.

Browsing through the collection of the Launceston Mechanics’ Institute turns up many books which were donated to the Institute. One with a particularly personal association is “Rudiments of physiology, part one, on organism” by Dr John Fletcher. 

The inscription inside the cover states:

“Presented to the Mechanics Institute by Mrs Rhind the author’s sister, 6th May 1861, Launceston”.

This simple inscription helped to uncover an interesting family story of misfortune and a successful return to fame and respectability.

The author of the book, John Fletcher, and his sister, Mary Catherine Fletcher were both born in London. Their parents, Thomas and Polly Catchlove nee Randell, were coal merchants and it was the intention that John should follow in their footsteps. His obituary states that such work did not satisfy a mind that hungered for knowledge and intellectual stimulation, and in 1813 John left for Edinburgh where he became a highly respected physician and lecturer. Perhaps his astute mind had also realised that business was a risky venture, because in 1822 and again in 1832 his mother’s business was declared bankrupt. On the first occasion John’s father Thomas, was still in business and in the second instance his brother Thomas had become a partner in business with their mother. All hopes of an inheritance for John, Mary and their siblings were lost.

Bookplate of Sidney J Fletcher, from Rudiments of Physiology

John Fletcher lived a successful life as a physician in Edinburgh, publishing two volumes of “Rudiments of Physiology” and preparing a manuscript of the third volume before his early death of illness in 1836. He had married Agnes Seton in 1821 and when he died intestate, Agnes was left with £127, a promissory note for £30, household goods valued at £382.14.00, and the copyright of the first and second parts of ‘Rudiments of Physiology’ “but upon which no value can be put”.

In 1845 The Cornwall Chronicle published a condensed version of an obituary for Dr Fletcher which had originally appeared in the ‘Edinburgh Evening Courant’ just after his death in 1836 and had also appeared in medical journals at that time. It was published in the Cornwall Chronicle under the heading ‘Biography’. Why it appeared in a Launceston paper so many years after his death is unknown, but a long paragraph at the end of the obituary, about the author’s “amiable” sister, Mrs Rhind, may indicate that she gave a copy of the article for publication. 

The original obituary was written by Robert Lewins who was responsible for the posthumous publication of Dr Fletcher’s third volume of ‘Physiology’ which included a memoir on Dr Fletcher. In the obituary Lewins gives very high praise for Dr Fletcher’s personal and professional qualities. He sums up by saying, “… by Dr Fletcher’s death science has lost a most industrious and successful cultivator, and the medical school of Edinburgh one of its brightest ornaments.”[1] Although John Fletcher wrote other books, it was Lewin’s opinion that on ‘Rudiments of physiology’ “… alone, his claim to professional distinction may be safely founded.”[2]

John’s sister, Mary Catherine, having married William Rhind, Esq. in 1839, moved with her husband to Van Diemen’s Land where they settled in Launceston. William died in 1847 "At his residence, George-street, on Saturday, the 4th December, aged 40 years, … late of Forres, Morayshire. [To a richly stored and highly cultivated mind was united a most untiring disposition, which rendered him averse to everything approximating in the most remote degree to ostentation : to those who possessed his confidence, he was unreserved ; and to such will his loss be long severely felt.]" [3] 

Mary Catherine was left to her own devices, and considered, by the editor of the Cornwall Chronicle, “a candidate for public patronage and support”.  This public declaration of the need for patronage seems to have been nothing unusual in the nineteenth century. Mary had been running a young ladies’ school from at least 1842 and in her first advertisement for the school in the ‘Launceston Courier’ she “solicits the patronage of her friends”. By 1862 she was well-known and respected enough to be a referee for another lady starting up a school. In 1869 she attended a reception at the Town Hall given by the Governor’s wife, the Hon. Georgiana du Cane.

Mary Catherine Rhind died in 1884. Obviously family was very important to her, as in her will she left several family mementoes to family members. The fact that she had already donated her brother’s book to the Launceston Mechanics’ Institute honoured not only her brother’s memory but the Institute as well, as being a worthy repository for such a prestigious book.

[1] Cornwall Chronicle, 15 November 1845, p.334.

[2] Cornwall Chronicle.

[3] Launceston Examiner, 8 December 1847, p.6.

This post was contributed by FOLMI member, Sue McClarron.

 

George Eliot's Middlemarch and Mudie's Select Library

Only a well- established novelist could challenge the orthodoxy of the "three-decker" novel at 10/6 per volume in the mid-nineteenth century. A novel was an expensive purchase, and for most Victorians, the alternative was to rent. The great circulating libraries, especially Mudie's, subverted the fiction publishing market. Mudie's business model preferred three volumes and a large order from Mudie made a decent print-run viable; to be ignored by his "Select Library" seriously threatened an author's livelihood.

Charles Dickens' alternative was to publish initially in monthly parts at a shilling an issue, with a special two-part number to conclude. Total cost one pound, instead of a guinea and a half, and an outlay spread over nineteen months. Additionally, there was the opportunity with this mode of publication to pad out the parts with paid advertisements. Then, a bound edition could follow for the patient renters.

George Eliot's Middlemarch was another attempt at beating the tyranny of the libraries. Conceived as a longer form narrative than could be contained in three volumes, it appeared first in eight books, published at two-monthly intervals, at 5/- a book. Initially, Mudie threatened a boycott, but with George Eliot at the height of her powers and popularity, he relented and took 1000 copies of Book I, or 20% of the print-run.

The Institute's collection includes among its treasures a set of Middlemarch in the eight-book first edition (1871-72), and to a bibliophile, the copy is full of interest.

The first thing to be noted is that it carefully retains all of the original green wrappers and advertisements, but has been rebound in green cloth with cream endpapers. On the cover of each book is the applied yellow plate of Mudie's Select Library. On Book I only, this plate is casually overlayed on the plate of The English and Foreign Library Company (Late Hookham's.) Thus this volume marks the exact moment that Mudie finally swallowed up his competitor, Thomas Hookham, whose company had been in the circulating library business since 1784.

Mudie's label on 'Middlemarch'. Book VI.

 On the front free endpapers of each book is the blind stamp of Hudson & Hopwood, Booksellers and Stationers, Launceston. This suggests that Messrs. Hudson and Hopwood had imported this copy of Middlemarch, probably through a purchase of Mudie's excess stock.

From Hudson & Hopwood, the books were transferred to the Launceston Public Library, at some time before 1875 when they appeared in that institution's printed catalogue. Each volume is marked with their oval stamp, and subsequently plated Mechanics' Institute and Public Library, following the transfer of the LPL's stock to its rival around 1890.

Blind stamp of Hudson & Hopwood

This, now rare, first edition of Middlemarch is described in detail from his own copy by M I Parrish in Victorian Lady Novelists (1933). The Institute's copy, which appears to be the only copy held in an Australian library, is as described by Parrish, but with some additional material.

Book I has a different set of advertisements on the back wrapper – an advertisement for Jenner & Knewstub's Patents and Inventions, not The Crown Perfumery Company, inside, and an advertisement for George Eliot, Wise, Witty and Tender Sayings in Prose and Verse, "in the Press", not the advertisement for Works of George Eliot and Lord Lytton's Novels described by Parrish.

Book II contains additional advertisements pasted inside Mudie's covers - at the front for Bontor & Collins and Rowland's Kalydor, and George Roberts' Wedding Trousseau, and at the back Phillips, China and Glass Manufacturers.

The Middlemarch experiment must have been a commercial success because Daniel Deronda was published in a similar form in 1876; and a four volume edition of Middlemarch appeared in 1872 (there is also a copy of this edition in the Institute collection), suggesting the eight book edition had been completely sold in less than a year.

The large number of volumes in the Institute collection bearing Mudie's bright yellow label indicates that his Select Library was a most useful source of books for colonial libraries, and that Mudie was astutely selling off his excess stock as demand for titles waned in his English branches. For the interested reader, Guinevere L. Griest's Mudie's Circulating Library and the Victorian Novel (1970) is recommended.