Oxford Bookstore and Stationery Company
Encyclopedia
The Oxford Bookstore formerly known as Oxford Bookstore and Stationery Company is an India
n book store-chain established in 1920 by the Primlani family, a Sindhi
business house who were pioneers in book wholesaling in India. It has no connection with Oxford University Press
. Its outlets, on prime locations in the high streets of most of the major cities of the Raj such as Delhi
, Mumbai
, Meerut, Chennai
(2006) and Calcutta
, are well known even today. Still known as the 'Oxford Bookstores, the outlets are now managed by the Apeejay Surrendra Group, a Calcutta-based conglomerate, while the book wholesaling business has been merged with India Book House
to become Oxford and IBH.
rising, it was used as a message drop-off point by activists, who would slip notes into particular books for other members of their group to find.
OUP had in fact taken legal advice and been told that the geographical identifier ‘Oxford’ carried no protection unless teamed with ‘University’ or ‘Press’; and if any two words of the name were used they could ‘jump in with both feet’, as Milford said, and prosecute for trademark violation. The Press had been able to stifle the activities of the University of Oxford, Tennessee, without too much trouble, but marmalade, sausages
and shoes could all call themselves ‘Oxford’ with impunity. Milford encouraged them because he felt their ‘enterprise’ deserved it, and since they were not publishers their operations actually helped OUP, and the confusion over who owned the Oxford Bookstores may have acted in OUP's advantage. Even today many people are surprised to know that these imposing, well-appointed and stately bookshops were never owned by OUP.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n book store-chain established in 1920 by the Primlani family, a Sindhi
Sindhi people
Sindhis are a Sindhi speaking socio-ethnic group of people originating from Sindh, a province Formerly of British India, now in Pakistan. Today Sindhis that live in Pakistan belong to various religious denominations including Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity...
business house who were pioneers in book wholesaling in India. It has no connection with Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
. Its outlets, on prime locations in the high streets of most of the major cities of the Raj such as Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Meerut, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
(2006) and Calcutta
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, are well known even today. Still known as the 'Oxford Bookstores, the outlets are now managed by the Apeejay Surrendra Group, a Calcutta-based conglomerate, while the book wholesaling business has been merged with India Book House
India Book House
India Book House Pvt. Limited is an importer, distributor and publisher of books and magazines in India.Formed in 1952, India Book House published paperback editions of children's authors such as Enid Blyton and Frederick Forsyth, as well as magazines such as Tintin and Asterix, often in Indian...
to become Oxford and IBH.
History
The Oxford Bookstore was a landmark in Calcutta during the days of the Raj, along with Whiteaway Laidlaw's famous departmental store. Like most bookshops of the time, the store also stocked fancy leather goods, toys, perfume, albums, photo frames, indoor games, playing cards and silver and electroplated goods. It features in the memoirs of many eminent British and Indian figures of the twentieth century, and has always played a part in the city's life. In the 1970s, during the NaxaliteNaxalite
The word Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to various militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes...
rising, it was used as a message drop-off point by activists, who would slip notes into particular books for other members of their group to find.
Use of the name 'Oxford'
Oxford University Press came to India in 1912, and learned of the existence of the Oxford Bookstores shortly after they were set up in 1920. They had a brief legal tussle over the use of the telegraphic address 'Oxonian', but in general tolerated and even encouraged the firm, giving them special terms for OUP and Clarendon Press titles. ‘An enterprising firm, certainly good at display,’ H.S. Milford, Publisher to the University, commented to Sir Maurice Gwyer.OUP had in fact taken legal advice and been told that the geographical identifier ‘Oxford’ carried no protection unless teamed with ‘University’ or ‘Press’; and if any two words of the name were used they could ‘jump in with both feet’, as Milford said, and prosecute for trademark violation. The Press had been able to stifle the activities of the University of Oxford, Tennessee, without too much trouble, but marmalade, sausages
Oxford sausage
Oxford sausages are a distinctive variety of pork and veal sausage commonly associated with, and thought to have been developed in, the English city of Oxford. Traditionally, Oxford sausages are noted for the addition of veal, in contrast to many traditional British sausages which contain only...
and shoes could all call themselves ‘Oxford’ with impunity. Milford encouraged them because he felt their ‘enterprise’ deserved it, and since they were not publishers their operations actually helped OUP, and the confusion over who owned the Oxford Bookstores may have acted in OUP's advantage. Even today many people are surprised to know that these imposing, well-appointed and stately bookshops were never owned by OUP.