William Pickering (publisher)
Encyclopedia
William Pickering was an English publisher, notable for introducing cloth binding to British publishing before 1820.
Pickering began working as an antiquarian bookseller before 1820, and quickly moved into publishing. In 1819 he began his series of Diamond Classics – small books set in tiny type, that were offered in a uniform binding of cloth or leather at a price the common man could afford. These are usually recognized as the first publishers' bindings in cloth – an innovation which had a rapid and profound impact on the publishing industry. Not just a publisher of reprints, much original work was also published by Pickering: from 1828 he became the Samuel Taylor Coleridge
's publisher, as well as bringing out the first edition in ordinary typography of William Blake
's Songs of Innocence and of Experience
. He specialized in scholarly editions of classic authors, both of ancient and English literature, including important editions of Blake, Malthus, Boswell, Johnson, Marlowe, Shakespeare and Isaac Walton.
After William Pickering’s death, the business was carried on by his son, Basil Montagu Pickering; on his death, in 1878, it was purchased by ‘old Mr Chatto’, one of the founding partners of Chatto and Windus
and became Pickering and Chatto
, a name which survives today as a specialist publisher and bookseller.
Pickering began working as an antiquarian bookseller before 1820, and quickly moved into publishing. In 1819 he began his series of Diamond Classics – small books set in tiny type, that were offered in a uniform binding of cloth or leather at a price the common man could afford. These are usually recognized as the first publishers' bindings in cloth – an innovation which had a rapid and profound impact on the publishing industry. Not just a publisher of reprints, much original work was also published by Pickering: from 1828 he became the Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
's publisher, as well as bringing out the first edition in ordinary typography of William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
's Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Songs of Innocence and of Experience is an illustrated collection of poems by William Blake. It appeared in two phases. A few first copies were printed and illuminated by William Blake himself in 1789; five years later he bound these poems with a set of new poems in a volume titled Songs of...
. He specialized in scholarly editions of classic authors, both of ancient and English literature, including important editions of Blake, Malthus, Boswell, Johnson, Marlowe, Shakespeare and Isaac Walton.
After William Pickering’s death, the business was carried on by his son, Basil Montagu Pickering; on his death, in 1878, it was purchased by ‘old Mr Chatto’, one of the founding partners of Chatto and Windus
Chatto and Windus
Chatto & Windus has been, since 1987, an imprint of Random House, publishers. It was originally an important publisher of books in London, founded in the Victorian era....
and became Pickering and Chatto
Pickering & Chatto Publishers
Pickering & Chatto is a UK based publishing house specialised in humanities and social sciences academic publication....
, a name which survives today as a specialist publisher and bookseller.