Blackie & Son was a publishing house in Glasgow, Scotland, and London, England, from 1809 to 1991.Iain Stevenson, Book Makers: British Publishing in the Twentieth Century. London: The British Library, 2010, p. 77.
History The firm was founded as a bookseller in 1809 by John Blackie (1782–1874) as a partnership with two others and was known as 'Blackie, Fullarton and Company'. It began printing in 1819, using the skill and equipment of Edward Khull.Blackie and Son, gracesguide.co.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2018. It moved to Glasgow around 1830 and had premises at 8 Clyde Street facing the River Clyde.Glasgow Post Office Directory 1830 Following the retirement of Fullarton the company was renamed 'Blackie and Son' in 1831, remaining in the Clyde Street property, and becoming a public limited company in 1890. Later on, the business moved its Glasgow office to 17 Stanhope Street, and also opened offices at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh and 16/18 William IV Street, Charing Cross, London. The company also opened offices in Canada and India. It ceased publishing in 1991.
Blackie and Son initially published books sold by subscription, including religious texts and reference books. Later the firm published single volumes, particularly school-level educational texts and children's books, taking advantage of compulsory education from 1870. It also published "finely printed 'toy' and 'reward' books" (the latter being "intended for presentation as prizes to pupils in day and Sunday schools").
In 1893 Blackie and Son appointed Talwin Morris as the firm's art director and book designer. During his tenure, until his death in 1911, Morris was "responsible for the first integrated and visually homogenised approach to the mass production of easily affordable books"Talwin Morris, Designer for Books and Blackie's, fulltable.com. Retrieved 11 January 2024. for any British publisher. He also designed books for Gresham Publishing, a subsidiary of Blackie and Son.Talwin Morris Biography, umanitoba.ca. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
Blackie published G. A. Henty's historical adventure books for boys (e.g. With Kitchener in the Soudan and With Lee in Virginia) which were very popular in the British Empire in the later 19th century; Henty wrote 122 books including adult novels.John Feather, A History of British Publishing, London: Routledge, 2006, 2nd ed., chapter "The Age of Novels", passim.
From 1920, under the guidance of the Cambridge-trained engineer and mathematician, Frederick Bisacre, who became a Blackie and Son partner and subsequently its chairman,Frederick Francis Percival Bisacre, MacTutor, mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2024. the firm began to publish a scientific list "at the cutting edge of research"Iain Stevenson, Book Makers: British Publishing in the Twentieth Century. London: The British Library, 2010, p. 78. and which would become the "strongest list in the area" from any British commercial publisher.
Blackie published the many Flower Fairy books of Cicely Mary Barker beginning in 1923.Cicely Mary Barker: "Blackie's Easy Story Book" Book Cover Artwork, 1924, illustrationartistsgallery.com. Retrieved 13 January 2024. From the 1950s onwards it published The Kennett Library, a graded series of classics retold for schools including: Kidnapped, Little Women, Westward Ho!, The Black Arrow, Wuthering Heights and Ben-Hur. From 1960 to 1991, Blackie published over 130 "Topsy and Tim" titles by Jean and Gareth Adamson.
In 1902, Walter Blackie commissioned Hill House on a plot in Helensburgh to the West of Glasgow. The architect was Charles Rennie Mackintosh, a friend of Talwin Morris. The house is regarded as one of Mackintosh's finest works.Hillhouse by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, victorianweb.org. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
Book series The following is a select listing. Further series are listed here in the Blackie Archives at Glasgow University Library.
Annuals Blackie's Boys' AnnualBlackie's boys' annual, worldcat.org. Retrieved 17 January 2024. Blackie's Children's Annual Blackie's Girls' Annual
Notable staff
Marilyn Malin, later managing director of Methuen Children's Books, started her career as a secretary at Black and Son in the 1950s.
Further reading Agnes A. C. Blackie, Blackie & Son, 1809-1959: A Short History of the Firm, London : Blackie & Son, 1959.
See also John Dougall (mathematician) Walter Jerrold UK children's book publishers
References
External links
Records of Blackie & Son Ltd, publishers, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, Scotland - archive held by University of Glasgow. Blackie Archive : Children's School Textbooks, 1882-1976 at University of Glasgow Library (see also: three background articles on University of Glasgow Library Blog) Free download of Blackie & Son 1886 map of Burmah, Siam and Anam