Start Date(s)

• 1883 (journal itself)

End Date(s)

• 1888 (Shattock)

Editor(s)

• Coote, W. A.

City

• London, England (journal itself)

Type of Content

• "Chronicles all matters appertaining to the London Society of Compositors and a treatment of Unionism on its broader basis" ("To Our Readers," vol. 1, no. 1, Nov. 1883, p.?)
• Contains (in 1883) "advertisements, quarterly notes, our supplement, work and wages, meetings, trade items, short sorts" (Waterloo Directory)

Notes

• "In placing this, the first Number of The Printer, before the trade, we feel that we should offer some reason for its appearance, and indicate the course we intend to pursue. In the first place, then, The Printer comes to fill a void which we believe is admitted on all sides to exist--the want of a vigorous organ to chronicle all matters appertaining to the London Society of Compositors. This will be our primary care, though we shall devote a portion of our space to the treatment of Unionism on its broader basis. The Printer will deem nothing 'printorial' too large or too small for its notice, and its aim will be to make every Printer acquainted with all that is transpiring in the trade. We shall give a generous support to the Executive whenever we deem their conduct praiseworthy, and we shall be equally free in condemnation whenever we feel that their conduct is blameable. Petty bickerings and wash-tub slander will find no room in our columns, and though we may feel constrained to apply the lash to delinquents it will be more in sorrow than in anger. We hope, however, that the occasions will be few when we shall be out of harmony with those who steer the Caxtonian barque through the shoals and quicksands which abound in official life--especially at Racquet Court. Our earnest wish will be to consolidate and strengthen our Society, to make it more worthy of our profession, and by publishing full and accurate reports of our delegate meetings, to stimulate all to take an interest in what most closely affects them" ("To Our Readers," vol. 1, no. 1, Nov. 1883, p.?).
• E. J. C. wrote an article called "Notes on News and Newspapers" for the May 1885 issue (Jones p. 62). This included a "shorter historical survey of newspapers" and "reiterated the liberal faith in an unreconstructed form. In less than two centuries since the abolition of censorship in 1695, it was argued, the press had become a power which, if impossible to measure, was also 'impossible to limit.' Its history was the 'history of progress in science, art, learning, truth, and Freedom'" (Jones p. 62)
• Sell's ad (1886) lists a number of quotations from other trade journals in praise of this journal (p. 611)
• Printer (in 1884) = E. J. Bush (Waterloo Online)
• Publisher's address (A. Ritchie & Co.): 6 Red Lion Court, Fleet St.  (Sell's 1886, p. 611); 182 Caledonian Rd., London (Caspar's 1889, p. 1287)

Subject Categories

• Printing History
• Printing Trade

Sources that Discuss this Journal

• COPAC
• Caspar's Directory 1889, p. 1287
• Jones p. 62
• Sell 1886, p. 611
• Shattock p. 52
• Waterloo (online)

Works Cited

• Caspar's Directory of the American Book, edited by Carl Nicolaus Caspar. C. N. Caspar, 1889. Google Books.
• COPAC: Consortium of Online Public Access Catalogues. Library Hub Discover, JISC.
• Jones, Aled. Powers of the Press: Newspapers, Power and the Public in Nineteenth-Century England. Ashgate, 1996.
• Sell, Henry. Sell’s Dictionary of the World’s Press. Sell’s Advertising Agency, 1883-1915. Google Books.
• Shattock, Joanne. The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature. Vol. 4: 1800-1900. Edited by Frederick W. Bateson. 3rd ed. Cambridge UP. 1999.
• The Waterloo Directory of English Newspapers and Periodicals: 1800-1900, edited by John S. North. North Waterloo Academic Press, 2009.