J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd

J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd was a British printing and publishing business based in Bristol, England. Its origins date to 1854, when Isaac Arrowsmith moved from Worcester to Bristol and entered the stationery and printing trade. In collaboration with Hugh Evans, a stationer on Clare Street, Arrowsmith published a railway timetable priced at one penny. The surviving timetable is held by the British Museum and represents one of the earliest documented products associated with the business. After Isaac Arrowsmith’s death in 1871, his son James Williams Arrowsmith developed the firm beyond its original commercial printing and stationery activities and pursued general publishing. The company’s first significant publishing success came in 1883 with Hugh Conway’s novel Called Back, which received favorable attention after a positive review by Henry Labouchère in Truth. This success helped establish Arrowsmith as a publisher of popular fiction. The firm became particularly associated with books by prominent late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century authors. Its catalogue included the first edition of Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat in 1889, as well as Jerome’s Diary of a Pilgrimage and Three Men on the Bummel. Other notable Arrowsmith publications included Horace Francis Lester’s The Taking of Dover, Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Great Shadow, George and Weedon Grossmith’s The Diary of a Nobody, and Anthony Hope’s Rupert of Hentzau. The company also published Cricket by the Bristol cricketer W. G. Grace, although surviving correspondence indicates that the production process involved disagreements over the book’s presentation and typographical style. J. W. Arrowsmith operated both as a publisher and as a printer. Its publishing identity was supported by a range of branded series, including Arrowsmith’s Bristol Library, Arrowsmith’s Fiction Favorites, Arrowsmith’s Fiction Series, Arrowsmith’s Shilling Reprint Series, Arrowsmith’s Six Shilling Series, Arrowsmith’s Three & Sixpenny Series, Arrowsmith’s 2/- Net Novels, Arrowsmith’s Two Shilling Series, and Broad Arrow Thrillers. These series reflect the company’s participation in the British mass-market and affordable-fiction trade, where standardized formats and fixed-price editions helped publishers reach wider readerships. The company was incorporated as a limited company in 1911, having previously operated as the unincorporated business Arrowsmith. Its printing capacity also gave it a role in Bristol’s wider commercial and civic life. During the Second World War, the Arrowsmith factory provided space for seven local printing competitors whose premises had been destroyed. In 1952, construction began on a 27,000-square-foot factory on Winterstoke Road in Bristol, replacing the firm’s smaller and inadequate Quay Street premises and allowing further consolidation of its operations. From 1930, J. W. Arrowsmith printed the first volume of the Bristol Record Society’s publications, a series devoted primarily to transcriptions of historic Bristol records now held by Bristol Archives. This work connected the company’s printing activities with the preservation and dissemination of local history. Records of the business are held at Bristol Archives, together with copies of many Arrowsmith publications. The company closed in 2006, although the Arrowsmith name has continued to be described as a publishing imprint.

The business that became J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd began in Bristol in 1854 after Isaac Arrowsmith relocated there from Worcester. Arrowsmith had been a founding member of the Worcester Typographical Society, and his early Bristol activities combined printing, stationery, and publishing. With Hugh Evans, a Clare Street stationer, he issued a one-penny railway timetable. An original copy is preserved at the British Museum. Isaac Arrowsmith died in 1871. His son, James Williams Arrowsmith, subsequently expanded the business into general publishing. The company’s first major publishing success was Hugh Conway’s Called Back, issued in 1883. The novel gained visibility after a favorable review by Henry Labouchère in Truth, helping the Bristol firm establish a reputation beyond local commercial printing. During the late nineteenth century, Arrowsmith published a succession of commercially successful and culturally enduring books. Its catalogue included Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat, first published by the company in 1889, and later works by Jerome including Diary of a Pilgrimage and Three Men on the Bummel. The list also included The Taking of Dover by Horace Francis Lester, The Great Shadow by Arthur Conan Doyle, The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith, and Rupert of Hentzau by Anthony Hope. The company published Cricket by W. G. Grace, a prominent Bristolian cricketer and a friend of James Arrowsmith. Correspondence between Grace and Arrowsmith records disagreements about the proposed design and production of the book. Arrowsmith developed a number of recognizable series for fiction and reprints. These included Arrowsmith’s Bristol Library, Arrowsmith’s Fiction Favorites, Arrowsmith’s Fiction Series, the Shilling Reprint Series, the Six Shilling Series, the Three & Sixpenny Series, the 2/- Net Novels, the Two Shilling Series, and Broad Arrow Thrillers. The series demonstrate the company’s use of price-based and format-based publishing to market fiction to broad sections of the British reading public. The business was incorporated in 1911 as J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd. It continued to operate as both a publisher and printer. Its industrial facilities had a wider role during the Second World War, when the company’s factory accommodated seven local competitors whose premises had been destroyed. In 1952, work began on a 27,000-square-foot factory on Winterstoke Road in Bristol. The new premises addressed the limitations of the company’s smaller Quay Street factory and provided additional room for its printing operations. The company also contributed to the documentation of Bristol’s history. In 1930, J. W. Arrowsmith printed the first volume issued by the Bristol Record Society. The society’s publications transcribe historic records of Bristol, much of the source material now being held by Bristol Archives. Arrowsmith’s involvement therefore extended beyond popular books into the production of durable scholarly and civic reference works. J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd closed in 2006. The corporate business is defunct, but the Arrowsmith name has continued to be identified with a publishing imprint. The company’s records are held at Bristol Archives under reference 40145, alongside copies of many publications produced by the firm.

• 2006

  Company closes

  [1]J. W. Arrowsmith Ltden.wikipedia.org

  J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd ceased operating as a company, while the Arrowsmith name remained associated with a publishing imprint.

• 1952

  New Winterstoke Road factory planned

  [1]J. W. Arrowsmith Ltden.wikipedia.org

  Construction began on a 27,000-square-foot factory on Winterstoke Road in Bristol to replace the firm’s inadequate Quay Street premises.

• 1930

  Printing begins for the Bristol Record Society

  [1]J. W. Arrowsmith Ltden.wikipedia.org

  The company printed the first volume in the Bristol Record Society’s series of transcribed Bristol historical records.

• 1911

  Incorporation as a limited company

  [1]J. W. Arrowsmith Ltden.wikipedia.org

  The previously unincorporated Arrowsmith business became J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd.

• 1889

  First edition of Three Men in a Boat

  [1]J. W. Arrowsmith Ltden.wikipedia.org

  J. W. Arrowsmith published the first edition of Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat, the company’s best-known literary association.

• 1883

  Publication of Called Back

  [1]J. W. Arrowsmith Ltden.wikipedia.org

  Hugh Conway’s Called Back became the firm’s first major publishing success after receiving favorable attention in Truth.

• 1871

  James Williams Arrowsmith expands into publishing

  [1]J. W. Arrowsmith Ltden.wikipedia.org

  After Isaac Arrowsmith’s death, his son James Williams Arrowsmith pursued general publishing alongside the established printing and stationery activities.

• 1854

  Business established in Bristol

  [1]J. W. Arrowsmith Ltden.wikipedia.org

  Isaac Arrowsmith moved from Worcester to Bristol and began the business that would develop into J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd.

A Bristol-based publisher and printer combining popular commercial fiction, affordable reprint series, author-led literary titles, and locally significant historical printing.

• Novel · 1889

  Three Men in a Boat

  Jerome K. Jerome’s comic travel novel was first published by J. W. Arrowsmith in 1889. It became the company’s most prominent literary publication and remains central to historical accounts of the firm’s contribution to British publishing.

• Novel · 1883

  Called Back

  Hugh Conway’s 1883 novel was the company’s first major publishing success. Its favorable review in Truth helped give the Bristol publisher wider recognition and encouraged its subsequent expansion in popular fiction.

• Book series

  Arrowsmith fiction and reprint series

  The firm issued fiction through several branded series, including Arrowsmith’s Fiction Favorites, Arrowsmith’s Fiction Series, the Shilling Reprint Series, the Six Shilling Series, the Three & Sixpenny Series, the 2/- Net Novels, the Two Shilling Series, and Broad Arrow Thrillers. Their names indicate a strong focus on accessible formats and fixed-price editions.

• Local history publishing · 1930

  Bristol Record Society volumes

  Beginning in 1930, J. W. Arrowsmith printed volumes for the Bristol Record Society. The series transcribed historic Bristol records and connected the company’s production capabilities with the preservation and circulation of local historical sources.

• Printing · 1854

  Commercial printing and railway timetables

  Before and alongside its book publishing activities, the business produced commercial printed matter. An early example was a one-penny railway timetable issued with Hugh Evans in the nineteenth century.

• 2006

  Closure of the companyOther

  Background

  J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd had operated as a Bristol publisher and printer for more than 150 years.

  Action taken

  The company closed in 2006.

  Aftermath

  The corporate entity became defunct, although the Arrowsmith name continued as a publishing imprint.

  Source

• 1952

  Expansion to a new printing factoryStrategy

  Background

  The company’s existing Quay Street factory was too small and inadequate for its continuing printing requirements.

  Action taken

  Construction began on a 27,000-square-foot facility on Winterstoke Road in Bristol.

  Aftermath

  The new premises provided additional capacity and reduced the firm’s dependence on its constrained earlier site.

  Source

• 1911

  Formal incorporationStrategy

  Background

  The long-running Arrowsmith business had operated as an unincorporated firm while developing printing and publishing activities.

  Action taken

  The business was reorganized as J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd.

  Aftermath

  The limited-company structure continued the firm’s publishing and printing operations through the twentieth century.

  Source

1. 1J. W. Arrowsmith Ltden.wikipedia.org