Douglas Bennett Cockerell (1870 – 1945) was a British bookbinder and author.

Early life and education

Douglas Bennett Cockerell was born on 5 August 1870 in Clifton Cottage,

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to parents Alice Elizabeth and Sydney John Cockerell. They were a middle class family but when his father died in 1877, the family struggled. He attended the St. Paul’s School, until age 15 when he moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Cockerell wasn't doing well in school and Canada gave him new opportunities, initially he worked on a farm. At the age of 20, he ended up managing a bank at

Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. Cockerell returned to England in 1891 and worked as a secretary of the Chiswick School of Arts and Crafts in west London. His older brother,

Sydney Carlyle Cockerell Sydney Carlyle Cockerell (16 July 1867 – 1 May 1962) was an England, English museum curator and collector. From 1908 to 1937, he was director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England. Biography Sydney Cockerell made his way initially ...

was a secretary to

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

of the Kelmscott Press, this introduced him to book arts. Cockerell apprenticed under T.J. Cobden-Sanderson from 1893 until 1897 at the Doves Bindery in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, London, where he learned to bind new books and make book repairs.

Career

After he completed his apprenticeship, in 1897 he opened his own bindery at 6 Denmark Street, off Charing Cross Road in London and started teaching at the London County Council Central School of Arts and Crafts (now known as

Central School of Art and Design The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...

). When he was not able to find teaching resources, Cockerell wrote his own instructional book, ''Bookbinding and the Care of Books'' (1901). He taught at Central School of Art and Design from 1897 until 1905, and then again until 1935 from 1921. He also taught at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

. Douglas’s most celebrated pupil/employee and partner was Roger Powell who founded his own bindery in Froxfield Hampshire. Roger rebound The Book of Kells in Dublin in 1953. Students of Cockerell included his son Sydney Morris Cockerell,

Polly Lada-Mocarski Laura "Polly" Lada-Mocarski (born Laura Mitchell Klots; 1902–1997) was an American craftsperson, rare book scholar, bookbinder, book preservationist, educator, and the inventor of the PolyCase, an exhibition display for old and rare books. She se ...

, Elizabeth Greenhill, and others. The founders of the Sangorski & Sutcliffe bookbinder firm met in a Cockerell course at Central School of Art and Design. Cockerell continued to teach, he did experiments with binding and materials, documented his knowledge in authored books, as well as take new bindery jobs for art books. In 1936, he received “Designer for Industry of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

”. Douglas Cockerell died at his home, 298 Norton Way South,

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchworth ...

, on 25 November 1945. Sydney "Sandy" Morris Cockerell his son, carried on the work at the bindery after his death, as well as Roger Powell, who had worked there from 1935 to 1947. The bindery closed down in 1987, after Sandy's death.

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cockerell, Douglas 1870 births 1945 deaths People from Sydenham, London Bookbinders Book artists Academics of the Royal College of Art