The London Consolidated Lodge of Journeymen Bookbinders was a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

representing bookbinders based in London. In 1839, there were three lodges of bookbinders in London, and they undertook a thirty-week strike to limit the number of apprentices being taken on. This was broadly successful, as the masters agreed to recognise the workers' right to unionise, and some limits were placed on future numbers of apprentices.{{cite book , last1=Bundock , first1=Clement , title=The Story of the National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers , date=1959 , publisher=Oxford University Press , location=Oxford, pages=9–132

Thomas Dunning Thomas Joseph Dunning (12 January 1799 – 23 December 1873) was an English bookbinder and trade unionist. Biography He was born on 12 January 1799 in Southwark, the son of Joseph Hill Dunning, a waterworks turncock, and Ann Barber Dunning.E ...

emerged as the leading figure in the London bookbinders, and he used the prestige of the successful strike to convince the national Bookbinders' Consolidated Relief Fund to reorganise as a more centralised organisation, the

Bookbinders' Consolidated Union The Bookbinders and Machine Rulers' Consolidated Union (B&MRCU) was a trade union representing people involved in the manufacturing of books in the United Kingdom. The union was founded on 19 October 1835 in Manchester as the Bookbinders' Consol ...

. He also convinced the three London lodges of bookbinders to merge, with the plan of taking over the management of the union, but after they did so, they found that the Consolidated Union's finances were in a worse state than expected, and so the London Consolidated Lodge instead became a separate union. While the Consolidated Union continued to represent bookbinders outside London, Dunning steadfastly refused all proposals to merge the London Consolidated Lodge into it. He remained secretary of the lodge until 1873, when he was severely injured by being hit by a vehicle, and continued to edit the union's journal, the ''Circular'', until his death in 1875. In later years, the union became known as the London Consolidated Society of Journeymen Bookbinders. It supported the eight-hour movement, and was a founding member of the

Printing and Kindred Trades Federation The Printing and Kindred Trades Federation (P&KTF) was a trade union federation in the United Kingdom. History The federation was established at a conference in Manchester on 8 September 1890, organised on the initiative of George D. Kelley. Th ...

. On 1 January 1911, it finally merged with the

Bookbinders' and Machine Rulers' Consolidated Union The Bookbinders and Machine Rulers' Consolidated Union (B&MRCU) was a trade union representing people involved in the manufacturing of books in the United Kingdom. The union was founded on 19 October 1835 in Manchester as the Bookbinders' Consol ...

, the Society of Day-working Bookbinders of London and the

Vellum (Account Book) Binders' Trade Society The Vellum (Account Book) Binders' Trade Society was a British trade union formed in 1823, and with a tiny membership representing a small fraction of bookbinders. It is perhaps best remembered in contemporary times for its president from 1892 to ...

, to form the

National Union of Bookbinders and Machine Rulers {{Infobox union , name = National Union of Bookbinders and Machine Rulers , full_name = , image = , founded = 1911 , predecessor = , successor = , dissolved = 1921 , merged = National Union of Prin ...

General Secretaries

:1840:

:1873:

H. R. King Henry R. King (c. 1826 – 18 October 1903) was a British trade union leader. He was a leading advocate for women's trade unionism who served for many years as treasurer of the London Trades Council. King worked as a bookbinder, and joined th ...

:1899: William Coffey

References

Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Trade unions established in the 1840s Trade unions disestablished in 1911 Bookbinders' trade unions Trade unions based in London