Richard Watts (died 24 March 1844) was an early nineteenth-century English printer, located in Crown Court, Temple Bar, London. His work is identified under the signature R. Watts.
Watts was the printer for the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
from 1802 until 1809,
(a switch to
stenotype
A steno machine, stenotype machine, shorthand machine, stenograph or steno writer is a specialized chorded keyboard or typewriter used by stenographers for shorthand use. In order to pass the United States Registered Professional Reporter test, a ...
was made by the school in 1804).
He left Cambridge in 1809 and set up a printing workshop in
Broxbourne
Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 It is ...
, subsequently setting up the Oriental Type-Foundry on Temple Bar, London, in 1816.
Watts developed a reputation as "a cutter and founder of Oriental and foreign characters, of which he accumulated a considerable collection". His Oriental Type-Foundry was also the oriental printer for the
Church Missionary Society
The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...
, the
Bible Society
A Bible society is a non-profit organization, usually nondenominational in makeup, devoted to translating, publishing, and distributing the Bible at affordable prices. In recent years they also are increasingly involved in advocating its credibi ...
, the
Prayer Book Society, and the Homily Society.
Watts's son,
William Mavor Watts (1797/98-1874), took over the printing business in Crown Court, Temple Bar.
Watts died age 70 and is buried in
All Saints' Church, Edmonton
All Saints' Church, Edmonton, is located in Church Street Edmonton, London, England. First recorded in the 12th century, it was entirely rebuilt in the 15th century and has undergone many modifications since.
History
All Saints is the parish ...
.
Apprentices to Richard Watts
* Richard Clay I (1789-1877), was apprenticed to Richard Watts in 1803. His son, Charles John Clay, was printer to the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
between 1854–1882.
[Michael Black, Cambridge University Press 1584-1984 (Cambridge University Press, 2000), p. 152.]
*
Mirza Salih was apprenticed to Watts in 1819.
[Nile Green, "Terrains of Exchange: Religious economies of global Islam" (Oxford University Press, 2014), Chapter 2: The Christian Origins of Muslim Printing.]
* Sullivan (Sulman) Law Hyder, was apprenticed to Watts for five years in the 1820s before going to work as a printer in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
in 1931.
*
William Colenso
William Colenso (17 November 1811 – 10 February 1899) FRS was a Cornish Christian missionary to New Zealand, and also a printer, botanist, explorer and politician. He attended the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and later wrote an accou ...
was apprenticed to Watts in 1833.
Further reading
* Nile Green, ''Terrains of Exchange: Religious economies of global Islam'' (Oxford University Press, 2014), especially Chapter 2: The Christian Origins of Muslim Printing.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, R.
English printers
People associated with the University of Cambridge
English engravers