{{short description, Former trade union of the United Kingdom
The United Society of Engravers 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
engravers
Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...
, principally in the cotton industry, but also in the paper printing industry, in the United Kingdom.
The union was founded in 1889 in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, as the Engravers to Calico Printers and Paper Stainers. Its membership was over 1,000 by 1898, and in 1909 the Scottish Engravers to Calico Printers and Paper Stainers merged in, the union renaming itself as the Amalgamated Union of Engravers to Calico Printers and Paper Stainers.Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.4, pp.416–417
The union's general secretary,
Charles Kean
Charles John Kean (18 January 181122 January 1868), was an English actor and theatre manager, best known for his revivals of Shakespearean plays.
Life
Kean was born at Waterford, Ireland, a son of actor Edmund Kean and actress Mary Kean ('' ...
, recognising that many of the union's members worked in the wallpaper trade, formed the Wallpaper Stainers' Trade Union Federation in 1917. This was a success, and in 1920 Kean took the union's wallpaper workers into a new Wallpaper Workers' Union along with other unions in the industry.
The remainder of the union, still covering both the cotton and paper printing industries, renamed itself as the United Society of Engravers of Great Britain and Ireland. Over time, it became more strongly associated with cotton. Membership peaked at 1,600 in the 1930s, but then began to fall, declining to only 500 by 1972.
In 1973, the union merged into the Society of Lithographic Artists, Designers, Engravers and Process Workers, forming its new wallpaper and textiles section.Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.1, p.200
General Secretaries
:1909:
Charles Kean
Charles John Kean (18 January 181122 January 1868), was an English actor and theatre manager, best known for his revivals of Shakespearean plays.
Life
Kean was born at Waterford, Ireland, a son of actor Edmund Kean and actress Mary Kean ('' ...