Blackie & Son was a publishing house in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, Scotland, and London, England, from 1809 to 1991.

History

The firm was founded as a bookseller in 1809 by John Blackie (1782–1874) as a partnership with two others and was known as 'Blackie,

Fullarton Fullarton is a small area in Irvine, North Ayrshire. It is situated close to Irvine Bay and is next to several industrial estates, large supermarkets and retail stores and the town centre itself. Stagecoach Western buses operate the local bus se ...

and Company'. It began printing in 1819, using the skill and equipment of Edward Khull. It moved to

around 1830 and had premises at 8 Clyde Street facing the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

. Following the retirement of Fullarton the company was renamed 'Blackie and Son' in 1831, remaining in the Clyde Street property, and becoming a public limited company in 1890. Later on, the business moved its Glasgow office to 17 Stanhope Street, and also opened offices at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh and 16/18 William IV Street,

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City ...

, London. The company also opened offices in Canada and India. It ceased publishing in 1991. Blackie and Son initially published books sold by subscription, including religious texts and reference books. Later the firm published single volumes, particularly educational texts and children's books, taking advantage of compulsory education from 1870. The firm published the many Flower Fairy books of

Cicely Mary Barker Cicely Mary Barker (28 June 1895 – 16 February 1973) was an English illustrator best known for a series of fantasy illustrations depicting fairies and flowers. Barker's art education began in girlhood with correspondence courses and instructi ...

beginning in 1923. From the 1950s onwards it published The Kennett Library, a graded series of classics retold for schools including: ''

Kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Cam ...

'', ''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). Alcott wrote the book, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, at the request of her publisher. The story follows the live ...

'', ''

Westward Ho! Westward Ho! is a seaside village near Bideford in Devon, England. The A39 road provides access from the towns of Barnstaple, Bideford, and Bude. It lies at the south end of Northam Burrows and faces westward into Bideford Bay, opposite Sau ...

'', ''

The Black Arrow ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their turbulent re ...

'' and '' Ben-Hur''. In 1902, Walter Blackie commissioned Hill House on a plot in

Helensburgh Helensburgh (; gd, Baile Eilidh) is an affluent coastal town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local gove ...

to the West of Glasgow. At the invitation of their Art Director

Talwin Morris Talwin Morris (15 June 1865 – 29 March 1911) was a prolific book designer and decorative artist working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly known for his Glasgow Style furniture, metalwork and book designs. Early life ...

, the architect was his friend

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macdo ...

. The house is regarded as one of Mackintosh's finest works.

Book series

Beautiful England "Beautiful England" was the title of a series of short, illustrated travel/guide books first published in Britain by Blackie & Son around 1910 and continuing in print until the 1950s. Each title featured a particular region, town or city in Englan ...

Beautiful England (Blackie and Son Limited) - Book Series List
publishing history.com. Retrieved 4 May 2020. * Beautiful Ireland * Beautiful Scotland * Beautiful Switzerland * Blackie's Boys' Annual * Blackie's Famous Books * Blackie's Girls' Annual * Blackie's Library of Famous Books * The Casket Library * The Imperial Library * The Kennett Library * The Red Letter Library * The Red Letter Poets * Reward Books * Student Drama Series * The Victorian Era Series * The Wallet LibraryWallet Library
seriesofseries.owu.edu. Retrieved 24 May 2018.

References

External links

*
Records of Blackie & Son Ltd, publishers, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, Scotland
- archive held by

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

.
Free download of Blackie & Son 1886 map of Burmah, Siam and Anam
{{Authority control Book publishing companies of Scotland Defunct companies of Scotland Publishing companies disestablished in 1991 Publishing companies established in 1809 Companies based in Glasgow History of Glasgow 1991 disestablishments in Scotland 1809 establishments in Scotland British companies established in 1809

History

Book series

Further reading

See also

References

External links