William Blackwood's grave, Old Calton Cemetery, Edinburgh

William Blackwood (20 November 177616 September 1834) was a Scottish

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

who founded the firm of

William Blackwood and Sons William Blackwood and Sons was a Scottish publishing house and printer founded by William Blackwood in 1804. It played a key role in literary history, publishing many important authors, for example John Buchan, George Tomkyns Chesney, Joseph ...

Life

Blackwood was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

on 20 November 1776. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a firm of

booksellers Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librari ...

in Edinburgh, and he followed his calling also 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 popul ...

and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

for several years. Returning to Edinburgh in 1804, he opened a shop in South Bridge Street for the sale of old, rare and curious books. He undertook the Scottish agency for John Murray and other London publishers, and gradually drifted into publishing on his own account, moving in 1816 to Princes Street. On 1 April 1817 the first number of the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine'' was published, which on its seventh number became '' Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine''. "''Maga''," as this magazine soon came to be called, was the organ of the Scottish

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

party, and round it gathered a host of writers, including John Neal, making Maga the first British literary journal to publish work by an American. In 1829 he wrote to his son William in India telling him that he was moving from Princes Street to 45 George Street as George Street was "becoming more and more a place of business and the east end of Princes Street is now like Charring Cross, a mere place for coaches". His brother Thomas bought 43 George and in 1830 Thomas Hamilton remodelled the entire frontage of the pair for the Blackwood Brothers. Thomas' shop operated as a silk merchant. At the end of his life Blackwood was living at 3 Ainslie Place on Edinburgh's elegant Moray Estate in the West End. His bookshop was within easy walking distance, being located at 45 George Street. William Blackwood died in 1834 and is buried in an ornate vault in the lower western section of Old Calton Burial Ground.

In fiction

The character Oakstick in ''John Paterson's Mare'',

James Hogg James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a friend of many ...

's allegorical satire on the Edinburgh publishing scene, is based on William Blackwood.Hunter, Adrian (ed.) (2020), ''James Hogg: Contributions to English, Irish and American Periodicals'', Edinburgh University Press, pp. 19 - 34 & 213,

Family

William Blackwood married Janet Steuart (1780–1849) on 29 October 1805. They had a large family. Most of his sons joined his publishing firm in some capacity. All are buried with him at the Old Calton Burial Ground except where stated: *Alexander Blackwood (1806–1845) *Robert Blackwood (1808–1852) *Major William Blackwood (1810–1861) came later into the publishing business after a military beginning. *Isabella Blackwood (1812–1897) *James Blackwood (1814–1871) *Thomas Blackwood (1816–1855) (buried in Boulogne) * John Blackwood (1819–1879) who took over editorship of ''Blackwood's Magazine'' (buried in Dean Cemetery) *Col Archibald Blackwood (1821–1870) adopted a military career, died in

Simla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, th ...

in India. *Janet Blackwood (1823–1870), married Archibald Smith and moved to

(buried in

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

)

References

External links

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, February, 1843
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Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, March, 1843
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Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, April 1843
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Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, May, 1843
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Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, June, 1843
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Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, January, 1844
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Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, April, 1844
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Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, July, 1844
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwood, William 1776 births 1834 deaths Burials at Old Calton Burial Ground Scottish booksellers Blackwood family (publishers) Scottish magazine publishers (people) British magazine founders Scottish printers Publishers (people) from Edinburgh 18th-century Scottish people 19th-century Scottish businesspeople

Life

In fiction

Family

References

Further reading

External links