Popular Romanticism - THE NEW LONDON MECHANICS' REGISTER AND MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE AND THE USEFUL ARTS; EMBRACING EXCLUSIVE AND AUTHENTIC REPORTS OF THE LECTURES DELIVERED AT THE LONDON MECHANICS' INSTITUTION, BY THE MOST EMINENT PROFESSORS.

THE NEW LONDON MECHANICS' REGISTER AND MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE AND THE USEFUL ARTS; EMBRACING EXCLUSIVE AND AUTHENTIC REPORTS OF THE LECTURES DELIVERED AT THE LONDON MECHANICS' INSTITUTION, BY THE MOST EMINENT PROFESSORS.

Categories: Science

Non-fiction

Year: 1827

Publisher: Thomas Kelly, Paternoster-Row

Pagination: 492

Dimensions: 23.5 x 14.5 cm

Illustrations: 8 (diagram of various architectural columns). 9 'Mr. Eve's Rotatory Pump.' 11 (illustration of tooth). 15 (instructional diagram). 16 (instructional diagram). 17 (fig 1: front view of a ventilating sash, fig. 2: side view)

City: London

Document Type: Book

Language: English

Printer: William Clowes, Stamford Street (c. 1779-1847)

Price: 1.1s.

Other Content: Footnotes and Index

Edges: Trimmed

Notes:

Full-title: THE NEW LONDON MECHANICS' REGISTER AND MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE AND THE USEFUL ARTS; EMBRACING EXCLUSIVE AND AUTHENTIC REPORTS OF THE LECTURES DELIVERED AT THE LONDON MECHANICS' INSTITUTION, BY THE MOST EMINENT PROFESSORS. Author: various There exists very little information on Thomas Kelly. He was a bookseller, printer, and publisher. His business is listed as being alternately located at 52 Paternoster Row, 53 Paternoster Row, 17 Paternoster Row, and 16 Paternoster Row. Kelly's company operated from 1809-1871. William Clowes was a highly successful London printer. He was born on January 1, 1779 in Chichester, Sussex. He was the eldest of two children; his father was a schoolmaster and his mother was a schoolmistress. At the age of ten, William was apprenticed to Joseph Seagrave--a printer in Chichester. He left for London thirteen years later to work as a journeyman. William spent some time working as a compositor for Henry Teape at George St., Tower Hill, and it was during this period that he met William Winchester--his mother's cousin and a stationer in the Strand. Winchester was one of the principle contracters to the government for the supply of stationary and printing. His wealth and contacts enabled William to begin his own business. After borrowing money from his mother and Winchester, William began to trade on October 21, 1803 at 22 Villiers St., Strand; he employed one man and gained an invaluable share of government printing work through his mother's cousin. In December 1804, Clowes married Winchester's niece, Mary Winchester. The couple proceeded to have eight children--four sons and four daughters. His marriage was also fruitful financially. Mary's dowry allowed Clowes to take more rooms, employ three more men, and acquire more equipment. The business continued to expand, and three years later the firm moved to the still larger premises at Northumberland Court, Charing Cross. By 1813, William was the printer for numerous government departments; he printed casualty lists during the Peninsular War, stationary for the militia, and the Navy List. He also printed for the Religious Tract Society and the Royal Academy of Arts. William spied a business opportunity during the Waterloo era and opened a military bookshop at 14 Charing Cross. In 1823, he installed a specially designed Applegarth and Cowper powered press. The noise disturbed his neighbor, the Duke of Northumberland, who eventually bought William out in 1826. The transaction was to his advantage; having lost 25,000 pounds in 1826, Northumberland's money allowed William to take over Applegarth's business premises in Duke St., Blackfriars. It was here that he created what became the largest printing works in the world at that time. By 1843, he employed 24 Applegarth and Cowper perfectors and 24 handpresses, enabling him to print 1500 reams per week. The business produced the works of all the major book and magazine publishers. William firmly believed in the economic and social advantages of innovative technology, eagerly pursuing advancements in printing technology such as steampowered presses. He held that increased technological efficiency cheapened the production of books and thus expanded the market for printed products. Due to his interest in making literature available to a wider public, he printed material for the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. William died in London on January 26, 1847. Samuel Smiles included William Clowes in his 1884 book Men of Invention and Industry, celebrating him as an icon of energy and enterprise. Summary: p. i title and publisher's imprint. p. ii printing notice. p. iii "ADVERTISEMENT." P. 1-488 text. p. 489-492 index. The New London Mechanics' Register is a collection of lectures by a variety of eminent nineteenth-century scholars on a wide range of subjects (generally scientific or mathematical in nature). The Advertisement states that the purpose of this compilation is "to furnish materials for the acquirement of sound practical knowledge" (iii). The text is clearly aimed at a working class audience with the intent of educating the lower classes--helping them acquire a solid base of general knowledge. It contains what the editors describe as "facts for permanent use or reference," distinguishing it from the proliferation of periodicals and pamphlets that contain ephemeral information, or "matter[s] of temporary or exclusive interest" (iv). As a result, the lectures it contains are well-established and/or well-received. The book itself is a product of the London Mechanics' Institute. References: Alexis Weedon, ‘Clowes, William (1779–1847)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/view/article/5718]