Q Could I please seek the help of your readers? I have been working with the present managing director of Stephen Austin & Sons of Hertford, researching the history of this company as it approaches its 250-year anniversary in 2018. Stephen Austin is a privately owned printing company and I just wonder if there is another privately owned company in the UK which is of similar age or older? I would be delighted to hear from anyone with information.
Ken J Hartfield, via email

A Thanks to Ivor Binder on the printweek.com forums for reminding me that a variant of this question came up a decade ago. I repeat the answer here. As far as I’m aware, the university presses are the oldest in existence. Both date back to the reign of Elizabeth I, with Cambridge (1584) being slightly senior to Oxford (1585) according to the book Five Hundred Years of Printing. Although the venerable Lawrence Wallis informs me that in Glaister’s Glossary of the Book, printing took place at both universities before this date, but Cambridge University Press’s first official printer (Thomas Thomas) was appointed in 1583. How I wish I could still consult the late, great Wallis on matters such as this. However, the good news is that his mantle is now carried by eminent print historian Caroline Archer. A fascinating piece she wrote for us six years ago includes the 18th century contemporaries of Stephen Austin, thus:
Besley & Copp, Devon (established 1750);
Prym Newey, West Midlands (1760);
Edward Mortimer, West Yorkshire (1764);
Stephen Austin, Hertfordshire (1768);
John Jarrold, Suffolk (1770);
Page Bros, Norfolk (1776);
Cox & Wyman, Berkshire (1777);
J.O.E. Holmes, West Yorkshire (1788);
William Pollard & Co, Devon (1781);
John Dickinson Stationery, Cambs (1796).

I’ll send you the entire article and timeline as it will hopefully be very useful for your research. Also, I’m sure I won’t be alone in doing a double-take on the Jarrold connection with Suffolk, as the firm is so strongly associated with Norwich, but the business did indeed begin in Woodbridge.

Z-Card alternatives #2
As predicted, some immediate additions are required to last week’s list of producers/suppliers of folded, pocket-sized, mini-media type products. Info Carte in Milton Keynes, tel: 01908 266896, www.infocarte.com; and BroCard in Wakefield, tel: 01924 298999, www.bro-card.co.uk.

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