History
The company was founded in 1879 by Benjamin Henry Blackwell, son of the first city librarian, who having finished his education at 13, was apprenticed to a local bookseller for a shilling a week. His father, Benjamin Harris Blackwell, had been heavily involved in the Temperance Society. The society promoted, as well as religion, self-education and also encouraged reading. The society provided separate rooms for non-alcoholic refreshment and silent reading. A religious family, the Blackwells had also become involved with the Temperance Society due to Benjamin's father being teetotal, and as a protest against the government making money from the excise duty on alcohol.
The flagship Broad Street shop in Oxford, at number 50 was originally only twelve feet square but quickly grew to incorporate the upstairs, cellar and neighbouring shops. Benjamin Henry Blackwell was well respected in Oxford and was elected the first-ever Liberal councillor for Oxford North.
Basil Blackwell, Benjamin Henry's son, became the first Blackwell to go to university; he was awarded a scholarship at Oxford University's Merton College. However he was expected to join the family firm, which he did in 1913, after a spell as an apprentice publisher in London. He was tasked with expanding his father's publishing business.
The first Blackwell publication, Mensæ Secundæ: verses written in Balliol College by H.C. Beeching, was printed in 1897. Blackwell’s began the careers of many writers: in 1915 J. R. R. Tolkien's first poem, "Goblin's Feet", was published. To ensure everyone had access to literature, Blackwell's pioneered a series of cheaper books, from a one-volume Shakespeare to "3/6 novels". The publishing company was merged into the main company in 1921, and a scientific section was added in 1939.
Basil Blackwell also wanted to preserve fine printing. After rescuing the Shakespeare Head Press, he commissioned belles-lettres, including well-known classics such as the Pilgrim's Progress, the works of the Brontës and a complete version of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
When Benjamin Henry died in 1924, Basil Blackwell took over from his father, running the firm, with the nickname "gaffer" for over sixty years.
In 1966, the Norrington Room was opened, named after Sir Arthur Norrington, the President of Trinity College and extending under part of Trinity College. It boasts three miles (5 km) of shelving and at 10,000 square feet (930 m2) merited an entry in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest single room selling books.
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