Charles Whittingham, the elder, founder of the business which is now known as the Chiswick Press, was born in 1767. He began work as a printer in 1789 on a very small scale. His first work was small job work such as cards, letterheads, billheads, and the like. It was not until 1792 that he did any book work at all. His first job was part of an edition of Young’s “Night Thoughts.” It was not uncommon at this time for publishers to parcel out a book among a number of small printers, giving to each a certain number of signatures. Like his great predecessor Day, Whittingham started out doing printing as badly as anybody else. The work which he did on his first book order shows all the vices of the time.
Fortunately for the art, Whittingham was not content to remain a poor printer, although he must have been perfectly aware that he was such. He early made the acquaintance of William Caslon, from whom he bought type and from whom he not improbably received typographical suggestions. In 1798 he published a book of a sort much in vogue at that period, called “Pity’s Gift.” In choice of type, design of title page, and other regards this book shows a great improvement over the work of previous years. It was illustrated and was the beginning of the long series of illustrated books for which the house afterwards became famous. The illustrations, however, were poor in themselves and poorly printed. Here again Whittingham began on a level with his contemporaries, but by study and labor raised himself far above that level.
In a few years Whittingham was recognized as the best printer in England and had built up a good and profitable business. He won this success in spite of the fact that he, even more than Baskerville, failed to get on with the publishers. The publishers wanted cheap printing and large profits. Whittingham refused to lower his standards to meet their desires and insisted on printing to suit himself and, as he believed, the public. Less ambitious than Baskerville, but equally conscientious, Whittingham published small books, well printed, which could be sold at a reasonable price, although not at the price of trash. He was right in his estimate of the public demand and, secure in public support, was able to defy the publishers. When they refused to give him their work he told them to keep it, and entirely disregarded their hostility. He carried the war into the enemies’ country by refusing to be bound by certain trade customs. These customs were survivals of the old privileges and monopolies which kept certain books in certain hands. There was no foundation for these customs except their antiquity, and Whittingham proposed to publish certain books which from time immemorial had been held to be the property of others. Of course, the publishers called him a pirate, but he never infringed upon a real copyright and his conduct in the matter is entirely free from moral reproach.
Whittingham was an enterprising business man as well as desirous of artistic improvement. He bought the first Stanhope press which was sold to a printing house, in 1800, and his house was among the first to adopt improved machinery and methods of all sorts. There is, however, one notable exception. Whittingham and his nephew and successor believed that it was not possible to do the best work on anything but a hand press, and no power presses were used in the Chiswick Press until 1860.
About the opening of the century a man by the name of Potts invented a process for making paper-stock from old rope by removing the tar and dirt. Whittingham got possession of this process and opened a paper-stock factory. He did not, however, open a paper mill, but sold the stock to Fourdrinier, the great French paper maker. The paper-stock mill was at Chiswick, and Whittingham opened in 1811 a second printing office in the neighborhood, which he called the Chiswick Press. For a time he carried on the two printing offices, the paper-stock mill, a book-shop, several publishing ventures, and a business of some sort, it is not now known what, in Jersey. It was not many years, however, before he saw the danger of this extension and gradually disposed of the outside things, concentrating his interest in the Chiswick Press, which he preferred to continue rather than the London office.
During this period his work steadily continued to improve. He invented a secret process for giving permanent brilliancy to his ink. He gave the greatest attention to the design and layout of his books, proportion in the matter of margins and the like, and to presswork. This last was doubly important because of his determination to improve the process of illustration. Of course, the modern processes were not then in use. Black and white was done either from wood blocks or steel and copper plates, and color work was done by the use of solid color on blocks. In order to secure better results in black and white, Whittingham invented the over-lay process. Some of his work in color was the best ever produced by the methods which were then known. An indication of the resources of the establishment may be gathered from the story of the production of his British Poets, sets of which may still be occasionally bought in old book-shops. The design for the series was planned in 1819. It was shortly announced that they were to be published on a given day in 1822. When the day came the whole set was published as announced. It consisted of one hundred royal 18mo volumes, illustrated. Five hundred sets were printed, making a total of 50,000 volumes.
Shortly after this the younger Charles Whittingham, nephew of the elder, appears upon the scene. He was his uncle’s apprentice and became his partner in 1824. The partnership lasted for four years and was apparently not a very harmonious arrangement. The elder Whittingham, like many strong and successful men, was masterful and was not disposed to share either power or responsibility. The young man, although having no occasion to complain of any unfairness, felt that although nominally a partner he was really merely an employee. In 1828 he left the Chiswick Press and set up for himself in London. He continued in business there for ten years and then his uncle, who was now old and in failing health, called him back to take charge of the Chiswick Press. In spite of the fact that their partnership had not been satisfactory, the old man doubtless realized that his nephew was the only man in England who was competent to continue the business which he had built up with so much toil and in which he took so much pride. From this time until the date of the death of the elder man the younger Whittingham was the moving spirit in the establishment. After the death of the elder Whittingham the plant was moved back to London without change of name.
Shortly after the younger Whittingham took over the management he became acquainted with William Pickering and formed an association with him which had momentous effects on English printing and publishing. Pickering had started an old-book business in 1821 and had made money. Although not a practical printer he was interested in books and he had very intelligent ideas as to what qualities made books good, considered as pieces of work. Pickering desired to publish fine editions of old writers and entered into an alliance with Whittingham to produce them. For twenty-five years these two men worked together doing the best book-making which England had yet seen. Comparatively little of it was new work. It was mainly the printing of fine editions of so-called standard literature. In 1844, dissatisfied with the types in current use, they induced Henry Caslon, who was then the head of the Caslon foundry, to revive the old William Caslon type, known technically as old-face roman, and this revival was the beginning of the permanent restoration of the Caslon types to favor.
Pickering and Whittingham together may be said to be the fathers of the modern book. Together they worked out many improvements. The excellent work in illustration which had been developed by the elder Whittingham was continued and improved. In 1840 they were doing color printing from wood blocks which was the best ever done by that process in England, and later they began to produce ornamental books with initials, borders, head pieces, and the like, printed from wood blocks, but superior to anything which had been seen since the days of illuminated manuscripts. Pickering and Whittingham were in constant consultation. They spent their Sundays and much other time together. The completeness of their cooperation is shown by Whittingham’s answer to the question which of the two had the greater influence on the other. He replied, “My dear sir, when you tell me which half of a pair of scissors is the more useful, I will answer your question.”
Pickering died in 1854, bankrupt through indorsing notes for a friend. The death of Pickering was a great blow to Whittingham, but the bankruptcy did not in any way involve the Chiswick Press. Whittingham never took the same interest in the business afterward, although the house had become sufficiently strong to continue and maintain its standards. Whittingham was always actuated by the true craftsman’s spirit. He was successful in his business, but he was more anxious for artistic than for financial success. There is not the slightest doubt that if he had been willing to do so he might have amassed a large fortune. Upon one occasion he was called in as an expert to figure the price which the government should offer for a very large contract. Instead of calling for bids the government had a price figured which it proposed to offer for the work. Whittingham figured a price which would be just to the government and at the same time offer a good margin of profit to the contractor. After he had completed his labors, he was offered the contract himself, but refused, stating as he did so that he would rather print fine books than make money.