Shorter Notice
This pleasing and often entertaining record of the now one hundred years' old activity of Batsford, the famous publishers, has been written by Mr. Hector Bolitho, with plentiful verbatim recordings of their activities, past and present, by various members of the firm. Avowedly this book is of special interest to the friends and business associates of the firm, the many authors whose works they have published, and to their rivals in the publishing world. The present Mr. Harry Batsford contributes much fascinating material and the foreword. A firm which still remains largely a family business and in the hands of the descendants, right and left, of its original founders after a hundred years of steady, unspectacular prosperity is a pleasant thing to contemplate. The Batsford publish- ing house began as booksellers and gradually developed their par- ticular character as producers of books about the countryside and its domestic, ecclesiastical architecture and craftsmanship. In a hundred years they have moved as far as from Holborn to North
Audley Street in the midst of war and peace. It is to be hoped that when another hundred years have passed, members of the same family may be found carrying on the same business at no greater distance from their present premises, for no better proof of stability and security in all things that matter could be looked for.
Previous page
