55. Ward & Lock I 1887
Ebenezer Ward and
George Lock started their own
firm on Midsummer's Day, 1854. The Locks were an influential Dorchester family
and George Lock's father had married
Eliza Galpin making George Lock (1832-1891) first cousin
to Thomas Dixon Galpin, later to make his name with Cassell, Petter and Galpin. Ebenezer Ward (1819-1902) was a manager for
the Illustrated London News publishers' book
business. The two were introduced by Thomas Galpin and Ward & Lock was
launched with a £1000 loan from George Lock senior, the articles of
partnership being signed June 23rd, 1854. After initial friendly
relations and support, contact between the two cousins was broken when Galpin and his partner, George William
Petter, took over Cassell's to found a
rival business partnership. From 1891 until c.1897
James Bowden was a partner and they traded
as Ward, Lock and Bowden Ltd.[1]
Ward and Lock guides often included maps first published by Henry Besley in the 1850s and smaller maps (e.g. Exeter or Lynmouth) printed by G Philip and Son. Ward & Lock published a number of titles covering Devon; Bideford (from approx. 1897); Dartmoor (1895); Dawlish (1898); Exeter (1898); Exmouth (1898); Ilfracombe (1896); Lynton and Lynmouth (1886); Plymouth (1895); Sidmouth (1899); Teignmouth (1898); and Torquay (1884).[2] The Exeter plan appeared in Ward & Lock's Pictorial and Historical Guide To North Devon (circa 1887) and Ward & Lock's Pictorial and Historical Guide To South Devon (circa 1888).
Title: EXETER
Size: 186 x 263 mm
with Scale of ¼ Mile (50 mm).
Imprint: G. Philip & Son, Fleet Street.
This is a simple
street plan, limited to main roads, with principal buildings blocked and named.
The area covered is from St. Thomas Station to St. David’s Station and
southeast to the Training College.
[1]
Edward Liveing; Adventure in Publishing – The House of Ward Lock 1854-1954;
Ward, Lock & Co. Ltd; 1954.
[2]
Based on information at www.wardlockredguides.co.uk, British Library and EWSL
holdings and author´s own collection.
