The suspicion is that either
White and Parson saw a commercial opportunity and convinced Baines to support
them; or that Baines appreciated the vast amount of work involved in
directories, and decided to leave this area of business. The evidence of the Kingston-upon-Hull
and Durham and Northumberland directories implies these were Baines´ first
steps in relinquishing the directory business to concentrate on the newspaper
and politics, especially as the latter directory was Printed for White &
Co. by Edward Baines and Son, at the Leeds Mercury Office. However, as we will
see, Baines did not give up the directory business completely.
Title Page to White´s Sheffield 1833
Image University of Leicester Special
Collections (UoL SC)
Whatever the actual business or financial arrangement, White
had firmly taken over the directory side of the business by the end of the
1820s. Of the next four directories known, two were county volumes,
covering Cumberland and Westmorland (1829),
and Nottinghamshire (1832) and also two city directories for Leeds
(1830), and Sheffield (1833). There was some logic in choosing these, as the
three counties bordered on Yorkshire; and Sheffield and Leeds represented
Yorkshire´s two largest cities. Jane Norton has pointed out that Sheffield was
one of the first two cities which was not a port to boast a directory (the
other was Birmingham). The
first of these county directories was written by Wm Parson and Wm White and
printed for W White & Co. by Baines & Son and sold by the publishers at
their Leeds and Newcastle addresses; however, Nottinghamshire was now written
by William White and printed for the author in Sheffield by Robert Leader. It
was to be sold at the Wicker Library by William White. Robert Leader (and
his sons) would print all of White´s directories for a considerable period.
Despite White taking over the directory side of the business,
there may have been some cooperation or agreement between Edward Baines and
William White where it concerned the Leeds directory. Edward Baines had
published the Directory, General and Commercial of … Leeds as
early as 1817.
In 1826 William Parson compiled the General and Commercial Directory of
… Leeds, printed and published at the Mercury-Office in Leeds.
When this title reappeared in 1834, it was now published in Leeds by Baines and
Newsome.
This partnership would also publish this as General and Commercial
Directory of … Leeds but now compiled by Thomas Haigh in 1839.
However, in 1830, the Directory of the Borough of Leeds, the City of
York, and the Clothing District of Yorkshire was published jointly
by Wm Parson and Wm White in Leeds and printed by Baines and
Son. According to the preface (signed jointly) there had been a lot of effort
as many street names had been changed and even re-numbering of doors, in
addition to snow and ice during the data collection process. This directory is
important as it further reflects the transition of the directory business away
from Baines and towards White. The next issue did not appear until 1842, by
William White, but this was still being sold by Baines, now Baines and Newsome,
in Leeds, reinforcing the idea of an amicable separation.
Also included in White´s 1830 Leeds was a sketch plan of part
of that city and an insert explained
the presence of this small section of Leeds: The annexed engraving is
intended to exhibit the scale of a new plan of Leeds. This plan, to
be drawn by Charles Fowler, Civil Engineer and land Surveyor, was to be 30
by 24 inches with various embellishments and to be available in various
formats: on the usual paper, on large paper, full coloured, on best India
paper, or with canvas and rollers with prices ranging from 5s to 2 guineas.
This is an indication of the importance of maps, both as an essential part of a
good directory and as a source of supplementary income.
Despite White apparently commissioning the map of Leeds from
Charles Fowler, there was a distinctive shift in the approach to maps in his
directories. Although Cumberland and Westmorland followed the earlier
Baines´ plan with an extra atlas, later directories sufficed with one map of
the county under review and these were most often “bought in”, i.e. maps
already on sale but altered, most frequently with the addition of White´s
imprint. The large folding tables no longer appeared, but a small distance
table would usually be found in the preliminaries.
The General directory of the town and borough of
Sheffield was published in Sheffield (1833) by White alone. His
printer was again Robert Leader at the Independent Office in Sheffield. The
book was to be sold by W W at the Wicker Library in Sheffield and by agents and
booksellers. In his Advertisement signed April 8th 1833, White
acknowledges his sources (including Baines´ West Riding) and pours scorn on an
earlier Local Register written by Mr Thomas (who had threatened legal action).
Thus, White´s finally arrived in Sheffield where it would remain, at some time
between 1830 and 1832. William Parson has disappeared, possibly he retired or
died, and the ties with Baines (as printer) severed.
Edward Baines Snr, meanwhile, was preparing his
four-volume History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster ...
The biographical department by W. R. Whatton, Esq. This included
a History of the cotton manufacture by Edward Baines Jun. The
work was published in London, originally in parts and as bound volumes by
Fisher, Son & Co. in 1836. This work also included two maps: one of
the County at the time of the Doomsday Book; the other, of modern Lancashire
engraved by J & C Walker. William White would purchase maps from this
company for some of his directories.
Between 1834 and 1840, William White expanded the directory
business with two more counties (Staffs 1834, and Norfolk 1836) and reissued
some of the above directories: e.g. Yorkshire in 1837-8 and 1840. In 1841 he
was registered in Strafforth and Tickhill (South Division) with his wife, Mary
White 35 (i.e. some 6-7 years younger), and four children Thomas 12, William 8,
Emma 10 and Mary Elizabeth aged just 8 months. Another daughter, Amelia, would
follow two years later. In the census of 1851, William White (now 52) was
living with wife Mary, William junior, Emma, Mary Elizabeth and Amelia together
with Elizabeth Newton (aged 16) in Ecclesall Bierlow in Sheffield. Thomas was
presumably studying at Cambridge University. In July 1855, Thomas married, the Derbyshire
Advertiser and Journal announcing the marriage between the Rev. Thomas
White, M.A., eldest son of William White, Esq., of Collegiate Crescent,
Sheffield, to Mary Anne, second daughter of Henry Toone, Esq., Loughborough at
Emmanuel Church in Loughborough (issue for Friday 06 July 1855).
Typical early William White covers
- Devonshire 1850
Between 1851 and 1861, William appears to have remarried. He
is now (1861) registered together with spouse Ann White (age 51, i.e. 11 years
younger) at Collegiate Crescent with William White (now 28), Mary Elizabeth
(20), Amelia (18) and Hannah Richardson (age 23). For some time after her
father´s death, Amelia went to live with her older brother and is registered in
Kings Lynn in 1871.
Apart from the works noted already, directories of Lincoln
1842 (2nd edition 1851), Suffolk 1844 (2nd edition
1855), Leicestershire (with Rutland) 1846, Essex 1848 (2nd edition
1863), Devon 1850 and
Hampshire (with the Isle of Wight) 1859 were published. Looking at a map of
England, one notices that Devon and Hampshire are a bit of an oddity, rather
detached from the other areas covered by White. By the time William senior died
in 1868, the Whites produced a total of twelve county titles. In 1864, only four
years prior to his death, William retired in favour of his younger son who
published the second edition of Leicester in 1868.
The reissue of county directories seems to have been rather
haphazard, with no regular interval between editions. The city directories
appeared more often and may have been easier to compile and also a better
vehicle for acquiring advertising. Here again, there seems to be little
pattern. The county directories until the 1870s seem to have no, or very
little, advertising. There are just fourteen pages of adverts in the 1837
Yorkshire volume, and just two in the companion volume of 1840. The first
edition of Leicester (1846) had just five, but frequently one finds no adverts
in the early directories. The local directories seem to have been dealt with
differently: the Sheffield directory of 1845, for example, has no less than 73
pages of adverts, often two or three to a page. Of eighteen county directories
inspected (online) published before Willam junior´s death in 1870, only six
have been found with adverts; the total pages adding up to no more than 46
pages. In later years (1882, Lincolnshire directory), the company would boast
that White´s Directories … are largely circulated … in the Chief Cities of
Europe and America, and … afford, therefore, one of the best, cheapest, and
most permanent Mediums for COMMERCIAL ADVERTISEMENTS.
However, the scope of each directory maintained the quality
which had been adopted from the outset. Many of the publishers of individual
counties followed the layout of the Baines and White prototype. If costs could
be cut, the inclusion of a History section was the first to be omitted. The
highly successful Pigot (later Slater) directories published in the 1830s and
1840s maintained the standard as far as traders and residents was concerned but
drastically shortened the historical section.
And, naturally, they had to include a map of each county.
During these early years William White continued to produce
individual city titles. These were updated more frequently, especially those of
Leeds (15th edition 1894) and Sheffield (23rd edition 1901). The city titles
were most certainly easier and quicker to compile and probably brought William
more income on a more regular basis. In addition, the company published other
shorter works, also extracted from the county volumes. He had first published, Kingston-upon-Hull
in 1826 and, although it went through slight changes I title, was published as
the General and Commercial Directory of Hull, Beverley Patrington … when
it appeared for the Seventh Edition in 1882.
The Directory of the Borough of Leeds, the
City of York, and the Clothing District of Yorkshire was also
published soon after leaving Edward Baines. This is one directory where we know
that White commissioned a new map by Charles Fowler. In the preliminaries to
this 1830 directory there is a small section of a map. The text reads: SECTION
of a NEW PLAN of the TOWN & SUBURBS of LEEDS, with Part of Hunslet,
Holbeck, Wortley, Armley, & Woodhouse-Carr: including all the new Roads, Railways,
Squares, Streets, Courts, Bridges, Markets, Churches, Chapels, and other Public
Buildings: _ surveyed between the Years, 1819 & 1829-30 by CHAS FOWLER,
Civil Engineer & Land Surveyor, Leeds. A small inset advertisement expanded
this. Although the completed map has not actually been recorded with a White
imprint, the evidence points to this being the map commissioned by William: the
area shown in the preview exactly matching that area in the completed plan. The
final map was published dated 1831 as Map of the Town of Leeds and the Environs.
It has been seen as a large folding map measuring 575 x 800 mm in slip case.
Single advert in directory for Leeds
1830.
Map of
Leeds by Charles Fowler, published 1831. The image below shows the preview superimposed on the
final plan. Images courtesy of Clive
A Burden Ltd (top) and Wisconsin University (below).
When White reissued the Directory of Yorkshire in
1837-1840 he included new maps of the Ridings. These are illustrated in
Appendix 2.6. However, there may have been a set of city maps: a map of
Sheffield was almost definitely included and bears White´s imprint: PUBLISHED
WITH W. WHITE`S HISTORY AND DIRECTORY OF YORKSHIRE. The map was engraved by J H
Franks (in Sheffield).
William´s Directory to Sheffield was another popular title
and ran to possibly 19 editions before the company was taken over by Kelly.
This was updated every three or four years and there is a map of Sheffield
extant which was very probably issued and updated to accompany the directory.
This map was issued as a large folding map in covers and at least three
variations are known. The earliest is dated 1863 and has a NOTE on the right-hand
side: This NEW PLAN OF SHEFFIELD, is
reduced from the large Ordnance Survey, and comprises all the subsequent
Improvements, new Streets &c from 1850 to 1863 as surveyed by J Brigby,
Esq. for the Publisher, W White, Collegiate Crescent. There is very probably an undiscovered
earlier state as, although signed again by J L Franks, he is thought to have died
in 1857.
The
large folding map (52 x 64 cm) was brought up to date again five years later
and the NOTE has been shortened, i.e. all after Improvements has been deleted
(the reference to Brigby) and the address now changed to Published, 1868, by William White, 10, Bank
Street.
The
final version of this map was published in 1873 and again the NOTE has been
altered. It now reads: This NEW PLAN OF SHEFFIELD, is reduced from the large
Ordnance Survey, and comprises all the subsequent Improvements, new Streets
&c from 1850 to 1873 as surveyed by Messrs. Holmes and Johnson, for the
publisher. The map was ENGRAVED BY J H FRANKS, but for the final edition
& C. INGRAM has been added slightly further to left, with
lithographer’s signature: Barras & Blacket Steam Litho Sheffield and White
imprint, Published, 1873, by W.
White, 18 & 20, Bank St SHEFFIELD.
The Eleventh Edition of the Sheffield
Directory was advertised in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph of Saturday 14th
November1863 as Illustrated by a New Plan of Sheffield. It was on sale
according to the Sheffield Independent of Tuesday 27 June 1871
at 1s 6d in covers, or could be had mounted on rollers for 4s.
Another map which is mentioned in the same advert of 1871 is
White´s Map of Sheffield and 20 Miles. It was cheaper at just 1s in
covers and 3s on rollers.
This
MAP OF TWENTY MILES ROUND SHEFFIELD (size 41 x 34 cm) had been available since
1852. It was Engraved for the Directory Published by Wm White, 1852. The
title is top centrally with no frame and it has the engraver´s signature: Engraved
by J H Franks. Map shows area from Wakefield (north in Yorks) south to
Crich (Derby).
Click the entry below to access relevant page.
Appendix 1 - The County Directories of Edward Baines
1.1. Yorkshire
1.2. Lancashire
Appendix 2 - The County Directories of William White
2.1. Durham and Northumberland
2.2 - Cumberland & Westmorland
2.3 - Nottinghamshire
2.4 - Staffordshire
2.5 - Norfolk
2.6 - Yorkshire (later edition)
2.7 - Lincoln
2.8 - Suffolk
2.9 - Leicestershire with Rutland
2.10 - Essex
2.11 - Devonshire
2.12 - Hampshire with Isle of Wight
NOTES:
[1] All images from UoL SC (University of Leicester Special Collections) are provided under Creative Commons Zero ‘no rights reserved’ licence.
[2] Norton, Jane E; 1984; page 7.
[3] Robert Leader would print all directories until the late 1850s. The company continued as Leader & Sons for a time, but by 1866 the printer was no longer noted on the title page. By 1878 the printing had largely been taken over by Spottiswoode & Co.; although Lincoln (5th) was printed by Thos. K Babington, at the Reliance Printing Work in Ripon; and Norfolk (5th) was printed by The Hansard Publishing Union, London and Redhill.
[4] It was promised as a triannual publication. Online at University of Leicester Special Collections or UoL SC.
[5] Online at UoL SC.
[6] It would be Reid Newsome who would publish Edward Baines junior´s account of the life of his father in 1851. Online at UoL SC.
[7] British Library copy is online at Google Books.
[8] The illustration of the University of Wisconsin copy at Hathi Trust appears to show an extra slip of paper (see image/page 8).
[9] The Devonshire Directory was announced as early as July 10th 1849 in the Preface to the Sheffield Directory of that year.
[10] Pigot & Co.´s 1844 directory for Devonshire, for example ran to 158 pages but sufficed with a two-page introduction.
[11] Sheffield City Archives and Leeds University have copies of the 1st and 3rd editions listed above. Illustrated is a copy in the author´s collection.
[12] Sheffield City Archives and Leeds University (illustrated) have copies.
Title Page to White´s Sheffield 1833
Pub. online by University of Leicester Special Collections
Image privided under Creative Commons Zero ‘no rights reserved’ licence
Typical White covers - Devonshire 1850
