3. Rivalry and Family Feud

 

By the mid-1800s, directory publishing was seen as a lucrative source of income and employment. Consequently, William did not have the playing field to himself. As a result, and as early as July 1844[1], William was tendering his thanks for the liberal patronage he had already received in advance of the second edition of his Nottinghamshire directory but felt it his duly to caution the public against the tricks and falsehoods of two discarded servants, who style themselves, "Francis White and Co.," and are now piratically collecting orders for the above work, with the intention of robbing W. W. of his former labours in this county.

Note at foot of Preface to William White´s Leicester 1846

Image courtesy University of Leicester, Special Collections

 

White added a short note at the end of his Preface to Leicestershire in 1846, A PIRATED EDITION of Wm White´s Nottinghamshire Work was published by unprincipled and illiterate men, in a very blundering manner. This, and the two discarded servants, almost certainly refers to the authors of History, Directory and Gazetteer of the County, and of the Town of Nottingham, published by Francis White and John White in 1844. But others had also produced directories for that county in 1844. Both Stephen Glover had printed and published his History and Directory of the Town and County of Nottingham and William Dearden had printed and published his revised History, Topography and Directory of the Town of Nottingham and the Adjacent Villages (originally 1834) complete with map of the city. Both were local publishers but Glover had previously compiled a History of Derbyshire in 4 volumes and a Directory of Derbyshire.

 

Nottinghamshire (for 1844) is the first of several directories published by Francis White: with Newcastle upon Tyne appearing in 1847. The irony is that Francis was, in fact, William´s brother, and he attempted to exploit the popularity and reputation of the White name, built up by William. In 1847 he set up in business on his own account, under the style and firm of Francis White and Co., and published directories on a similar plan to those of his brother. The next of these were published in 1849 and 1850, and related to Birmingham and Warwick respectively[2]. Francis White would prove to be a formidable rival in the following years.

Although, it is not clear what caused the initial rift between the two brothers, we do know it stretched back at least to the early 1840s. Francis was employed by his brother for four years as a canvassing agent, but was discharged in 1848. Considering the fact that Francis had already published a directory for Newcastle (not known to have been covered by William as an individual directory) and was planning more directories of Birmingham and Warwick, William may have found Francis canvassing on his own behalf. The row would continue for almost a quarter of a century.

William became quite exasperated with his brother´s use of the White name and in May 1853, for example, this advertisement appeared under the heading PUBLIC CAUTION:

WILLIAM WHITE RESPECTFULLY informs the public that he has NO CONNECTION with the men now canvassing for a New Edition of his History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk, …. Many of the inhabitants of Lincolnshire and some other counties have lately had spurious and very inaccurate works palmed upon them, under the impression that they were second editions of Mr. Wm White´s former publications. The good citizens of Norwich and Norfolk are then advised to reserve their orders until called upon by Wm. White's Agents. He again stresses W. W. never had any connection with the party calling themselves "White and Co."[3]

This coincided with the publication of a directory of Norfolk (in 1854) by Francis White & Co. William had published his first edition of this county in 1836, and the second edition was already out of date, having been published in 1845. Francis had possibly been planning some sort of rivalry as early as 1841. When John Garrard, of Mansfield, sued Mr. Francis White, in 1851, the court was told that in August, 1841, arrangements were made between the two men for the publication of a directory of Warwickshire and Birmingham.

Two years after the publication of Norfolk, in 1856, the enmity between the two brothers got to such a state that William felt compelled to address the good people of Sheffield directly. Consequently, the following announcement appeared in newspapers.

TO THE PUBLIC. PIRACY and FRAUD ought at all times to be exposed, whether emanating from a relative or a stranger. For some years, I have often had the painful task of cautioning the Inhabitants of other Towns and Counties that I have no connexion with the Men who are now canvassing Sheffield under the name of White and Co. Francis White, the head of this firm, in his reply to my last week's caution, has resorted to his old song of "Only Brother," thinking, in that character, he has a right to pirate with Impunity the Historical and Topographical matter in the Nottinghamshire, Norfolk, and many other County Histories and Directories, published by me during the last thirty years.

After haranguing his brother a little longer, he finishes with a jibe aimed at his brother: “Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise”[4].

Francis was not the only rival, however. In 1862 William took a former employee, Edward Shaw Drake, to Warwick Assizes for publishing a directory of Leicester. Drake had worked for White for several years before he left in December 1860 after a disagreement over wages. E S Drake & Co. had then published a directory of Leicester and Rutland in 1861 (and would publish the Borough of Derby and one of Rotherham in 1862 and Sheffield in 1863). Drake had based much of his directory on White´s directory of 1846, including many inaccuracies. Drake was accused of using subscription forms so designed to cause people to believe they were buying a William White directory. The text heading read: Drake & Co (large writing), formerly of (very small script) and William White´s (same size as Drake).[5] William White junior described to the court how the information was collected and William White described this in his Preface to the directory of that county for 1864. In a separate case before the county court in October 1862 the presiding judge considered the conduct of the plaintiff (Drake) and his men most disgraceful and untradesman like, in making use of [White's] name to obtain orders.[6]

Drake advertisement, Codnor Park and Ironville Telegraph 

- Saturday 28 June 1862 

 

Not everybody thought Drake´s directory to be inadequate, however. A reviewer for the Codnor Park and Ironville Telegraph (Saturday 04 October 1862) was full of praise: it is really pleasant at last to come across [a directory] which deserves a word or two of praise and which may be considered reliable. We glanced into Messrs Drake and Co.’s neat little volume, and referred haphazard, to many of the entries to test its accuracy, and the result has, in every case, been satisfactory. … We cordially recommend this little work.

Between 1860 and 1864 two directories were updated and second editions of both Essex (1863) and Norfolk (1864) appeared. Some of the advertising began to note that William was an Associate of the British Archaeological Institute. William White junior took over the management from 1864, but between 1864 and 1870 only a second edition of Leicester was published (1868). The emphasis seems to have been on city directories during this period and updated issues of the Bradford, Leeds and Sheffield directories appeared as well as new editions covering Grimsby (1866) and the first Birmingham directory. It is also around this time that the form of the directory took a distinctive change. The original series had been somewhat uniform in style: calf covers with stamped decoration on front and back, approx. 19 x 12 cm. By 1872 the directory was familiar in dark green pebbled cloth with gilt titles to spine, and gilt emblem to front in octavo format, now 25 x 18.5 cm appeared.

In September 1868, the Sheffield Independent reported the sudden death of Mr. Wiliam White. - We feel great regret in recording the death of Mr. William White, of Collegiate crescent, the well-known publisher of directories, which took place at his residence, early on Thursday morning. Mr. White returned only a few days ago from Blackpool, and up to Wednesday evening appeared to be in his usual health. Early on Thursday morning he was seized with apoplexy, and died almost immediately[7]. He was 70 years old.

William White junior as recorded in his father´s obituary, had ‘very ably and successfully carried on [the] business on his own account.’ He maintained the ‘high’ reputation of the directories in Yorkshire and adjoining counties. While having ‘the benefit of a careful training under his father’ he added his ‘great natural ability, untiring assiduity, and a very sound judgment ... [and] greatly improved the style of the directories’.[8]

There were two new directories after William senior´s death, a directory for Grimsby area and one for Birmingham and the Hardware District (1869). Birmingham had been covered in the directory of Staffordshire, but the second (and final) White edition of that county had been published in 1851 and was sorely out of date. This was another town where Francis White had been active; he had produced volumes on the city in 1849[9] and 1855 but his third edition was not published until 1875. William junior continued to run the company after his father´s death, however, after a short illness, William White died aged just 37, only two years later.[10]

Immediately there were attempts by Francis White to acquire the readership (and orders) from William´s subscribers. Francis does not seem to have been as successful as his brother and the newspapers of the time are full of court cases where he is attempting to receive paltry sums from subscribers who had not paid up. Many of these claimed that they had, in fact, believed themselves to be ordering the directory from William[11]. As soon as William junior died Francis was inserting advertisements into newspapers implying that he had taken over White´s directory business. The Public are requested to observe the Address - FRANCIS WHITE and CO., BROOMHALL-TERRACE, ECCLESALL ROAD. F. W. and Co. beg to inform their numerous Subscribers and the Public in general that they have no connection with any other Directory Publisher in Sheffield. Francis White, Brother to the late William White, of Collegiate Crescent and Uncle to the late William White. jun., of Fulwood Parsonage, is the only survivor of the White´s, the noted Directory Publishers, and that he has upwards of 35 years’ experience in Directory Business. FRANCIS WHITE and CO., Broomhall-terrace, Ecclesall-road, Sheffield.[12]

Only a few days later, the Sheffield Daily Telegraph[13] included an announcement for WHITE'S DIRECTORIES. The WIDOW and sole Executrix of the late W. WHITE, Directory Publisher, begs to give Public Notice that the Business will be carried on as usual at the Office, 10, BANK-STREET, the name of W. WHITE, for the benefit of herself and Children. The advertisement went on to give a clue as to the new owners. A New Edition of W. WHITE'S SHEFFIELD DIRECTORY had been prepared by her late husband previous to his illness, and in accordance with his arrangements will be immediately Published, under the Editorship of his elder Brother, Master of Arts, and high Wrangler of Cambridge, who has had considerable experience in the Directory Publications of his late Father and Brother. This “high Wrangler[14]” was her brother-in-law Thomas, William´s older brother.

We know that William White Snr had two sons, Thomas was older than William Jun. by four years and studied at St Johns College, Cambridge and was awarded his M.A. in 1855[15]. Thomas had been a senior master in Loughborough and in 1858 the Rev. Thomas White, M.A. (son of Mr. W. White, publisher of directories), was appointed head master of King´s Lynn School, Norfolk.[16] He was awarded his doctorate from the same college in 1871[17], and in 1874 the Rev. Thomas White, LL.D., would be presented to the Vicarage of Hambledon, Hampshire[18], by the Right Hon. the Lord Chancellor, upon the recommendation of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. He had met the Prince six years earlier, in 1868 when His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales awarded the annual gold medal to Mr. William Hoff, the best pupil at the school, accompanied by the Rev. Thomas White, M.A., head master and W. Movie, Esq., Mayor of Lynn.

The new owners were George Walter Knox, John Daniell Leader and Robert Eadon Leader, but they must have had the support of Georgiana and Thomas White. The matter of ownership became public as a result of a court case and the public announcements of Francis White. The Sheffield Daily Telegraph of Saturday 24 June 1871, for example, ran a long story concerning a case heard at a special sitting of the Chapel-en-le-Frith Petty Sessions where Francis White was accused of attempted fraud. During the hearing, which was rejected on a technicality, it was stated that in May 1870, the complainants, i.e. Knox and the Leader brothers, had purchased the business of compiling and publishing directories, including the copyright, the goodwill, and the right to use the name of Wm White and Co. from the executrix of Mr Wm White.

In 1872, a case of copyright infringement concerning the company name was heard before the Vice-Chancellor's Court. A motion on the part of John Daniell Leader and Robert Eadon Leader, newspaper proprietors, and George Walter Knox, accountant, all of Sheffield; and Mrs. Georgiana White, of Chester, sought an order to restrain Mr. Francis White.[19] Once again, the brothers claimed they had acquired the right from Mr. William White, Senior, and Mr. William White, Junior, to publish directories which were known as "Whites Directories" the name of "White" simply appearing on the back of the book. A gentleman´s agreement was reached between all parties, but Francis did not give in. He ran special announcements in newspapers: CAUTION. … That Francis White is the only Person of the Name of WHITE who is now connected with the Publication of “White´s” Directories. That Francis WHITE is the only Surviving Brother … the real proprietors and publishers of the Work being George Walter Knox, John Daniel Leader, and Robert Eadon Leader, signed Sheffield, 1st Dec., 1871.[20]

In 1873 Francis was again back in court. He was suing prospective subscribers who refused to pay for his directories, claiming they were under the impression that Francis was representing William´s widow and it was a W White directory they requested[21].

John Daniell and Robert Eadon Leader were the sons of Alderman Robert Leader, proprietor of the Sheffield and Rotherham Independent from 1842. A newspaper which Robert´s father had taken on as early as 1830. It was their father who had worked closely together with William White since the early 1830s. In 1860, Robert and his older brother, John Daniel Leader, were admitted into partnership. Four years later, the father retired in favour of his two sons, though Robert Leader continued to take an active part in the editorial work until 1875. Although the name Leader (as printer) disappeared from the title page of the directories from about 1866, the company (Leader & Sons) continued to be the printers for White. Robert Eadon became editor and John became commercial manager, an arrangement that lasted until 1892, when Robert became a Liberal Parliamentary candidate[22]. He wrote extensively about Sheffield and its history and those works are highly appreciated to this day. The Leader family sold the paper a few years later and it was about this time the White directories began to be printed by Spottiswoode and Co.

 

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William White and his Directory Maps:

Click the entry below to access relevant page.

1. Early Years - William White and Edward Baines
2. William White & Co.
3. Rivalry and Family Feud
4. Francis White & Co.
5. The County Maps of William White
6. William White Co. - Later Years

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:

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[1] Nottingham Review - Friday 26 July 1844.
[2] Reported in the trial proceedings of 1872: Sheffield Independent - Friday 19 January 1872.
[3]  Lynn Advertiser - Saturday 28 May 1853. 
[4] Sheffield Independent - Saturday 29 November 1856.
[5] Sheffield Independent - Friday 15 August 1862.
[6] Leicester Journal - Friday 24 October 1862.
[7] Sheffield Independent - Saturday 05 September 1868.
[8] Sheffield and Rotherham Independent, 4 September 1868, p.3. and 24 January, 1870, p.3.
[9] This was a section of his forthcoming directory for Warwickshire, which was published the following year.
[10] Sheffield Daily Telegraph - Monday 24 January 1870.
[11] See, for example, the Leeds Times - Saturday 09 May 1857.
[12] Sheffield Daily Telegraph - Saturday 29 January 1870.
[13] Sheffield Daily Telegraph - Tuesday 15 February 1870.
[14] Winner of a prestigious prize in mathematics.
[15] Awarded June 30^th, 1855, and announced in the Cambridge Independent Press - Saturday 07 July 1855.
[16] Sheffield Daily Telegraph - Saturday 02 October 1858.
[17] Bell's Weekly Messenger - Saturday 18 February 1871.
[18] The benefice being valued at £750 per annum, with a residence, and the population of the parish at 2,000. Essex Standard - Friday 10 July 1874.
[19] Reported in the Bolton Evening News - Friday 19 January 1872.
[20] Sheffield Daily Telegraph - Tuesday 30 January 1872.
[21] Sheffield Independent - Friday 07 February 1873.
[22] See, for example, David Poole´s articles (2020) at https://sheffielder.net 

 

4. Francis White & Co.

 

William White senior´s brother, Francis, must have been several years younger: Francis´ death is recorded in January 1875 when he died in his 64^th year, hence he was about 13 years younger than William (b. 1799). From newspaper records we have evidence that Francis had at least three children.

 

Directory for Nottingham published by Francis and John White, 1844.

Copyright Bristow & Garland, Shaftesbury, Dorset in 2026.

 

The various court cases between Francis White & Co. and William White and subsequently with the executors of the White estate after 1870, reveal that Francis was working for his brother from about 1844 until 1848. However, he was already publishing directories, and having quarrels with his brother, long before this. Evidence of friction is plain in the Hull Packet of Friday 30 January 1846. Announcing the publication of a directory for Hull, the advert states that: in reference to a malicious Advertisement which appeared in the York and Hull Papers, Mr. Fras. White never represented his Directory as the Compilation of his brother, Mr. Wm White; he claimed it had been compiled by himself and partners at considerable expense, and was a great improvement upon Mr. Wm. White’s very useful Publications. Francis explained that his company (F. W. and Co.) had collected nearly all the information for William’s Yorkshire (presumably the 1840 reissue) and other works over the previous decade. He ends rather intriguingly: Mr. Francis White has had to encounter similar opposition in Nottinghamshire, from this affectionate brother, in 1844, when he disseminated the vilest calumnies for the purpose of injuring (but without success) the character of his aged Father and only brother.

The first directory published by Francis was the History, Directory and Gazetteer of the County, and of the Town of Nottingham with a variety of commercial and statistical information to which is added, the History and Directory of the Port of Gainsborough. The directory was styled along the lines of those of his brother and included the historical introductions to each town as well as the usual lists. With 768 pages, it also included ten pages of advertising. This was co-published with John White and printed for the authors by John Blurton and sold by F. White, Sheffield, 1844. This is the only mention of John.

Mr. John White, of Regent Street, died aged 77 in March 1849. Apparently, he was well known and much respected in the northern and eastern parts of England, where, for many years, he was employed in collecting information for the County Histories and Directories published by his son, Mr. Wm. White.[1] In William White´s directory listing for 1833, while there is no entry for Francis White, White John, is listed as traveller, at 11 Cheney row. In Rodger´s Directory of Sheffield of 1841[2], John is listed as traveller at 21 New Church st, Francis appears as directory agent and William is publisher of county and local directorys at 210 Brook view in Brook lane. Four years later (William White 1845), there is no entry for John, but now White Francis, traveller, 54 Hermitage street is listed.

Thus, by the mid-1840s, it is clear that William was not only at odds with his brother, but also with his father. One further directory was published before 1850, that of Newcastle in 1847 published by Francis alone, the year before he was dismissed from William White´s. The Preface is dated March 19^th of that year. The contents are largely as one would expect, but he has omitted any long historical survey. The directory begins with a list of streets. In addition, he has fourteen pages of adverts, which would have provided much-welcome income.

Jane Norton gives some ideas of the work of these travellers who went from door to door selling items, or in the case of directories, checking addresses and acquiring orders. In 1830 a traveller for A & C Black, selling copies of the Seventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica covered some 1400 miles using various modes of transport including on foot, in under three months. One of William White´s travellers carried an 1857 directory of Leeds in which he used to mark the interest of prospective customers with a 3 number code[3]. It is almost certain that both Francis and John would have been travellers such as these, who visited every house, to verify names and addresses for the directories as well as carrying subscription forms for taking orders.

 

Although Francis was dismissed circa 1848, he is known to have begun compiling information even earlier. In the court case held in February 1851, Mr John Garrard, of Mansfield, Notts, described himself as commission agent and directory compiler, and claimed back payments from Francis White for work done. He claimed that in August, 1841, arrangements were entered into between Francis and himself for the publication of a directory of Warwickshire and Birmingham (pub. 1850). The agreement being that Garrard was to write the historical and statistical matter for the work, canvass for orders, and obtain the names for the work, and be paid by a commission on each copy sold. Garrard did not explain he had copied most of the preliminary general history from Bagshaw´s directory of Kent.[4]

In order to produce his own directories, and to avoid outright claims of plagiarism, Francis also had to rely on door-to-door surveys and duly advertised for “One or Two steady, active, intelligent YOUNG MEN to CANVASS for a new County Directory. Good Penmen and Reference as to character required”, in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph of Monday 09 March 1863. It was not the directory as such which was copied, even though this would appear to be the easier section to transcribe. Actual transcribing of lists of names from one directory to another seems to have been rare. However, the historical content was often pirated: F & J White, later Francis White & Co. both imitated and directly copied from William White in all their directories. Copying did not stop there. F & J White´s own directory of 1861 was itself pirated by E S Drake, all of whose directories seem to have been piracies.[5]

When William Thwaites took Francis White to court for unpaid expenses in 1866, more details outlining the payment of potential canvassers was revealed. Thwaites stated that he had been engaged by Mr White, publisher and publican, of the Cambridge Hotel, Cambridge street, to compile the historical matter for directories of various counties published by the defendant, and in getting orders and delivering the books.

 

Directory of Newcastle, 1847, published by Francis White

Courtesy Library of Congress[6]

A sum of £1. 2s. ½ d. was claimed, partly a partnership transaction, and £8. 10s. 4d. for services rendered and expenses. Thwaites alleged full commission of 1s. 6d. per directory was promised and the maps were sold by agreement at a commission of 6s. 3d. At this hearing Mr Drake (who himself had been sued by William White in 1862 for plagiarism) in support of Thwaites´ claims, recounted that he had also been employed by Francis and had been paid 2s. commission on a 17s. 6d. volume.[7]

Francis saw that both advertising and map sales were important sources of extra income. He advertised his NEW CIRCULAR MAP, compromising an area of twenty miles round the Borough of Sheffield, carefully laid down on a scale of two miles  to an inch, from the Ordnance Survey, with the lines of Railroads, Canals, and other improvements, in 1849.[8]  In 1861 his directory for Sheffield included some 90 pages of adverts from over 200 customers, including three newspapers.

Francis White´s circular map of Sheffield and its surroundings.

Advertised in 1851 at 5s in Sheet, Coloured; or 8s 6d neatly mounted on Rollers, it was substantially more expensive than his brother´s maps. The map also accompanied F White´s General and commercial directory and topography of the borough of Sheffield: with all the towns, parishes, villages, and hamlets within a circuit of twenty miles of 1861. The attractive map has a circumference of 54 cm. There is an attractive pastoral scene of Roche Abbey, but no engraver´s signature.

 

Another venture at this time, mentioned in the above court case, is Francis White´s hotel. In March 1865 Francis was announcing that he had just taken over the Cambridge Hotel, at No. 1, Cambridge Street, and begging his numerous Friends and the Public of Sheffield and its vicinity, that he had thoroughly renovated, cleansed, and re-furnished it.[9] However, this was short-lived. Only two years later James Taylor and Co. were instructed by Mr. Francis White, to Sell by Auction, on the Premises the whole of the fixtures, household furniture, stock and effects, of the Hotel. According to the announcement, Francis White was retiring on account of ill health.[10]

During this period, we note that Francis may have been strapped for cash. In August 1865 there was an auction at his hotel. On Thursday, 17th August, James Taylor held an auction, in the rooms of the hotel, to sell off the whole of their STOCK, consisting of MAPS of different Counties, new Map of Sheffield, Map of Twenty Miles Round Sheffield,  also, the Plates of the above on Copper and Steel, the work of the first Map Engraver in England ; several County Histories and Directories, including "Hunter's Hallamshire." Also for sale were a few lots of household furniture, sets of drawers, a bookcase, and other items.

Throughout the time Francis White & Co. were publishing their directories, they were repeatedly going to court to retrieve unpaid subscriptions for individual volumes. One such action to recover the value of Gazetteer and Directory in 1860 reveals the extent of the problem, and also that perhaps sometimes Francis was hard done by. At the Birkenhead county court, Francis White and Co., of Sheffield, summoned no fewer than 54 persons for a guinea each, being the price of the gazetteer and directory of the county of Chester, published that year. Twelve of the cases were defended on the grounds that the directory was inferior in quality and full of gross inaccuracies. Besides some errors which could be put down to printing or binding errors, a major objection was that the map which was given with the work was quite inferior to that promised in the Prospectus. A verdict was then given in favour of the defendants, with costs as the plaintiff had contracted to furnish a map taken from the ordnance survey; but instead of doing that he had furnished a loose map, which certainly was not equal to the ordnance map, which was seen by the court as a breach of contract.

A public reply was immediately forthcoming. After apologising for the printer and binding mistakes, Francis White explained that the map was certainly up to date and that it was the best map of the county extant. The map was executed by the well-known firm of Francis Becker of London. Francis White showed a copy of a telegram from the map-maker but this was rejected by the court. In the telegram Francis had directly asked Mr. Becker, “Was the map engraved from the ordnance survey?” He received the reply: “The map of Cheshire I engraved and drew for your directory was drawn under superintendence from the ordnance survey (the latest), and the same could be produced. Many additions from your directory and alterations of spelling were introduced, every possible improvement was made. I could substantiate its copywright and new features from any other maps on oath, and could, if necessary, attend any court to prove such.”[11]

Even if the directory had been found to include a number of errors, the court´s decision was based on the quality of the map. Francis Paul Becker was engraver and copperplate printer of London. He had patented the Omnigraph process of letter punching and was active in the 1850s[12]. He produced a large range of maps for works such as directories and guides in the 1860s and a number of guide book maps printed at his premises included maps of Devon found in Henry Besley´s Route Book of Devon and The West of England and Trewman´s Pocket Journal (between 1854 and 1882).[13] Perhaps the biggest irony of all is that the latest rival on the directory scene, Frederic Kelly, was also using maps Drawn and Engraved by F P Becker & Co. Kelly would acquire the White business towards the end of the century.

The auction advert of 1865 above noted that not only maps, but also the plates to these were up for auction. The reference to the first Map Engraver in England may indeed be to F P Becker. This suggests strongly that Francis White & Co., had indeed commissioned their own maps. Francis White published a total of five county directories Notts (1844, 1853[14] and 1864), Derbyshire (1857[15] and 1865), Cheshire (1860), Warwickshire (1850 and a Third Edition 1874[16]) and Norfolk (1854). Francis also published a large number of city directories: e.g. Newcastle on Tyne etc 1847; Birmingham 1849[17],  1855 and 1875; Hull etc 1846, 1851 and 1858; Sheffield 1855, 1862 and 1872; and Coventry 1874. In an advert placed in his Sheffield directory of 1862 he is offering “A New Circular Map” of Sheffield, which may be a reissue of the earlier map. However, he is also offering maps of Warwickshire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire “and several other counties”. The evidence is that, as was true for his brother, for each county directory volume there was a corresponding map.

 

Dix and Darton map adapted and Corrected for F White´s Nottinghamshire.

Francis White directory with logo.

Unfortunately, Francis White directories with maps are harder to find than those of Edward Baines and William White[18]. Besides the circular map of Sheffield already noted, only two more maps have been discovered. One map has been found which was an adaptation of the second Dix & Darton series, a series already used by his brother William. This is a folding map of Nottinghamshire.[19] It has the unique engraving “A South View of Nottingham Castle, and the Druids’ Caves in the Park”. One more map is that of Warwickshire by R Spennell of Warwick published in the directory of 1850[20].

Throughout the first two years of the 1870s, Francis was in and out of court. He was either taking reluctant subscribers to court for non-payment, or he was being taken to court by the new proprietors of his brother´s business. The last recorded court case was in 1872. Three years later, however, on May 4^th 1875, aged 63, Francis White passed away[21].

 

 

Map of Warwick from Francis White & Co., Directory of Warwickshire 1850.

Image courtesy of Veronica Allsop at Duncan M & V Allsop antiquarian and modern books.

 

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William White´s Directories:

Click the entry below to access relevant page.

1. Early Years - William White and Edward Baines
2. William White & Co.
3. Rivalry and Family Feud
4. Francis White & Co.
5. The County Maps of William White
6. William White Co. - Later Years

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:

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[1] Sheffield Independent - Saturday 31 March 1849.
[2] The Sheffield and Rotherham Directory by Henry A & Thomas Rodgers.
[3] Norton, Jane E; 1984 (p.9).
[4] Norton, Jane E; 1984 (p.182).
[5] Norton, Jane E; 1984 (p.23).
[6] Digitized and online at Internet Archive and Hathi Trust.
[7] Sheffield Independent - Thursday 08 February 1866.
[8] Derbyshire Courier - Saturday 22 September 1849. Map is illustrated is courtesy of Leeds University.
[9] Sheffield Daily Telegraph - Friday 24 March 1865.
[10] Sheffield Daily Telegraph - Saturday 12 October 1867.
[11] Sheffield Daily Telegraph - Friday 03 August 1860.
[12] Worms and Baynton-Williams; 2011; p.62.
[13] See Batten & Bennett; 2000; The Victorian Maps of Devon; Devon Books. The Second Edition is online. Entries 121, 122 and 128.
[14] On the title page of this directory F White states: author of similar works for Warwickshire, Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland.  He may have assisted in the second and third, but he was certainly not the “author”.
[15] This included Burton-upon-Trent in Staffordshire and Sheffield, Yorkshire.
[16] Also as White & Co.'s Commercial & Trades Directory of Birmingham, in 2 volumes, 1875. This was the Third Edition and included the County of Warwick.
[17] The Birmingham section was reprinted (from the 1849 issue) and included eight pages of additions.
[18] Of 15 recorded copies of Warwickshire (JISC Nov. 2025) only one (1874) edition mentions a map.
[19] The University of Nottingham has a map, Printed County map of Nottinghamshire showing Hundreds, Parliamentary Divisions, roads and canals (London: Darton & Co.); undated. This was printed for F. White’s history and directory of Nottinghamshire as shown by a line below the scale bar. This is held at Manuscripts and Special Collections. (1844, 1853, 1864). Map is illustrated courtesy of University of Nottingham Manuscripts and Special Collections, Ne 6 X 18.
[20] Included a map of The County of Warwick with imprint of R(obert) Spennell of Church St., Warwick. My thanks to Veronica Allsop at Duncan M & V Allsop antiquarian and modern books for providing an image of the map.
[21] Leeds Times - Saturday 08 May 1875.