T. N. Foulis

Last updated

T. N. Foulis
StatusDefunct
Founded1903
FounderThomas Noble Foulis
Country of origin United Kingdom
Headquarters location Edinburgh
Publication types Poetry, prose, gift books and nonfiction

T. N. Foulis was a British publisher founded in Edinburgh in 1903. During its first ten years, the firm became well known for producing "highly original, beautifully illustrated books", [1] with contributions by "artists of considerable merit" [2] such as Jessie M. King, H. M. Brock, Hannah MacGoun and Walter Crane. [3] [4] Works published included classics of poetry and prose, gift books, and nonfiction books, many with a Scottish theme.

Contents

Company history

T. N. Foulis was established by Thomas Noble Foulis (1874-1943) in 1903. He was from a long line of publishers: his father Thomas Foulis was a partner in the Edinburgh publishers "Douglas & Foulis". [5] His ancestors included Robert Foulis (printer).

His brother Douglas A. Foulis joined the firm in 1907 and was a partner from 1910 to 1919. [2] The head office was located at 12 Frederick Street, Edinburgh and later a second office was opened in Paternoster Row, London, E.C.

The firm published more than 400 books in the years 1903–24. Its books were "produced to the most exacting of standards". [6] In its 1913 catalogue, the firm announced:

Each Foulis book is the particular outcome of much personal thought and consideration. The more mechanical methods of modern publishing, which pours out wholesale, indiscriminately bound, or with featureless uniformity, have no attraction for Mr. Foulis and his fellow craftsmen. [7]

According to Ian Elfick and Paul Harris, [6] the physical characteristics of a typical Foulis book would include coloured buckram bindings, rose watermarked paper with rough cut edges, text printed in the elegant Auriol font, and illustrations in the form of tipped-in colour plates. Most titles were bound in "paper boards, which was actually wallpaper, dyed to Foulis' own specifications" and the more expensive titles were bound in a "a special jute buckram from Dundee or with fine quality vellum". [1]

The firm encountered financial difficulties during the First World War. [8] In 1916 T. N. Foulis absorbed most of the publications of the Edinburgh publishing firm Douglas & Foulis.

In 1924 T. N. Foulis was taken over by G. T. Marshall, a printer in Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. The resulting firm, trading as G. T. Foulis & Co., was based at 7 Milford Lane, Strand, London, W.C.2 and published books on motoring. [9] The firm continued as Hunter and Foulis in the 1950s. [10] That firm was in turn taken over by the Haynes Publishing Group which publishes the Haynes Owner's Workshop Manuals and in the years 1976-2000 issued the Foulis Motoring Book series. [11]

A collection of approximately 400 titles, described as "exquisitely designed, charmingly illustrated, beautifully printed, and yet reasonable affordable books", are held in the T. N. Foulis Collection at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. [12]

Envelope Books

In 1907 T. N. Foulis launched a gift booklet series of poetry known as Envelope Books. The least expensive titles in this series were intended to substitute for Christmas cards. They included a "Christmas greetings page and had flexible card covers". They were sold in wrappers which could be folded into an envelope which could then be sent by post. More expensive titles were bound in cloth or in limp velvet (calf suede) yapp and came with "mounted illustrations". [13]

Colour plate illustrations and cover designs were provided by eminent artists who were active at the turn of the century, including Jessie M. King, [14] William Russell Flint, Frank Brangwyn, Frederick Cayley Robinson, William Hatherell, Harry Rountree, Annie French, Katharine Cameron [15] and Maurice Greiffenhagen. [16]

Book series

Further book series are listed at Foulis, T N.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hutchinson (publisher)</span> British book and magazine publisher

Hutchinson was a British publishing firm which operated from 1887 until 1985, when it underwent several mergers. It is currently an imprint which is ultimately owned by Bertelsmann, the German publishing conglomerate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Cape</span> English publishing firm (founded 1921)

Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape (1879–1960), who was head of the firm until his death.

T&T Clark is a British publishing firm which was founded in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1821 and which now exists as an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing.

George Bell & Sons was a book publishing house located in London, United Kingdom, from 1839 to 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progress Publishers</span> Soviet publisher

Progress Publishers was a Moscow-based Soviet publisher founded in 1931.

Thomas Y. Crowell Co. was a publishing company founded by Thomas Y. Crowell. The company began as a bookbindery founded by Benjamin Bradley in 1834. Crowell operated the business after Bradley's death in 1862 and eventually purchased the company from Bradley's widow in 1870.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackie and Son</span> Publishing house

Blackie & Son was a publishing house in Glasgow, Scotland, and London, England, from 1809 to 1991.

Michael Joseph was a British publisher and writer.

Bertie Maurice van Thal (1904–1983), known as Herbert van Thal, was a British bookseller, publisher, agent, biographer, and anthologist.

Calder Publications is a publisher of books. Since 1949, the company has published many books on all the arts, particularly subjects such as opera and painting, the theatre and critical and philosophical theory. Calder's authors have achieved nineteen Nobel Literature Prizes and three for Peace.

Thomas Werner Laurie (1866–1944) was a London publisher of books that were avant-garde in some cases, racy in others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George G. Harrap and Co.</span> British publisher

George G. Harrap, Ltd was a publisher of high quality speciality books, many of them educational, such as the memoirs of Winston Churchill, or highly illustrated with line drawings, engravings or etchings, such as the much republished classic educational children's book The Cave Boy of the Age of Stone from at least 1901 into the 1980s.

Publishers of English classics for the educational trade, Harrap was also known for publishing finely illustrated books by Rackham, Gooden, and others, and as the publisher of Winston Churchill.

W. Foulsham & Company Limited is a British publisher founded by William Foulsham in 1819.

Batsford Books is an independent British book publisher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katharine Cameron</span> British artist

Katharine Cameron RWS RE was a Scottish artist, watercolourist, and printmaker, best known for her paintings and etchings of flowers. She was associated with the group of artists known as the Glasgow Girls.

Ernest Benn Limited was a British publishing house.

Williams and Norgate were publishers and book importers in London and Edinburgh. They specialized in both British and foreign scholarly and scientific literature.

David Douglas FRSE FSA was a Scottish publisher in the 19th century. He was publisher of works by authors including John Stuart Blackie and Dr John Brown. In later life he formed half of the successful Edinburgh publishing business Edmonston & Douglas. The latter were responsible for a highly popular set of animal prints aimed at children. His final partnership was called Douglas & Foulis.

Mary Georgina Wade Wilson was a Scottish artist known for her watercolor and pastel paintings.

Hannah Clarke Preston MacGoun RSW (1864–1913) was a Scottish artist and the first female to be elected a member of the Royal Society of Watercolourists. Stylistically she was termed a "social realist". As an illustrator she assumed the gender neutral name of H. C. Preston MacGoun.

References

  1. 1 2 T. N. Foulis Collection, csglasgow.org. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  2. 1 2 "T. N. Foulis: the History and Bibliography of an Edinburgh Publishing House. Ian Elfick, Paul Harris" (review), The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, Volume 93, Number 1, March 1999. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  3. ↑ The Legends of Flowers: or, "'Tis Love that makes the World go round." , Translated from the Italian ... by Mrs. J. Alexander Kennedy. With frontispiece by Walter Crane. Edinburgh and London: T.N. Foulis, 1908, etc.
  4. ↑ Charles Dickens, Doctor Marigold , with illustrations reproduced from water-colour drawings by Charles E. Brock, Edinburgh and London: T.N. Foulis, 1908 [1907].
  5. ↑ "Douglas and Foulis (Publishers, of Edinburgh) - Details - Social Networks and Archival Context".
  6. 1 2 Ian Elfick & Paul Harris, T.N. Foulis: The History and Bibliography of an Edinburgh Publishing House, New Castle, Delaware and London: Oak Knoll Press & Werner Shaw Ltd., 1998, passim. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  7. ↑ T N Foulis, Publisher, stellabooks.com. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  8. ↑ Foulis, T N, booksandwriters.co.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  9. ↑ G T Foulis & Co, hobbydb.com. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  10. ↑ Thomas Noble Foulis, britishmuseum.org. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  11. ↑ se:Foulis Motoring Book, worldcat.org. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  12. ↑ Karen Attar, Directory of Rare Book and Special Collections in the UK and Republic of Ireland , 3rd edition, London: Facet Publishing, 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  13. ↑ Envelope Books, seriesofseries.com. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  14. ↑ Max Begg, Jessie M. King: Scottish Book Illustrator, textualities.net. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  15. ↑ Rosemary Addison, "Glasgow Girl: Katharine Cameron's Illustration", Scottish Book Collector, 2000, 6:9: 4–7.
  16. ↑ The Envelope Booklets of T.N. Foulis, jonkers.co.uk, 11 July 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  17. ↑ se:"Dr. John Brown series", worldcat.org. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  18. ↑ se:Envelope Books, worldcat.org. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Publishers & Series List, seriesofseries.com. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  20. ↑ T.N Foulis - Publisher, stellabooks.com. Retrieved 12 February 2022.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.