Thomas Longman (1699-1755) through an inheritance acquired a publishing house, The Ship, in Paternoster Row (the street of book publishers) and shortly after, The Black Swan, next door. Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe had been published by The Ship a few years before the purchase so it was a profitable business. Thus a ship and a swan become the emblems for the business. The Ship Binding Works, a subsidiary company, was formed in 1887 and managed for a time by Hubert Harry Longman (1856–1940). Production at the Ship Binding Works ceased following a wartime bomb and fire in April 1941.
We think the Ship Binding Works specialised in fine leather bindings, as shown in our picture. More information about the firm at the .
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