Charles Hindley (Bookseller, Editor & Compiler)

 

Twelve Copies on Blue Paper: A Rare Presentation Set of Hindley’s Miscellany

 

A Bibliographic Anomaly

A complete three-volume set of The Old Book Collector’s Miscellany (London: Reeves & Turner, 1871–1873) offers a rare glimpse into Victorian bibliographic culture where editorial ambition, civic networks, and institutional stewardship intersect. Printed entirely on blue paper, the set includes a signed certification stating that only twelve copies of Volume I were produced in this format. The certification bears the signatures of Charles Hindley, editor, and A. M. Robinson the printer, and is dated September 30th, 1871. The publisher’s name is left blank, suggesting a semi-private distribution outside commercial channels.

 

A Matched Presentation Series

What makes this set exceptional is that all three volumes are printed on the same blue paper, despite only Volume I being formally certified. Volume I is dedicated to James Eglington A. Gwynne esq.,  a prominent civil engineer and bibliophile. Volume II includes a dedication to John Cordy Burrows, J.P., a prominent Brighton civic figure, while Volume III, though undedicated, matches the format and stock of its predecessors. This continuity implies that the entire set was prepared as a matched presentation series, likely for select recipients within Hindley’s literary or civic network.

 

The Two Dedicatees

James Eglinton Anderson Gwynne, Esq. (1832–1915), of Harley Street, London, was a prominent civil engineer, inventor, and bibliophile whose career bridged industrial innovation and cultural patronage. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a noted collector, Gwynne was celebrated for his refined taste in literature and the arts. As acknowledged in Charles Hindley’s 1871 dedication of The Old Book Collector’s Miscellany, he curated extensive holdings in topography, travel, and antiquarian subjects, enriching both his London residence and Folkington Manor in Sussex with rare books and fine paintings.

Sir John Cordy Burrows (1813–1876) was a respected British surgeon and civic leader whose contributions to Brighton earned widespread admiration. On 13 October 1871, townspeople presented him with a lavish testimonial; including a carriage, horses, and other gifts in recognition of his public service. Following a petition to the Crown, he was knighted by Queen Victoria at Osborne on 5 February 1873, cementing his legacy as a devoted advocate for the welfare and cultural life of Brighton.

 

 Institutional Stewardship and Rebinding

The volumes were later held by Blackburn Public Libraries, as evidenced by reference labels (Class 820) and uniform rebinding in red cloth. The labels appear clean and modern, suggesting a mid-20th-century rebinding perhaps during a cataloging overhaul or preservation effort. Their survival as a complete set, with dedications and certification intact, is rare in public library holdings. In 2016, Blackburn Public Libraries undertook a selective deaccessioning of reference stock to safeguard and enhance their core local history collections. It was likely during this process that the volumes entered public circulation.

 

Ainsworth’s Signature: A Custodial Clue

Adding another layer is the presence of a handwritten signature - W. Ainsworth, this name may point to a previous owner, librarian, or donor whose identity remains to be traced. The repetition suggests custodianship prior to library acquisition.

 The Content Within

The content of The Miscellany reflects Hindley’s editorial interests: reprinting 16th- and 17th-century pamphlets, ballads, and literary ephemera with a focus on the curious, the risqué, and the forgotten. Titles include The Merry Tales of Skelton, The Cobler of Caunterburie, and The Belman of London. These texts, often drawn from the margins of early modern print culture, were presented with minimal scholarly apparatus but considerable enthusiasm.

 

Biographical Hindley

This portrait of Charles Hindley appears in a larger engraving titled London Booksellers in a Reading Room, published in Frank Karslake’s Book Auction Records. Karslake wrote: “Just behind Dr Neligan, absorbed in a large volume and seemingly unaware of his surroundings, stands the bookseller Charles Hindley (1845–1900).”

Hindley was born into the trade. His father, also Charles Hindley (c.1821–1893), ran a bookshop in Brighton, known for its enduring style of stock advertisements. The younger Hindley moved to London as a young man and joined the publishers Reeves & Turner, where he began to build his editorial reputation. According to the 1871 Census, he was then living at Barnard’s Inn, his profession listed as “compiler of indices, cataloguing, and other literary matters.”

By this time, Hindley had already compiled The Book of Ready-Made Speeches … With Appropriate Quotations, Toasts, and Sentiments (1869), and a catalogue of the Catnach Press both published by Reeves & Turner. He was also editing his most ambitious project: The Old Book Collector’s Miscellany: or, A Collection of Readable Reprints of Literary Rarities (1871–1873).

That same year, he produced Curiosities of Street Literature, Comprising ‘Cocks’, or ‘Catch-pennies’, another compilation for Reeves & Turner. By 1876, Hindley had opened his own shop at 8 Holywell Street, relocating to No. 41 in 1884, where he remained until his death on 17 March 1900.

His later works include The Life and Times of James Catnach (1878) and A History of the Cries of London (1881). As the Manchester Courier (11 November 1905) fondly recalled, Hindley was “a maker of books” as well as a seller, his shop one of the “little cavernous” spaces that “glowed with books,” evoking the final days of Booksellers’ Row before its demolition under an early twentieth-century “improvement scheme.”

 

Hindley’s Reputation Reconsidered

Hindley’s reputation has long been contested. W. Roberts, in The Book-Hunter in London (1895), dismissed him as a “fifth-rate printer and publisher of literary curiosities.” Yet such critiques overlook Hindley’s role in democratizing access to rare texts and his use of presentation printing to cultivate civic and literary relationships. The blue-paper edition, with its dedications and limited run, suggests a deliberate effort to elevate his work beyond the realm of cheap reprints.

 

Unanswered Questions and Ongoing Research

This set raises compelling questions: Were all twelve copies printed as full three-volume sets on blue paper? Was Volume III produced later to match the earlier presentation volumes? And who was A. M. Robinson; printer, stationer, or collaborator in Hindley’s limited edition scheme?

 

From Public Shelf to Private Stewardship

As the volumes pass from institutional shelves to private stewardship, their story continues to unfold. What began as a bibliographic curiosity now stands as a rare artifact of Victorian editorial culture, civic dedication, and public preservation.

 

Text Sources

Open Library bibliographic record for The Old Book Collector’s Miscellany, including edition details and links to digital formats. View on Open Library.

HathiTrust Digital Library catalog entry and full-text access to multiple volumes from university collections.View on HathiTrust.

W. Roberts. The Book-Hunter in London: Historical and Other Studies of Collectors and Collecting. London: Elliot Stock, 1895. Used for commentary on Hindley’s editorial reputation.

 

Image Sources

Engraving Charles Hindley - Frank Karslake’s Book Auction Records

Blackburn Reference Library 1926 – Lancashire Telegraph