Untrained in either printing or binding, William and Robert, undaunted, shrewdly set about printing, binding and publishing 750 copies of The Songs of Profits, some of which William applied to the purchase of an old, small hand press. This increased the shop's customer appeal, with concomitant increase in sales, and larger
Worth of stock the money to be repaid when he had sold the books in his shop. The brothers' new business received an unexpected, early, boost when, having helped unpack books for an Edinburgh book fair, William was offered £10 He then used this habit to supplement his meager diet with fresh bakedīread earned by reading aloud to a baker and his son as they baked. A keen reader, he would rise at 5 am to read by the early-morning light to save on candles. The entire stock consisted of the remnants of his father's library and his own personal collection.įrom such modest beginnings, they began to do well, helped in no small part by His brother William's undoubted business acumen and the habit of strictįinancial prudence acquired during his apprentice years when he would scrupulously account for every penny, maintaining a strict daily budget, and maximizing every potentialĮconomy. Straitened circumstances denying him his chance at university and a career in the church, in 1818, at just sixteen, Robert opened a bookstall in Leith At twelve I was deep, not only in poetry and fiction, but in encyclopedias." "Books, not playthings, filled my hands in childhood. Left him lame and unable to join in games at school so, it is claimed, he would swap his 'jeelie pieces' (jam sandwiches) for books. High Street, and a copy of the Encyclopedia Britannica which Alex Elder had sold to his father, furnished him with stores of reading. An avid reader, a small circulating library in the town, Elders Library in the Robert exhibited early evidence of unusual literary taste and ability. Robert remained in Peebles to finish his education. When the French let them down the Chambers family was ruined and in 1813 they left Peebles for Edinburgh. Prisoners would repay their debts as soon as they returned home. His father extended many of the French prisoners-of-war garrisoned in Peebles credit to re-clothe themselves the agreement being that the French It was an indirect consequence of that war that so adversely affected the family fortunes. Robert Chambers were born into a relatively prosperous, mill-owning family in the Scottish Borders, and much of their childhood was passed during time As authors and publishers they exercised great influence on both sides of the Atlantic. The brothers combined to form a publishing (and printing) house. Along with his older brother William (1800-1883), he began in business as a bookseller in Edinburgh (1819), and wrote in his spare time. Robert Chambers was a prolific writer who is most famous for hisĮnjoyable reference books.
0 kommentar(er)
