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Cobden-Sanderson, T(homas) J(ames)
(b Alnwick, Northumb., 2 Dec 1840; d London, 7 Sept 1922). English bookbinder and writer. Between 1859 and 1863 he attended Owens College (now Victoria University of Manchester). He then read classics at Trinity College, Cambridge University, and later studied law there. He was called to the Bar in 1871 and was immediately commissioned to work for the London & North Western Railway. Becoming ill through overwork, he was sent in 1881 to recuperate in Siena, where he met the suffragette Anne Cobden (d 1926). He married her in 1882, taking her surname as part of his. Their exchange of enlightened ideas led him to consider a more satisfying way of life, and in 1883 he responded to the suggestion of Jane Morris, William Morris’s wife, that he pursue bookbinding in London. He became an apprentice to Roger de Coverly and in 1887 won the Society of Arts prize. Although Cobden-Sanderson was close to Morris and was influenced by him, he disagreed with the aesthetic realized in the books produced by Morris’s Kelmscott Press (see MORRIS, WILLIAM). His criticism of the heavy type, small margins and disjointed text of Morris’s books reflected his ongoing obsession with the notion of the ‘Book Beautiful’, and in 1891 he published an article on the subject of binding the ‘Book Beautiful’. He constantly referred to this ideal in his journals, which provide a clearer understanding of his philosophy, particularly his abhorrence of industrialization and its resulting dehumanization. His belief that creativity, imagination and contentment came before profit led him to put these ideas into practice: the employees at the Cobden-Sandersons’ Doves bindery and Doves Press were among the first of any trades in Britain to work a 48-hour week, to have 14 days’ paid holiday a year and time off at Christmas and bank-holidays, and to have higher wages than could be expected for commensurate skills elsewhere in the trade. The bindery was established in 1893 at The Mall, Hammersmith, London, and Cobden-Sanderson took on four employees; although he had already made approximately 200 books himself, the bindery produced more than 1000 to his designs. Its success was due mainly to his bookseller, J. S. Bain, one of whose most important customers was Lemuell W. Bangs, the London agent for Charles Scribner in New York. Bangs monopolized the bindery’s output for a while; this established Cobden-Sanderson’s reputation in the USA and led to numerous commissions. A notable later customer was Henry Bell, a director of Garrard’s, the Crown jewellers. In 1897 the Cobden-Sandersons moved to 7 Hammersmith Terrace and took on their first apprentice. Since 1894 Cobden-Sanderson had been in discussion with the printer and process-engraver Emery Walker (1851–1933) regarding the design of a special typeface for the ‘Book Beautiful’, and his diary entry for 11 December 1898 discusses his intention to ‘actualize it in paper, ink, writing, printing, ornament and binding’. By April 1900 he had obtained a printing press and in June of that year installed it in new premises at 1 Hammersmith Terrace. The press having been established, he relied for technical expertise on Walker, who skilfully combined printing, photography and lithography, and who had helped execute many projects undertaken by the Pre-Raphaelite artists. Cobden-Sanderson agreed to take charge of forwarding, binding and finishing, while Walker was to be responsible for typesetting, proofing and other technicalities. However, this arrangement never transpired, and Cobden-Sanderson had to oversee all aspects of the operation, which resulted in endless disputes.
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