WARD & LOCK

Ward and Lock started their own firm on Midsummer's Day 1854. The Locks were an influential Dorchester family and George Lock's father had married Eliza Galpin making George Lock (1832-1891) first cousin to Thomas Dixon Galpin, later to make his name with Cassell, Petter and Galpin. Ebenezer Ward (1819-1902) was a manager for the Illustrated London News publishers' book business. The two were introduced by Thomas Galpin and Ward Lock was launched with a £1000 loan from George Lock senior, the articles of partnership being signed June 23rd 1854. After initial friendly[1] relations and support, contact between the two cousins was broken when Galpin and his partner, George William Petter, took over Cassell's to found a rival business partnership. From 1891 until c.1897 James Bowden was a partner and the company traded under the name Ward, Lock and Bowden Ltd.



Ward and Lock guides first appeared in 1886-87 and included a number of small maps of towns or areas. The first two guides known covered North and South Devon and had maps by various printers, but by the time the individual regional guide books appeared most of the maps were being prepared and printed by G Philip and Son. However, Henry Besley had published maps of North Devon and of South Devon and Dartmoor for his Route Book Of Devon 1857/1858. These two maps were first used in both Besley’s Route Book and his North and South handbooks until c.1880, and were subsequently included by Ward and Lock in their Pictorial Guides. These were replaced towards the end of the century by a new map produced by George Philip & Son: this was a section taken from the large map produced by Ernest George Ravenstein, Philip's Topographical Map of England & Wales for George Philip in 1899 (B&B 179). This, in turn, was replaced in the early twentieth century by a map of South Devon engraved by Bartholomew.

The two Ward & Lock guides for North and South Devon seem to have only been issued once but a number of subsequent titles covered parts of Devon; Bideford (from approx. 1894); Dartmoor (1895); Dawlish (1899); Exeter (1895); Exmouth (1899); Ilfracombe (1896); Lynton and Lynmouth (1890); Plymouth (1895); Sidmouth (1899); Teignmouth (1898); and Torquay (1886).[2]

In addition to the maps listed here, there was also a very small Plan of Merivale Antiquities (57 x 79 mm) which can be found embedded in text in the Pictorial and Historical Guide To Dartmoor (1897) published by Ward, Lock & Bowden. Ward & Lock also used a map prepared by Besley (see Besley 5) of Torquay in their New Pictorial and Descriptive Guide To Torquay.

Between 1884 and 1897, Ward & Lock produced 12 separate maps (click title to access page):


NOTES:

[1] Edward Liveing; Adventure in Publishing – The House of Ward Lock 1854-1954; Ward, Lock & Co. Ltd; 1954.
[2] The internet site for Ward & Lock enthusiasts: www.wardlockredguides.co.uk. Some dates have been changed on evidence of volumes inspected.

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