Ward Lock & Co

Ward Lock & Co was a publishing house in the United Kingdom that started as a partnership and developed until it was eventually absorbed into the publishing combine of Penguin Books.

History

Ebenezer Ward and George Lock starting a publishing concern in 1854 which became known as "Ward and Lock". Based originally in Fleet Street, London it outgrew its offices and in 1878 moved completely to Salisbury Square, London.

The Red guides, for which it became renowned, were initially acquired in the early 1880s, as the company bought Shaw’s respected list of tourist guides.

James Bowden came in to the now three way partnership. In 1882 offices was opened in New York, and in 1884 in Melbourne. In the mid-1890s, the company opened an office in Toronto, Canada; however, this was closed in 1919.

The company is still in existence and its imprint is still used by Orion Publishing Group

Trading names

• Ward and Lock – 1852 to 1891
• Ward, Lock and Bowden Company – 1891 to 1893
• Ward Lock and Bowden Ltd. – 1893 to 1897
• Ward Lock & Co. Ltd. – 1897 to present

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll was also published by Ward Lock & Co. Ltd.

Authors

• Mrs. Beeton
• Nigel Tranter: early novels (1937–1956) and westerns (published under the pseudonym 'Nye Tredgold', 1950–1958)
• Dornford Yates
• Thomas Hughes

Titles

Some famous books and series were published by Ward Lock

• The Picture of Dorian Gray
• The Fair Britain Series
• Mrs Beeton's Cookery Books
• Mrs Beeton's Household Management
• 6D Copyright Novels [1]
• Gardening Books
• Wonder Books for Children
• Tom Brown's School Days
• Pilgrim's Progress
• The Windsor Magazine was published from 1895 until shortly before the Second World War.

Further reading

Adventure in Publishing: The House of Ward Lock 1854-1954 (1954) by Edward Living

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