John Catnach also printed and published a series of Juvenile Works, as The Royal Play Book: or, Children's Friend. A Present for Little Masters and Misses. The Death and Burial of Cock Robin, &c. ADORNED with CUTS.-Which in many cases were the early productions of Thomas Bewick.-Alnwick: Sold Wholesale and Retail by J. Catnach, at his Toy-Book Manufactory.

Catnach was very
That he succeeded

After commencing business, John diligent in trying to establish a trade. in the enterprise there can be little doubt, but it is equally certain that he was never able to save anything from his labours. His ideas were considerably in advance of his means, and as his business began to increase, so in like manner he became more tenaciously wedded to his dissipated habits.

In the year 1807, John Catnach took an apprentice-a lad named Mark Smith, of whom more anon; a few months afterwards he entered into partnership with Mr. William Davison. The latter was a native of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and in the place of his birth he duly served his apprenticeship as a chemist and druggist to Mr. Hind, and for whom he ever cherished a fond regard. The union was not of long duration certainly under two years but it is very remarkable that two such men should have been brought together, for experience has shown that they were both of a speculative mind, although in most other respects, morally and socially, the very opposite of each other.

During the partnership of these two men, the respective trades of chemist and bookseller were carried on by them; and when Mr. Davison was left to himself he still prosecuted with vigour these two departments; for, although reared to the prescribing of physics, he had a fine taste and relish for the book trade, and the short time that he was in partnership with Catnach enabled him to acquire a good amount of valuable information on this subject. Be this as it may, he soon laid the basis of a large and lucrative business. He certainly was no niggard in worldly matters, and when twitted, as he often was, about his new-fangled ideas, he would quaintly reply "that he had more pleasure in spending money than any in hoarding it up."

It was about this same period that Mr. Davison published The Repository of Select Literature; being an Elegant Assemblage of Curious, Scarce, Entertaining and Instructive Pieces in Prose and Verse. Adorned with beautiful Engravings by Bewick, &c. Alnwick Printed by W. Davison. Sold by the Booksellers in England and Scotland. 1808. This small work is a fine specimen of book making; its pages are adorned with some of Bewick's and Clennell's best impressions. In many of his small books the illustrations are admirably carried out. You will often find some

of his fly sheets adorned by the productions of some great master. There is one that we would particularly refer to, and that is "Shepherd Lubin." In size it is very small, but, like most of Bewick's pieces, sufficiently large to show the inimitable skill of the artist. The picture tells its own

tale :

66

'Young Lubin was a shepherd's boy,
Who watched a rigid master's sheep,
And many a night was heard to sigh,
And many a day was seen to weep."

Lubin, a shepherd boy, was sent adrift on a cold winter's night in search of a missing sheep. The storm was raging fast and furious. In the foreground of the picture is seen the lifeless body of the youth, lying upon the driven snow; the trusty collie dog with his forepaw resting upon the head of his young master, and not far from them is also the dead object of their search. The storm has abated, but the ground is thickly covered with snow, and in the distance is seen an aged tree. The manipulation of the several figures is so forcibly portrayed, that it is impossible to look upon this small vignette without pleasure and admiration.

The chemistry department in Mr. Davison's establishment was noted in the North of England. As a school for the study of medicine, it was remarkable for the many eminent men that emanated from it; and it is pleasing to look back upon the names of not a few who in after life became distinguished in the various walks of science. Amongst the most celebrated may be instanced Dr. John Davison, Dr. William Davison, the late lamented Mr. Duncan Ferguson, Professor Thomas Strangeways, Dr. William Brown, Dr. Thomas Call, Dr. William Armstrong, Mr. Robert Dunn, Mr. Philip Thornton, Mr. Hopper, Dr. Robert Heatley, Mr. Henry Hunter, &c. Messrs. Dunn and Thornton were with Mr. Davison about 1812, and both of them went to

C

London, where they not only acquired eminence, but also amassed considerable fortunes.

Mr. Davison was a man of quick discernment, and not ignorant of the wants and drawbacks which the sons of toil had to contend against. In those days it was only the few who could command an access to the treasured stores of literature, and even to them this was only accomplished with a great amount of labour and expense. Having all this in view, he was not slow in giving effect to ideas long matured; and we find amongst some of his earliest works that he published a revised edition of "Hutton's Arithmetic." The work necessary in carrying it out in its full entirety was entrusted to the late Mr. James Ferguson, who for thirty-five years was the esteemed master of the Corporation Schools under the old régime. The author introduced into the work many considerable additions, and perhaps so signal a success never attended the publishing of any local work before. It soon established itself as a standard and household work in the district, and almost countless were the editions that it passed through.

One of the greatest undertakings of his life in the book trade was the issuing of a large Family Bible. Over this work he spent a great amount of money, and perhaps no other book that he was ever engaged in occupied so much of his time, but in a pecuniary point of view he must have been a heavy loser by the enterprise. A great amount of money was spent in getting up the plates, and the book failed in securing that success commensurate with the expense that had been lavished upon it. He also published a very finely illustrated Book of Common Prayer.

In politics Mr. Davison was what is now termed a Liberal ; he had strong leanings to what was then known as the Progressive School. He took a great interest in the several contests in the county that occurred during his lifetime; 1826, 1841, 1847, and 1852 were memorable epochs in his

life, and with the exception of '41 and '52 he published Poll Books of the whole of the proceedings connected with the others. He was the means of bringing out many works of a local character, and one of the most remarkable was "The Life of Jamie Allen, the Northumbrian Piper." The only illustration in the book is a portrait of Allen. The principal part of the work was arranged by Mr, Andrew Wright, and contains many traits of the peculiar modes of the gipsy life. There are several amusing stories told about the manner in which the chief incidents contained in the work were collected. Many of the scenes, plots, and adventures, were obtained from the itinerant tribes of muggers, tinkers, and such like. It is now getting scarce, and as years roll on it will undoubtedly increase in value. In style it is inferior to that published a few years later by McKenzie and Dent; but few works of a similar kind possess the quaint and rich peculiarities of a race that is fast disappearing from amongst

us.

There were few men who took more pride than Mr. Davison did in bringing out young and unknown authors. During the fifty years that he was in business, he was instrumental in inducing many to "write a book." He also assisted many others in bringing their labours before the public.