J.W. Leavers
[3963 & 4215]
| Bromley
House Library 1816 to 1916 |
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| Some major entries on this page: | |
| On 1/5/1818 he was written to regarding adherence to the rules of the Library. |
| Resolved: That a note be addressed to Mr. Lawson calling his attention to the rules from the 28th to the 30th inclusive, and stating that the Committee will be under the necessity of enforcing these rules in Mr. Lawson's case, and that no transfer of a share can be sanctioned by the Committee so long as any question of forfeits on that share remain unsettled. |
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| Portrait and signature of J.W. Leavers [3963 & 4215] |
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| Signature of James Holwell Lee [4199] |
| He bought books from the Library for: | ||||
| 13s 6d | 30/11/1900 | 3s 0d | 13/11/1901 | |
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| The signature of William Winterbottom Lewis [4242] |
| The 1904 General Meeting recorded that he had: |
| ..... given much quiet unassuming service for several periods on the Committee. |
| Lewis & Grundy supplied
the mechanisms for closing the doors to the Neville Hoskins Reading
Room. |
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 The Lewis & Grundy clock on Victoria Street, Nottingham. They no longer operate from this address which is now (2009) the Pit and Pendulum. Photograph by Martin Smith. |
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| Arthur Lineker [4079] |
| Arthur Lineker's remuneration |
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| The figures used in the Library's records are shown without the brackets: | |||
| Date | Weekly | Monthly | Yearly |
| 5/6/1894 | (8s 0d) |
£1 12s 0d | (£19 4s 0d) |
| 22/9/1894 | (9s 6d) | £1 18s 0d | (£22 16s 0d) |
| 27/10/1894 | (10s 0d) | £2 0s 0d | (£24 0s 0d) |
| March 1895 | 12s 6d | (£2 10s 0d) | (£30 0s 0d) |
| 6/4/1897 |
18s 0d | (£3 12s 0d) | (£43 4s 0d) |
| 5/4/1898 | £1 1s 0d | £4 4s
0d |
(£50 8s 0d) |
| Like his
predecessor he was given permission to
attend Libraries Association meetings with an allowance of £5 as follows: |
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| Venue |
Date of approval |
Venue | Date of approval |
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| 1900 | Bristol | 31/7/1900 | 1907 | Glasgow | 2/7/1907 | |
| 1901 | Plymouth | 13/8/1901 | 1908 | Brighton | 4/8/1908 | |
| 1902 | Birmingham | 9/9/1902 | 1909 | Sheffield | 6/7/1909 | |
| 1903 | Leeds | 15/9/1903 | 1910 | Exeter | 7/7/1910 | |
| 1904 | Newcastle
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12/7/1904 | 1911 | Perth | 1/8/1911 | |
| 1905 | Cambridge | 4/7/1905 | 1913 | Bournemouth | 1/9/1913 | |
| 1906 | Unspecified | 12/6/1906 | 1915 | London (£10) | 10/8/1915 | |
| His thoughts on this were reported as follows: |
| Our place is now greatly overcrowded, and the question of revision is being spoken of in Committee, and I have been asked for my personal opinion, and it is that it is very difficult to discard books, whatever you have got.... Some eight or nine years ago, I thought I could well remove from my shelves some three or four hundred volumes. Many of these had not been touched for twelve years. It was a very strange coincidence, within two years twelve of these volumes have been asked for by students; and we have to consider those people who are likely to come along and say, I should find that book in your library.... In the case of Robinson's 'The English Flower Garden' the first edition is certainly the best, and by chance I didn't take out the new edition - and I was very pleased because the horticulturists were delighted to know that we had the first edition. |
| The typed report of his visit is appended to the minutes (3/11/1914). |
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LIBRARIAN’S REPORT
ON LONDON LIBRARY SUBSCRIPTIONS Ladies and Gentlemen, On the 30th of September a letter was received from Messrs W.H. Smith & Sons giving notice that they would be unable to renew our subscription to their Library (due April 1st., 1915) at the present rate of £130 for 500 vols., the proposed new rate being 7/6 per vol. or £187-10-0 for 500 vols. With a view of ascertaining if this was the best offer Messrs Smith & Sons could make, I was instructed to go to London and interview their manager and also visit other principle (sic) circulating libraries to see if better terms were obtainable elsewhere. I regret to have to inform you that Smith’s absolutely decline to make any reduction of their new offer, their reason being that for a considerable time they have been losing heavily in the Library department, and that their new charges are worked out on a reasonable and equitable basis. The terms offered by the various Libraries are:- Smith's 7/6 per vol. per annum. Allowance of 25 per cent non-fiction. Mudie's 7/- per vol. Day's 8/8 "The Times" 10/- Mudie's rate is certainly the lowest, but they will not guarantee to supply more than one copy of any book, no matter how great the demand may be. This is a very important point, for it is often necessary for us to have 6 or 8 copies of a popular work immediately, and generally me have managed to procure them from Smith's. The difficulties the large Circulating Libraries have to contend with at the present time are:- 1st. The large demands made upon them for expensive books of merely passing interest, and 2nd. The great difficulty they have of disposing of these and ordinary works of fiction when done with. The great output of books and the demand created by the increased amount of advertising done by the publisher, has compelled the Libraries to subscribe heavily for expensive books which have in a very short time become almost valueless, the great majority of modern publications being of passing interest only. During my conversations with the managers of these large concerns, the fact was revealed that there is a tendency to subscribe less heavily for these expensive works and in some cases to refuse to order any copies whatever unless their members make a firm demand for such works. All this will in time, if consistently carried out, have a tendency to cause the publishers to consider whether it will be worth while to publish many of the books which in the past have been assured of a fairly large sale to the Circulating Libraries, or if they do publish them, to do so at a reasonably cheap figure. In view of these facts our only course is to make the best of whatever the Circulating Libraries offer us, in the hope that in the near future conditions will so change as to make it possible for us to do better. I myself think that such a change will in time come about. Now, in dealing with our own condition we must not lose sight of the fact that the majority of our subscribers have joined the library in order to obtain the newest books, and whilst the demand is existent it is no more or less the duty of the Library to try and meet that demand, much as we may deplore having to do so. As fully 95 per cent of these publications are unworthy of being placed permanently upon our shelves our only course is to borrow them. The question then is, how to spend the money at our disposal to the best advantage! At the present time we subscribe £130 to Smith's for 500 vols. and spend an average sum of £100 annually in the purchase of books for stock. Mr. Russell reasonably suggests, and I am inclined to support him, that we might reduce the amount we spend in purchases to about £5 monthly, and transfer the balance of £40 to the London Library subscription, making that up to £170 for which we should be able to procure 453 vols., or 450 vols. for £166-15-0. In this way we should not materially reduce our supply of the newest books, the difference being a reduction of 50 vols. upon the present number. I do not think that any further reduction in our service would be advisable if we desire to meet all the demands made by our subscribers upon this side of the library. Sixty pounds per annum is a very small amount to spend in additions to so important a Library as Bromley House, but as our resources are so limited it only remains for the Committee to confine themselves for the time being, to the purchasing of valuable and useful works of reference, unobtainable from the London libraries; very important or exceptional books; and the works of certain writers of fiction which we are obliged to consider because of the great demand made for them. Although perhaps it is just outside the subject of this report, I do most emphatically think that it would be of great advantage to the Library; and also a mutual convenience to readers, if members could be impressed with the importance of returning the new books more promptly. This will be even more essential now that our supply is likely to be slightly reduced and the cost of borrowing the books has increased 45 per cent. |
| The Front Reading Room, now the Neville
Hoskins Room, at Bromley House in about 1916. Photograph by Arthur Lineker. From Russell's History (1916) |
| He (W. Lineker) bought books from the Library for: | ||||
| 4s 6d | 20/3/1912 | 5s 6d | 28/1/1913 | |
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| Charles Lisser [4104] |
| Those satirised in the pamphlet were: | ||||
| Real name | Name in pamphlet | Real name | Name in pamphlet | |
| Matthew Henry Barker | Mark Handsail Puppy-dog | Richard Hopper | Mr Jumper | |
| T. Butler | Rev Mr Pantryman | Henry Oldknow | Mr Agewise | |
| Charles Callow | Mr Shallow | Dr Savage | Dr Wildman | |
| George Gill | Ebenezer Cynic | Thomas Wakefield | Tom Sleepclose | |
| William Grisenthwaite | Mr Whizandstop | Dr John Calthorpe Williams | Dr Develope | |
| Frank or Francis Hart | Mr
Deer |
Moses Wood | Aaron Logwood | |
| Thomas Hind | Thomas Stag | Not identified | Simon Smoothtongue | |
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The signature of
Alfred Lowe [4183]
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| Information from Christopher John Lowe,
great-great-grandson of Thomas Lowe II
(2008) |
| Thomas Lowe I (1748-1823) Thomas Lowe II (b.1787; d.8/7/1822) Thomas Lowe III (1816-1897) Thomas Lowe II (b.1787; d.8/7/1822) was a millwright and civil engineer of Leenside and Castle Gate. He was the brother-in-law of William Acton II. He and his father, Thomas Lowe I (1748-1823), also a millwright, owned considerable property, including Lowe's Yard off Canal Street. Much of this property was sold to pay the debts of the Actons. Thomas Lowe I seems also to have been a founder subscriber, signing the rules from 1816. Or was it his father, son of another Thomas and apparently known as the younger in 1800? Who was the Thomas Lowe who signed the rules in 1823-30? It can not be Thomas Lowe III, druggist (1816-97), son of Thomas Lowe II and cousin of Thomas Lowe Acton and one of his guarantors to the bank in 1839. He left Nottingham for Liverpool some time between 1839 and 1845. He was too young. |
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| The spiral staircase in Bromley House Library | |