Leadenhall Press

Who is Leadenhall Press?

The Leadenhall Press was founded by Andrew White Tuer as the publishing division of the London partnership of Field & Tuer, following a move to 50 Leadenhall Street in 1868. The firm began as job printers, stationers, and manufacturers in 1862, when Tuer joined with Abraham Field, an established producer of registers and log books. Among their early successes was the invention by Tuer of Stickphast Paste, a clean, vegetable-based product that quickly became the standard office paste.

Profits from this and other inventions allowed Tuer, the more adventurous partner, to pursue his publishing ambitions. From the beginning, the Leadenhall Press output reflected his imagination, curiosity, and interest in the full range of printing and book production techniques.

The Leadenhall Press imprint first appeared in 1872 in the firm's trade publication, Paper & Printing Trades Journal, as ‘Ye Leadenhall Workes.’ Field & Tuer occasionally printed books for other publishers and published sporadically beginning in 1869, but it was not until ten years later that the first official book in the Leadenhall Press catalogue appeared: Tuer’s own Luxurious Bathing. The following year, Tuer launched the influential Printers' International Specimen Exchange, an annual survey collection of examples printed and submitted by printers and their employees.