The Gresham Publishing Co was founded in 1898 by Blackie & Son Ltd , publishers, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, Scotland. Blackie & Son had started subscription selling in the late 1870s but by the 1890s the trade was failing. The subscription department was brought under new management in 1893 and the trade started to pick up again, and an instalment system of payment ran parallel with the traditional subscription method for a time. The company sold works such as Kerner's Natural History of Plants and Davis's Natural History of Animals , both of which sold well. The Gresham Publishing Co was formed in order to take over the subscription trade of Blackie & Son Ltd and also to introduce the publication of scientific and technical books. Volumes were issued at intervals of 3 months and were paid for on delivery. Titles included The New Popular Encyclopaedia (1900) and the Gresham Dictionary and Gresham Encyclopaedia (1910s). The firm was incorporated in 1917 as Gresham Publishing Co Ltd and had its head office London with branches in almost every major British city as well as branches in Canada and India. The company continued trading until 1948 .
Sources: GB 248 UGD 061/10/1/7, 22: Notes on company history
From the guide to the Records of Gresham Publishing Co Ltd, publishers, 1917-1948, London, England, 1897-1960, (Glasgow University Archive Services)
