David & Charles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David & Charles (also David and Charles) is a publisher specialising in illustrated non-fiction books. The company was founded in the small town of Newton Abbot, in Devon, UK, on 1 April 1960 by David St John Thomas and Charles Hadfield. It first made its name publishing titles on Britain's canals and railways. In Newton Abbot, they were famously based in the old railway station building and as the business expanded they took over the loco shed for use as a warehouse!
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[edit] Charles Hadfield
Hadfield (5 August 1909 – 6 August 1996) was a canal historian and the author of many classic works on the British canal system. He was born in South Africa, and moved to Devon in 1924. He helped to found the Inland Waterways Association in 1946, but was expelled in 1951. Between 1963 and 1966 he was a member of the British Waterways Board. He left the firm in 1964 but continued to edit The Canals of the British Isles series.[1]
[edit] Publishing
Among David & Charles' early titles were the The Canals of the British Isles series, edited and often written by Charles Hadfield: he wrote in full or part, at least five of the volumes. Another series was the A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain; with the first Volume written by David St John Thomas.
The Springburn, Glasgow, writer John Thomas was the author of a series of books on Scottish railway lines and railway companies first published in the 1960s and 1970s by David & Charles.
Although its range has expanded enormously since, the company still publishes railway titles such as Branch Line Britain.
In 2000 the company was bought by USA publisher F+W Publications.
[edit] References
- ^ The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) History: People E to K. IWA History. Inland Waterways Association. Retrieved on August 10, 2006.
[edit] Further reading
- Anon. (1981). Good books come from Devon, the David & Charles twenty-first birthday book. David & Charles.
- Boughey, Joseph (1998). Charles Hadfield: Canal Man and More. UK: Alan Sutton. ISBN 0-7509-1052-6.
