Edward Lloyd (16 February 1815–8 April 1890) was a British publisher.
Born in Thornton Heath, Lloyd studied shorthand at the London Mechanics' Institution, then wrote a book on stenography. Before he was eighteen, he had opened shops in London to sell cheap books and valentines.[1]
From 1835, he began publishing cheap books, many being plagiarisations of Charles Dickens' work. In 1842 he moved into publishing periodicals, including Lloyd's Penny Weekly Miscellany, Lloyd's Penny Atlas and, most successfully, Lloyd's Illustrated London Newspaper [2] , which soon became Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper. This was enormously successful, and by 1872 was selling 500,000 copies an issue.[1]
Lloyd stopped publishing penny dreadfuls, and concentrated with promoting his newspaper as a respectable publication for the literate working class. He founded the Lloyd News, later known as The Sunday News, and also published the Daily Chronicle.[3]
He spent his weeks touring the country, looking for suitable advertising hoardings. He also set up his own printing works to publish the newspaper, supplied with esparto grass grown on 100,000 acres (400 km2) of land which he leased in Algeria.[1]
One of his printing works was in Sittingbourne, bought in 1863. In 1912, with a workforce of 1,200 and output of 2,000 tonnes per week, the mill was one of the biggest in the world. [4]
In 1876, Lloyd purchased the Clerkenwell News, and transformed it into the Daily Chronicle, increasing circulation from 8,000 to 140,000.[1]
In his spare time, Lloyd was active in Liberal Party politics and was a member of the Reform Club.[1]
He had three sons Arthur, Herbert and Frank Lloyd. All who lived in Croydon.[5]
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New position |
Editor of Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper 1842–1852 |
Succeeded by Douglas William Jerrold |