UNWIN BROTHERS LIMITED, FORMERLY GRESHAM PRESS AND LATER STAPLES PRINTING GROUP AND MARTINS PRINTING GROUP: RECORDS

The records include those items deposited by the company and individual members of staff. The following is a detailed summary of the contents:

3137/1/ FOUNDATION, OWNERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT 1860-1964

3137/1/1/ UNWIN BROTHERS LIMITED 1860-1927

3137/1/2/ STAPLES PRINTING GROUP, MARTINS PRINTING GROUP AND OTHER PRINTING COMPANIES 1963-1964

3137/2/ SHAREHOLDING 1902-1964

3137/3/ BOARD OF DIRECTORS 1862-1999

3137/3/1/ MINUTES 1902-1958

3137/3/2/ DIRECTORS CORRESPONDENCE AND REPORTS 1862-1999

3137/3/3/ POLICY AND STRATEGY 1927-1987

3137/4/ FINANCE 1863-1973

3137/4/1/ BALANCE SHEETS 1864-1963

3137/4/2/ REPORTS 1881-1973

3137/4/3/ DIRECTORS' ACCOUNTS 1863-1961

3137/4/4/ ANALYSIS OF DEPARTMENT ACCOUNTS 1896-1925

3137/4/5/ OTHER ACCOUNTS AND FINANCIAL PAPERS 1906-1965

3137/5/ STAFF 1833-2002

3137/5/1/ MINUTES 1922-1960

3137/5/1/1/ Advisory Committee 1945-1960

3137/5/1/2/ Other minutes 1922-1951

3137/5/2/ WAGES, PENSIONS AND DIVIDENDS 1875-1956

3137/5/3/ STAFF NEWSLETTERS 1930-1989

3137/5/4/ PRINTED STAFF NOTICES, HANDBOOKS AND DIARIES 1899-2002

3137/5/5/ STAFF RECREATION AND EVENTS 1876-1996

3137/5/6/ INDIVIDUAL STAFF MEMBERS 1833-1989

3137/6/ PUBLICATIONS, PUBLICITY (INCLUDING UNEOPRINT TECHNOLOGY) AND NEWSPAPER CUTTINGS 1876-2000s

3137/6/1/ PUBLICATIONS 1960s-1991

3137/6/2/ PUBLICITY 1880s-2000s

3137/6/3/ 'UNEOPRINT' AND OFFSET PRINTING 1963-1970
'Uneoprint' was a system exclusive to Unwin Brothers.

3137/6/4/ NEWSPAPER CUTTINGS 1876-2000s

3137/7/ PRINTING WORKS AND OPERATIONS 1855-1980

3137/7/1/ DISPATCH BOOKS 1899-1980
The dispatch books detail the movement of moulds, blocks and stereoplates made up for each publication or client. They are all arranged A-Z either by name of publication or name of client. However, there appears to be a great deal of overlap between each volume resulting in some entries being moved to the next volume. The dates provided are only an estimate because of the overlap between the books.

3137/7/2/ DISTRIBUTION BOOKS 1929-1976
These record date [received], title of work to be published, customer's initials, type used, number of pages, leads in ems, remarks, initials of authoriser and date [completed].

3137/7/3/ PLATE AND MOULD BOOKS 1881-[1920s]
These record publisher, title of work, size of volume, number of sheets, whether 'Stereo, Electro or Moulds', date received and remarks regarding the future of the proofs (whether destroyed, transferred or returned).

3137/7/4/ WOODCUT AND ELECROTYPE BOOKS 1876-1919
These record date received, description, remarks ('Wood or Electro'), from whom received, for what work, to whom delivered and date, arranged by publisher.

3137/7/5/ REPAIRS TO MACHINERY 1888-1938

3137/7/6/ REPORTS ON OPERATIONS 1930-1969

3137/7/7/ VALUATIONS, INVENTORIES AND ESTIMATES 1855-1917

3137/7/8/ EXAMPLES OF PRINTING OUTPUT 1862-1979
Comprising books (printed and published by Unwins unless otherwise stated), title pages, illustrations.

3137/8/ PLANS 1936-1972

3137/8/1/ ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS TO FACTORY BUILDINGS 1949-1972

3137/8/2/ ALTERATIONS TO MILL STREAM 1936-1957

3137/8/3/ MACHINERY [early 20th cent]-[1970s]

3137/9/ PHOTOGRAPHS AND PICTORIAL MATERIAL 1850-2008

3137/9/1/ WORKS 1850-2008

3137/9/1/1/ London 1900s-1980s

3137/9/1/2/ Chilworth 1890s-1895
Chilworth printing works was destroyed by fire on 23 Nov 1895, necessitating the move to the Woking site in 1896.

3137/9/1/3/ Woking 1850-2008

3137/9/1/4/ Staples 1960s-1980s

3137/9/2/ STAFF GROUPS 1884-1990s

3137/9/2/1/ Unwin Staff Groups 1880s-1970s

3137/9/2/2/ Staples Staff Groups 1940s-1970s

3137/9/3/ UNWIN STAFF INDIVIDUALS 1890s-1980s

3137/9/4/ STAFF RECREATION 1884-1990s

3137/9/5/ PLANT, MACHINERY AND PRINTING PROCESSES 1900s-1980s

3137/9/5/1/ Named tasks and processes 1900s-1980s

3137/9/5/2/ Named machinery 1935-1984

3137/9/5/3/ Unnamed tasks and processes 1900s-1980s

3137/9/5/4/ Unnamed machinery 1920s-1970s

3137/9/6/ TOURS AND OPEN DAYS 1960s-1977

3137/9/7/ UNWIN FAMILY 1850-1973

3137/9/8/ NEGATIVES 1960s-1990s

3137/10/ MISS POWNALL'S SCHOOL AT THE GRESHAM PRESS INSTITUTE, CHILWORTH 1872

3137/11/ HISTORY 1817-1996

3137/11/1/ CHILWORTH 1871-1890s

3137/11/2/ PUBLICATIONS 1900s-1976

3137/11/3/ MAGAZINE ARTICLES, PRINTED MATERIAL AND CUTTINGS FROM BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS 1817-1996

3137/11/4/ NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE [1970]-1996

3137/12/ UNWIN FAMILY 1813-c.1973

3137/12/1/ JACOB UNWIN (1802-1855) 1813-1876

3137/12/2/ GEORGE UNWIN (1838-1906) 1905-1906

3137/12/3/ EDWARD UNWIN SENIOR (1840-1933) 1843-1933

3137/12/4/ GEORGE SOUNDY UNWIN (1868-1950) 1924-1950

3137/12/5/ STANLEY UNWIN (1884-1968) 1926-1965

3137/12/6/ UNWIN FAMILY 1870s-2016

Jacob Unwin (1802-1855) was apprenticed into the printing trade in 1816, aged 14. He established what was to become Jacob Unwin Steam Printers and later Gresham Press and Unwin Brothers, on a site in Cornhill, London, in 1826.

Jacob married Emma Soundy in 1829 and as the firm expanded, larger premises were acquired at 31 Bucklersbury in 1834. A disastrous fire broke out not long after they moved into a house adjoining the premises and their two eldest sons, William and Henry, both died. Emma died 3 years later and Jacob later re-married Isabel Hall.

The firm embraced new technology with the advent of steam power to drive the presses in the 1840s and an indication of Unwin's growing prestige within the industry can be seen with the order to produce 'The Nelson Memorial: A Statement of Subscriptions' relating to the column in Trafalgar Square, in 1841.

Following Jacob Unwin's death in 1855 the business passed to his sons, George Unwin (1838-1906) and his younger brother Edward (1840-1933). The firm set up new premises in Oxford Court, Canon Street, London (1865) and later in Pilgrim Street, off Ludgate Hill, London (1885). They also set up a country works at Chilworth in 1885 but, after a devastating fire in 1895, relocated to larger premises in Old Woking in 1896, changing the business name to 'The Gresham Press'.

Both sites at Chilworth and Old Woking were working paper mills when Unwins took over the sites and it is thought that the adaptation of the Chilworth premises was the first occasion where a working paper mill was converted for driving steam printing machinery through the power of water. The same use of an existing 60HP water turbine was made at the new Old Woking site but additional power turbines were added later along with new gas engines to drive a 100 yard long main shaft to power the print machine room.

In 1902 Unwin Brothers became a private limited company, known as 'The Gresham Press', with Edward Unwin as chairman and his son, Edward Unwin Junior, along with George Unwin and George Soundy Unwin, becoming directors of the company.

Despite increased turnover (£518,000 in 1954), falling profitability, due partly to the costly modernization of the Woking print process, resulted in Unwins joining the Staples Printing Group, run by the Martin family, in 1964. Left largely to function as before, with no policy shifts or widespread redundancies, the group's fortunes expanded and returned to profitability, increasing its turnover threefold in the 6 years following the takeover. The group changed its name to the Martins Printing Group in 1986, becoming MPG Impressions in 2006.

The Old Woking site finally closed in 2007 when the business moved to Chessington.

There are no access restrictions for the majority of the collection, but restrictions may apply to 3137/4/2/3-4.

The main deposit of records was originally made by Unwin Brothers Limited in 1985. Further deposits of records were made by the company and individual members of staff between 1985 and 2013. The following accessions (with named depositors) have been merged into the original deposit: 3949 (Unwins); 4020 (anonymous); 4489 (Unwins); 6802 (Unwins); 7005 (Alan Johnson - former sales director); 8036 (MPG Impressions); 8237 (MPG Impressions) and 8342 (Mr T Wakeford). The DVD 3137/12/6/3 was deposited by Mr GRE Unwin in April 2016.

An item level description of the archive is available on the Surrey History Centre online catalogue

Records of other printing businesses held at Surrey History Centre include those of Billing and Sons of Guildford, Chambers and Sons of Thames Ditton, and Edwin Trim and Company of Wimbledon.

'Printing Unwins, A Short History Of Unwin Brothers, The Gresham Press', 1826-1976, Philip Unwin, 1976;
'Unwins - A Century of Progress'