Isaac Foulkes (''Llyfrbryf''; 1836–1904) was a Welsh author and editor.
Life
Born at the farm of Cwrt,
Llanfwrog, Denbighshire, he was the son of Peter Foulkes and his wife Frances. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to
Isaac Clarke
Isaac Clarke is a fictional character in the survival horror media franchise '' Dead Space'', owned and published by Electronic Arts. He was introduced as the protagonist of '' Dead Space'' (2008) developed by EA subsidiary EA Redwood Shores, ...
, a printer in
Ruthin
Ruthin ( ; cy, Rhuthun) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. It is Denbighshire's county town. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and ...
. In 1854 he went to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, before completing his apprenticeship.
He spent some years as a
compositor in the Liverpool printing office of the Welsh language newspaper ''
Yr Amserau
''Yr Amserau'' (established in 1846 by William Rees and John Jones) was a bi-weekly Welsh language newspaper, distributed in Merseyside and North Wales. It covered local and national news, supporting radical and nonconformist principles The popul ...
'', and later worked in the printing works of David Marples. In 1862 he set up his own printing business in Liverpool, which he ran for the rest of his life.
In May 1890 Foulkes began to issue ''Y Cymro'' (The Welshman), a weekly newspaper in Welsh intended primarily for Liverpool Welsh readers, but soon read widely in Wales as well; he was both editor and publisher, and made the journal a literary forum.
Foulkes married twice, firstly to Hannah Foulkes, by whom he had two sons and three daughters; and secondly to Sinah Owen.
Foulkes died at
Rhewl, near Ruthin, on 2 November 1904, and was buried in
Llanbedr
Llanbedr () is a village and community south of Harlech. Administratively, it lies in the Ardudwy area, formerly Meirionnydd, of the county of Gwynedd, Wales.
History
Ancient monuments at Llanbedr include Neolithic standing stones; the St ...
churchyard.
Works
Foulkes,
bardic name ''Llyfrbryf'' (Bookworm), was an author, critic, editor and publisher of
Welsh-language literature
Welsh-language literature ( cy, Llenyddiaeth Gymraeg) has been produced continuously since the emergence of Welsh from Brythonic as a distinct language in around the 5th century AD. Huws Daniel National Library of Wales and Centre for Advanced W ...
. He wrote:
* ''Cymru Fu'', folklore, pt. i. Llanidloes, 1862; pts. ii. and iii. Liverpool, 1863–4; 2nd edit. Wrexham, 1872.
* ''Rheinallt ap Gruffydd'', novel, Liverpool, 1874.
* ''Y Ddau Efell, neu Llanllonydd'', novel, 1875
* Memoir of the poet
Ceiriog Liverpool, 1887; 2nd edit. 1902; 3rd edit. 1911.
* Memoir of the novelist,
Daniel Owen
Daniel Owen (20 October 1836 – 22 October 1895) was a Welsh novelist. He is generally regarded as the foremost Welsh-language novelist of the 19th century, and as the first significant novelist to write in Welsh.
Early life
Daniel Owen was bor ...
, Liverpool, 1903.
He issued in 1877–88 ''Cyfres y Ceinion'' (The Gem Series), a series of reprints of Welsh classics which helped the
Welsh literary revival. Works which he both edited and published are:
* ''Enwogion Cymru'', a biographical dictionary of eminent Welshmen (Liverpool, 1870).
* The ''
Mabinogion'', with a translation into modern Welsh (1880).
* ''The Poetry of Trebor Mai'' (1883).
* ''Oriau Olaf'', by Ceiriog (1888).
Editions of
Dafydd ap Gwilym
Dafydd ap Gwilym ( 1315/1320 – 1350/1370) is regarded as one of the leading Welsh poets and amongst the great poets of Europe in the Middle Ages.
Life
R. Geraint Gruffydd suggests 1315- 1350 as the poet's dates; others place him a little ...
, the ''
Iolo Manuscripts
Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclop ...
'' and
Philip Yorke's ''Royal Tribes of Wales'' were also issued by his press.
References
Sources cited
*
**Reprinted 2016, Wentworth Press,
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foulkes, Isaac
1836 births
1904 deaths
Welsh writers
Welsh newspaper editors
British printers
19th-century British businesspeople