The Dropmore Press was a British

private press Private press publishing, with respect to books, is an endeavor performed by craft-based expert or aspiring artisans, either amateur or professional, who, among other things, print and build books, typically by hand, with emphasis on Book design ...

founded in 1945 by the newspaper-owner

Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley James Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley, GBE (7 May 1883 – 6 February 1968) was a Welsh colliery owner and newspaper publisher. Background Berry was born the son of John Mathias and Mary Ann (''née'' Rowe) Berry, of Merthyr Tydfil in Wales ...

. Kemsley acquired the type, paper-stock, printing equipment and press-man of the

Corvinus Press The Corvinus Press was a private press established by George Lionel Seymour Dawson-Damer, Viscount Carlow (1907–1944) in Red Lion Court, off Fleet Street, London in early 1936. Carlow was a keen book-collector, amateur linguist and typographer, ...

, which closed in 1945, following the death of its owner Viscount Carlow in the previous year. He named it after his home,

Dropmore Park Dropmore Park is a private estate located along Dropmore Road, north of Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England, about in size. The park with its buildings, including Dropmore House, have Grade I listed building status. Location Dropmore Park is lo ...

, near Taplow. The Press was run by a committee of directors, who selected texts and oversaw the work of the press-man, A. H. Cardew. Kemsley and his fellow directors, among whom

Edward Shanks Edward Richard Buxton Shanks (11 June 1892 – 4 May 1953) was an English writer, known as a war poet of World War I, then as an academic and journalist, and literary critic and biographer. He also wrote some science fiction. E. F. Bleiler and R ...

was perhaps the most active, attempted to run the Press on commercial grounds (Carlow's Corvinus Press had been a hobby), with limited success. Most of the books were printed in editions of between 300 and 1000 copies, and their style was generally formal and similar to the better 'trade' publications of the period. The books appear staid, both in design and literary terms, when compared with the publications of the Corvinus Press. Some Dropmore Press books were printed by commercial printing-firms, rather than by Cardew at the Press itself. Around 1950 the journalist

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

joined the board of directors, though his influence was at first relatively minor. In 1954 the Press was in severe financial difficulties and was offered to Fleming, who apparently agreed to buy it although the deal was never finalised. The press closed in 1955, having published more than forty books, some under the parallel imprint of the

Queen Anne Press The Queen Anne Press (logo stylized QAP) is a small publisher (originally a private press). History It was created in 1951 by Lord Kemsley, proprietor of ''The Sunday Times'', to publish the works of contemporary authors. In 1952, as a wedding ...

. Dropmore issued minor works by

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

(who complained about the inaccuracy of the text), by

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

, and by the historian Sir

Arthur Bryant Sir Arthur Wynne Morgan Bryant, (18 February 1899 – 22 January 1985) was an English historian, columnist for ''The Illustrated London News'' and man of affairs. His books included studies of Samuel Pepys, accounts of English eighteenth- and ...

. It also published an important catalogue of ''The Royal Philatelic Collection'' by

Sir John Wilson __NOTOC__ Sir John Foster Wilson Order of the British Empire, CBE (20 January 1919 – 25 November 1999) was a British public health advocate, best known for working to prevent blindness in developing countries in Africa and South and South E ...

and Clarence Winchester in 1952. Dropmore also produced a relatively large quantity of printed

ephemera Ephemera are items which were not originally designed to be retained or preserved, but have been collected or retained. The word is etymologically derived from the Greek ephēmeros 'lasting only a day'. The word is both plural and singular. On ...

in the form of catalogues and prospectuses for its publications, and published ''Book Handbook'', a bibliophile magazine which developed into ''

The Book Collector ''The Book Collector'' is a London-based journal that deals with all aspects of the book. It is published quarterly and exists in both paper and digital form. It prints independent opinions on subjects ranging from typography to national heritag ...

'' (a project with which Fleming was heavily involved at this period).

References

* Paul W. Nash. 'The Dropmore and Queen Anne Presses' in ''The Private Library'', 5th series, 5:3, Autumn 1992, pp. 108–134. 'Addenda', 5th series, 6:4, Winter 1993, pp. 181–183. * Paul W. Nash and A. J. Flavell. ''The Corvinus Press: a history and bibliography''. Aldershot: Scolar, 1994. Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Publishing companies established in 1945 Small press publishing companies {{UK-publish-company-stub