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By Lizzie Shannon-Little and Martin Maw

The very settled life of Oxford University Press was turned upside down at the outbreak of the First World War; 356 of the approximately 700 men that worked for the Press were conscribed, the majority in the first few months. The reduction of half of the workforce and the ever-present uncertainty of the return of friends and colleagues must have made the Press a very difficult place to work.

At the time, the man in charge of the Press was the Secretary Charles Cannan, and the Printer, responsible for the printing house, was Horace Hart (best remembered for Hart’s Rules). The steady dissolution of Hart’s workforce, made up of generations of men he had known for years from the close-knit community of Jericho, was thought to be too much for the Printer. He retired and sadly took his own life in 1916. Hart was succeeded by Frederick Hall, who served as Printer from 1915 to 1925.

Women filled many of the gaps in the workforce, both on the print floor and in the offices. Previously, women could only be found in the bindery, and this change must have been revolutionary for all those who worked at the Press, men and women alike.



• The OUP Oxford War Memorial

   

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• On Active Service, War Work At Home 1914-1919

   

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• God Save the King sign erected at OUP Oxford

   

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• Flower and Vegetable Show in the Oxford quad

   

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• Printer Frederick Hall

   

  http://blog.oup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SQUARE-4-Hall.jpg

• Printer Horace Hart

   

  http://blog.oup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SQUARE-3-Hart.jpg

• Secretary Charles Cannan

   

  http://blog.oup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SQUARE-2-Cannan.jpg

• OUP Oxford quadrangle, early 20th century

   

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During the war, publishing continued at OUP, including Oxford Pamphlets, Shakespeare’s England (produced to mark 300 years since Shakespeare’s death in 1916), and also some secret document printing on the behalf of British Naval intelligence (much of which still remains a mystery). The Press also took on responsibility for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography during this time, which was bequeathed to it from another publishing house and proved to be a challenging task in bringing it up to the academic standards expected from OUP.

The remaining staff endeavoured to keep up a sense of community and morale; they started an annual Flower and Vegetable Show with produce they grew on the allotments allocated on the nearby Port Meadow. The growing of home produce was particularly essential to Britain after the German submarine blockades, which caused huge food shortages.

A number of the men from OUP were positioned on the front line during their service, and many others ended up in Greece, Egypt, and as far flung as Russia. For these men, the majority of whom had never been outside of Oxford, the experiences that awaited them abroad must have been overwhelming, and, for many, devastating. A total of 45 men were lost to the war; 44 on active service and one who died after his return from injuries sustained in battle. In 1920, the Press produced a book, On Active Service, War Work At Home 1914-1919 recording the events at the Press during the war and also giving the service record of all the men who were conscribed. A War Memorial to commemorate the soldiers who had died was also erected. The memorial still stands in the OUP Oxford quad today, and is still the centre for the Press’ own Remembrance Day each year.

Lizzie Shannon-Little is Community Manager at Oxford University Press. Martin Maw is an Archivist at Oxford University Press. The Archive Department also manages the Press Museum at OUP in Oxford. Watch the first in a series of videos with Martin, examining how life at the Press irrevocably changed between 1914-1919.

In the centenary of World War I, Oxford University Press has gathered together resources to offer depth, detail, perspective, and insight. There are specially commissioned contributions from historians and writers, free resources from OUP’s world-class research projects, and exclusive archival materials. Visit the First World War Centenary Hub each month for fresh updates.

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The post Oxford University Press during World War I appeared first on OUPblog.

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It's not normal to close your business for any period of time, and if it is, it doesn't feel like it when you do.

I purchased an Epson Stylus 1400 a couple of weeks ago. Put aside the anxiety of having yet another large format printer, and was pretty excited about it!

Got it all set up (after taking the studio apart trying to figure out where the beast was going to sit), printed my first page, and it had a band of ink at the bottom....just like my Artisan 50! The whole reason I started looking at printers was because of that band of ink.

I just couldn't believe it. A brand new $300 printer was already spitting ink.

The next day I decided to give the poor printer another chance, and the prints came out perfect. Oooookay. It became a pattern. I gave the printer a week. Every other printing "session" was like before. One day, bands of ink, next day...nothing. I decided to risk my business and not settle for this printer. I am sending it back.


B&H Photo was amazing and are paying for the return and giving a full refund. It was my intention to purchase another one just to see if what I got was a lemon (there are several of those in the Epson line), but I was told they don't sell it anymore. Say wha?!

And it's true, they don't. Looks like Epson is pushing everyone to buy from their new line. Sheeeah right, already bad reviews.

So I decided to give myself some more time than a week to solve this. My business runs on prints, and I can't afford to do large quantities at a time. It has to be on demand. I have started to freshen up my Imagekind gallery for now, so prints are available.

I thought about just purchasing another Artisan 50 and printing my limited editions through Imagekind or another on demand printer. I feel like I was just in this boat about 6 months ago. I'm not positive what is going to happen, but the shop will be open on way or another on March 19th.

Week in Watercolor

Spent a couple hours figuring out designs to place into the background. The gorgeous patterns of the East are insane! It was pretty overwhelmed but found some that were simple enough for me to understand.

I can do complex hair, but find it increasingly frustrating to do geometric or intense patterns. Something I must practice more often!

I resolved the bottom half of the painting and added the famous red cord (or sash for this piece) from the story. I think it tied (no pun intended) everything together beautifully.





Life Song's Sneak Peek

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Unlike my office printer (who is a jerk), Little Printer looks friendly. 

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Below is the list of donations that will be in the NJSCBWI  Conference Raffle.  You can purchase tickets to use to win the following prizes.  We have a lot of really good things this year.  There is still time to donate.  Everyone who donates something worth over 25 dollars will receive three free tickets to use in the raffle.  Check back for additional items.

* Up to 10,000 word Namelos critique.

* Author Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, picture book critique.

* Author Charlotte Bennardo. critique of the first 30 pages of a novel, plus synopsis.

* Author Dianne Ochiltree, a picture book critique, of one story, double-spaced, 12-point type, up to five manuscript pages

* Author Audrey Vernick critique of full PB or 15 page novel critique. 

* Author Nancy Viau, critique of first 15 pages of a Middle Grade novel and corresponding synopsis.

* Author Natalie Zaman, critique of first 30 page of a middle grade or young adult novel, plus synopsis.

* Brand new Canon color printer

* Writer’s Weekend Retreat inMaine

* 4 Diamond Box tickets to the Phillies game on June 15^th

* 2 Yearly SCBWI Memberships.

* $70 off a Summer 2011 Networking Dinner in NYC.

* $50 off a future NJSCBWI Event.

* Invoke the Muse” Candle Basket.

* “Writer’s Basket” with $50 Barnes and Noble gift cards, chocolate cherry wine, Lang Willaimsburg

* Certificate valued at $1200 for a pencil sketch of your pet.

* Free consultation and $50 certificate off programs price of MEDImorphosis Physician Assisted Weight Loss Plan.

* “Devine and Delicious YA Basket” with a $20 gift card for Dunkin Donuts, plus: MATCHED by Ally Condie, NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer, THE DARK DIVINE by Bree Despain, and ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins.

* Original oil paintings and art work

* Barnes and Noble Gift Certificates

* Fabric Sample Basket

* 2 signed copies of The Beauty of Different

* Autographed copy of LULLABYE, LITTLE ONE by Dianne Ochiltree which was selected for inclusion in the Dollywood Foundations Imagination Library national childhood literacy program.

* 2 Autographed copies of The Complete Idiots Guide to Publishing Children’s Books, 3^rd Edition

* 1 hour massage,StraubeCenter,Pennington, NJ

* “Tea and Creativity on the Summer Porch” Basket ~  It contains a wooden desk easel, journal, pens, brushes, tea pot, 2 mugs, tea and Ghirardelli chocolate.

* From Kids Lit Authors Club ~ 1 Picture Book basket, plus 1 MG/YA book basket.

* Illustrator creative branding consultation (gift certifica

0 Comments on Preview of Raffle Donations at NJSCBWI Conference June 3-5 as of 1/1/1900

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