Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Catnach, James
CATNACH, JAMES (of the Seven Dials), (1792–1841), publisher, born at Alnwick in Northumberland, 18 Aug. 1792, was the son of John Catnach, a printer of that town. The elder Catnach printed and published books which, for the time, were well illustrated; such as ‘The Beauties of Natural History, selected from Buffon's History of Quadrupeds, &c., with sixty-seven cuts by Bewick,’ ‘Poems by Percival Stockdale, with cuts by Thos. Bewick,’ ‘The Hermit of Warkworth,’ and the ‘Poetical Works of Robert Burns,’ the illustrations being engraved by Bewick. About 1808 he left Alnwick for Newcastle, and five years afterwards removed to London. He had a shop in Wardour Street, Soho, and died 4 Dec. 1813, from the effects of an accident.
His son James, who was then working as a printer at Newcastle-on-Tyne, immediately came to London, and soon afterwards, 1813–1814, commenced business at 2 Monmouth Court, Seven Dials, where he set up his father's old wooden press, and got together some scraps of type and old woodcuts. With these he printed little duodecimo volumes known as ‘chap-books’ and broadsides.
He was young and energetic, and struck out a new line for himself, in the shape of children's books, which he published at a farthing each. He bought ballads on every passing event, at the price of half-a-crown per ballad. In cases of popular excitement he did well, and he is reported to have made over 500l. by the trial of Thurtell for the murder of Mr. Weare.
His publications were printed on the flimsiest possible paper, with bad ink and worse type, and, as a rule, headed by a woodcut totally irrelevant to the text. Among these woodcuts, especially in the Christmas carol broadsheets, are many of the sixteenth century, which he had bought at various sales of printing material. The British Museum has a large collection of his ballads and those of his competitors, notably two thick volumes, which contain over four thousand purchased in 1868 for 7l. 7s.
He made a competence, possibly some 5,000l., and retired from business in 1838, living at Dancer's Hill, South Mimms, near Barnet, but he died at his old shop on 1 Feb. 1841, aged 49, and was buried in Highgate cemetery.
[Hindley's Life and Times of James Catnach, 1878; A Collection of the Books and Woodcuts of James Catnach, 1869.]