Discover the story and work of two Manchester bookbinders, their trade union activity and the role of the Manchester School of Art with Barry Clark, local bookbinder and chair of the regional branch of the Society of Bookbinders.

The Mellors, father William and son Will, trained lived and worked in Manchester – and occupy an important place in modern British bookbinding history as editor and writer, and as illustrator of the Bookbinding Trades Journal. Launched in 1904 by the Bookbinders’ and Machine Rulers’ Consolidated Union as a journal for its members, it always had a much wider audience. William Mellor snr however is much better known as an active trade unionist, secretary of the Manchester and Salford Trades Council, and a Labour Councillor until his death in 1934. This talk will also feature the bindings and other book design work of his son Will Mellor, created when he was a student at Manchester School of Art in the early 1900s.

This is the first talk in a series of four celebrating the founding of the Society of Bookbinders in Manchester in 1974.

(In partnership with the Society of Bookbinders, North West and North Wales Region: founded in Manchester in 1974 and celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024)