Survivors of the Blitz: The Untold Stories of Publishers and Their Books

Marie
Sep 2
2 min read

The Second World War reshaped London, but its bombs also left deep scars on the world of books. Archives burned, printing presses fell silent, and entire libraries turned to ash. Yet some volumes survived, and those that did now feel more than rare; they feel miraculous.

Ward, Lock & Co.: A House in Ruins

At Warwick House, Ward, Lock & Co. held not only stock but also the memory of their business, archives, bindings, and designs. When the Blitz struck, the building was destroyed twice, the second attack leaving almost nothing behind. And yet the publisher endured, continuing to print and distribute books that carried their name long after the smoke had cleared.

Blackwood’s on Paternoster Row: The Night of Fire

William Blackwood & Sons stood at the heart of London’s book trade on Paternoster Row. On 29 December 1940, incendiaries turned the street into an inferno, later called the Second Great Fire of London. Millions of volumes were consumed in one night. From above, RAF pilot Douglas Blackwood could only watch as the blaze devoured his family’s publishing house. For collectors today, any Blackwood title from this period is not only a book but a survivor of a vanished trade quarter.

Cassell & Company: La Belle Sauvage

Cassell & Company printed their works at La Belle Sauvage, a site with layers of history. Once an inn, later an Elizabethan playhouse, by the 19th century it housed Cassell’s presses. In 1941, bombing erased it completely. The destruction did not just claim books but also a place woven into London’s cultural fabric. To hold a Cassell volume from the early 20th century is to touch a fragment of what once stood there.

Why This Matters for Collectors

When I handle antiquarian books, I think of these stories. They are not just bound volumes but testaments to survival. To collect them is to preserve more than words; it is to honour resilience, memory, and cultural endurance.

Books as Survivors of the Blitz

These books, scarred yet enduring, are true survivors of the Blitz. They remind us not only of the devastation faced by publishers, but also of the resilience of the written word itself.

At Literary Treasures, I curate antiquarian and rare books with this in mind, helping each volume find a new custodian who will appreciate not only its text, but its journey through time.