By Mark Howard
Melbourne bookseller William Stephens had a store in the centre of the city during the 1860s where he used a number of novel methods to attract customers. One was to raise a flag over the store to indicate the latest imported publications had arrived from overseas. He placed advertisements in newspapers to announce the arrival of the latest publications; and he offered a free late mailbag service to customers.
Introduction
Before Australia was linked to the rest of the world by the overland telegraph and undersea cable in 1872, it took at least three months for news from Europe to reach the colonies by sea. A sailing ship entering Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay was met by a harbour pilot and a port health officer and also by newspaper shipping reporters clamouring for copies of the latest foreign newspapers in the hands of passengers and crews. These were quickly taken ashore and plundered for news stories to fill the columns of local newspapers the following day.
Representatives of Melbourne bookshops also visited arriving ships, or the warehouses where they discharged their cargoes, as soon as possible. They sought consignments of the latest imported books, illustrated newspapers and magazines to sell in their stores. A large proportion of the population was born in the United Kingdom, and they constituted a ready market for the latest publications from ‘home’. In 1897 alone, the British Post Office sent nine million newspapers to Australia by sea.1 William Stephens well understood the hunger for news from home, being a British immigrant himself.
William Stephens (1833-1913)
William Bonella Stephens was born in Finsbury, London, on 27 June 1833.2 He was one of seven children of bootmaker James Stephens (1801-1872) and his wife Elizabeth, nee Bonella (1802-1888). William attended the Cowper Street School in Islington before leaving at 14 years of age to begin work with Thomas De La Rue and Co, manufacturing stationers at Bunhill Row, Finsbury.3 After several years he decided he was more interested in the retail side of the stationery business and went to work for Crosland & Company in Fenchurch Street, and later, Hyde & Co. in Fleet Street.
Stephens was a regular churchgoer in London. He attended the Tabernacle Chapel where the minister was a Dr Campbell. In 1853, Dr Campbell spoke to the young men in his congregation about the advantages of immigration to the colonies. His words swayed Stephens who decided to try his luck in Australia. He resigned from Hyde & Co. and – armed with a letter of recommendation to the Melbourne bookseller John Pullar & Co – went by train to Liverpool. There he boarded a ship for Melbourne in January 1854. He may not have travelled alone; at least two of his siblings are known to have come to Australia and settled in Victoria.4
In Melbourne
The vessel reached Melbourne in April 1854. Stephens immediately found work with James J Blundell & Co (formerly J Pullar & Co), booksellers and stationers at 44 Collins Street West. Another employee who joined the firm that same year was the artist and lithographer ST Gill (1818-1880). Samuel Gill had a room above the Blundell bookstore in Collins Street where he transferred his sketches into lithographic stones. These were then taken two doors away to the printing works of Campbell & Ferguson for reproduction.5 Stephens would have known Gill and the two probably kept in touch as, a decade later, Stephens employed Gill to help promote his store.
Once settled in Melbourne, Stephens began to attend the Congregational Church in Oxford Street, Collingwood. He was a Sunday School teacher there and helped to establish a Young Men’s Association and became its honorary secretary. He was 22 years old when he married London-born Sarah Ann Manby (c. 1831-1883) on 11 December 1855.6 The couple were living in a rented cottage in Fitzroy when their daughter, Grace Elizabeth (1861-1932), was born on 4 May 1861.7 The growth in their family may have necessitated a move to a larger house as they were living in another rental property in Wellington Street, Collingwood, later that year.
The 1861 electoral roll gives his occupation as bookseller and notes that he was receiving ‘upwards of £100 a year’ from his employer, Blundell & Co.8 That information seems to be out of date. By his own account, Stephens left that employer in March 1858 and entered into partnership with Melbourne bookseller James Caple (1809-1868). Caple had been selling books in Melbourne from at least June 1855. He was one of 20 or so booksellers in the city in the 1850s, a number of which were in Collins Street.9 The street was described at the time as:
. . . one of the most important business localities, and also the most fashionable promenade in the city. . . . It is the ‘shopping’ resort of the beauty and fashion of our southern metropolis, as well as the parade ground of the colonially developed swell. The buildings have the happy characteristics which distinguish Melbourne street architecture generally, namely, a combination of the elegant with the substantial.10
Late in 1858, Stephens left Melbourne and sailed for London. He went to buy stock for the store, and he probably took his wife along and they no doubt enjoyed catching up with their respective families. Stephens returned to Australia early in 1860 with a large consignment of the latest books and magazines. In Melbourne he became fully involved in the day-to-day operation of the store at 15 Collins Street West. Two years later James Caple withdrew from the partnership. That left Stephens in sole charge of the shop by March 1862.11
Without a partner to consult, he was free to try out new ways to attract customers. One innovation was to hoist a large flag with the letters RM embroidered on it from a flagpole above the store when the monthly Royal Mail steamer arrived with the latest post, publications and news from overseas. He had a noticeboard in the store on which important news from overseas was written. For instance, during the American Civil War (1861-1865) the latest news of the conflict was posted on the notice board as soon it reached Melbourne. The RM flag was hard to see at night so a red lamp on the outside of the building was used to attract the attention of people taking an evening stroll in Collins Street.
He also placed advertisements in newspapers to announce the arrival of the latest publications.12 There was a strong demand for these and by 1861 Stephens was selling over 1,000 copies of The Illustrated London News alone each month.13 He had one full-time employee who assisted in the store and also served as bookkeeper.
A regular service for customers was Stephens’s ‘Late Mail Bag’. He accepted letters late on the day prior to the sailing of the monthly Royal Mail steamer for Europe and several hours after the Melbourne Post Office had closed for the day. He seems to have used an RM flag – perhaps one of a different colour – to let the public know when he was receiving letters for the mailbag.
The business community in particular appreciated this free service and sent many last minute commercial letters in this way. The postal authorities, however, did not like the innovation and tried to stop it.14 The late arrival of so many unsorted letters forced the post office to send two postal employees to the steamer to sort this last minute rush of mail. If they did not finish it in time they might have to sail with the vessel as far as Port Phillip Heads where they would then leave with the pilot.15
In 1864, Stephens commissioned his old workmate, the artist ST Gill, to create a number of illustrations of his Collins Street store.
One image depicts the arrival of the latest publications from Britain. A man can be seen kneeling on the pavement using a hammer and chisel to prize the lid off the last of five wooden packing crates outside the shop. Other men are shown carrying the newspapers into the store.
Another Gill image is a lithograph that shows men rushing into the store with letters in their hands. It was used to illustrate an article entitled, ‘The Late Mail Bag’, that appeared in a Melbourne newspaper in July 1864.16 The article says Stephens introduced the service in October 1863 and since then some 4,896 letters had been sent in this way. It closes by saying, ‘Mr Stephens is entitled to some credit for introducing this means of facilitating our international communication.’
Stephens may have commissioned another image by artist Nicholas Chevalier (1828-1902). This is a panoramic depiction of Collins Street that was made into a lithograph to accompany a newspaper article about the stores in the street in 1864. His bookstore is the first business mentioned in the article and the RM flag can be clearly seen in the image.
As well as selling books and stationery, Stephens also dabbled in publishing. The catalogue of the State Library of Victoria lists a number of items published by ‘W. B. Stephens’ between 1863 and 1866. These include religious booklets, pamphlets, several maps and a few technical publications.
Stephens’s drive and initiative was noticed and in 1864 he was petitioned by a group of ratepayers to stand for election to the Melbourne City Council. He respectfully declined the request on the grounds that he lacked the spare time to do justice to the role.
Politics held less interest for Stephens than religion. The bookstore was well stocked with bibles, church services and prayer books.17 He also published a number works on theology. However, he may have misjudged the market and stocked his store with more religious books than the public wanted to buy. This possible misjudgement may have contributed to his looming financial difficulties.
One who did appreciate his many books on religion was a man caught trying to leave the store without paying for a book on theology in 1864.18 He was suspected of having stolen other books and the police were called in. They accompanied him to his small home where they found it crammed with around 3,000 books, most of them on religious subjects. Many were thought to have come from Stephens’s bookstore. The matter went to court where the man was found guilty of theft and given four months prison.19
Stock ‘shrinkage’ like this may have been a factor in Stephens’s financial difficulties that came to a head in 1866. He was unable to pay creditors and on 17 October 1866 trustees were appointed to take charge of the business. He was declared insolvent in December 1866.20 It was reported his bankruptcy was caused by ‘depreciation in the value of stock and from bad debts’. His liabilities amounted to £12,000 and his assets were valued at £6,600.21
On the evening of 27 December 1866, someone broke into the shop. They stole some money from the safe and then set fire to the store. The blaze was extinguished before it could do much damage. An inquest was conducted into the cause of the fire.22 Stephens appeared and was asked where he was at the time of the break-in. He said he was having a drink at a pub near his home. It was determined the fire was deliberately lit, but it could not be proved by whom.
The stock and fixtures from the store were sold at auction in February 1867.23 A 61-page printed catalogue accompanied the sale. The building itself continued to serve as a bookstore, but in other hands. It was known as The Glasgow Book Warehouse by April 1872.24
Stephens was granted a certificate of discharge from bankruptcy on 22 March 1867.25 He soon bounced back and had another bookstore by December 1867. It was located at 11 Collins Street West, just two doors from his old store. He placed newspaper advertisements hoping to attract former customers to his new business.26 But the store does not seem to have prospered and soon closed down. Perhaps his recent financial difficulties made it hard to buy stock on credit.
He probably then went to work for Melbourne bookseller and publisher Henry Dolman Dwight (1823-1871). When Dwight died in 1871 his stock-in-trade, consisting of 35,000 volumes, was sold at a series of auctions; ‘W. B. Stephens’ compiled the 321-page catalogue for the sales.
Another activity came to absorb much of his spare time. In June 1873, he joined the Independent Order of Good Templars. This was a temperance organisation established in the United States in 1851. It was opposed to the use of alcohol on account of the social damage it caused.27 The order had more than 7,000 members in Victoria by the 1870s. Stephens was active in the order and established the Hotham Lodge, No 21. He was elected its Worthy Secretary, and, in July 1874, was presented with a Third Degree Collar on behalf of the officers and members of the lodge. He received further recognition late in 1875 when the Executive Council appointed him the Grand Worthy Secretary for the order in Victoria on account of his ‘zeal and energy as a worker in the cause of Templary’.
In 1875, Stephens announced he was about to leave Victoria. He had been offered a position by Melbourne bookseller and publisher George Robertson (1825-1898) who was about to establish a branch store in Adelaide and wanted Stephens to take charge of the stationery department.28
The Templars hosted a Valedictory Tea Meeting on 10 November 1875. A Farewell Ode was sung to the tune of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and the executive then presented Stephens with two printed addresses. In his response he:
returned thanks in a speech of much power and feeling . . . and thanked them on behalf of his wife and daughter . . . for the fraternal feeling exhibited towards them on all occasions.
In Adelaide
Stephens was in Adelaide by December 1875 when he attended a meeting in the Good Templars’ Hall. It was noted in the press that, ‘After the lecture the chair was taken by Mr W. B. Stephens, late G.W.S. [Grand Worthy Secretary] of Victoria.’29 He became deeply involved with the Templars in Adelaide both as a member and officeholder. He was the Grand Worthy Chief Templar in South Australia by 1884, by which time the organisation had 1,311 members in the colony.30 He was an officer-holder till at least June 1895 and still a member at the time of his death in 1913. He was also the chairman of another similar organisation, the South Australian Gospel Temperance Union, by May 1884.31
His wife Sarah Ann was aged 52 when she died in Adelaide on 26 December 1883.32 Eighteen months later he married again. His second wife was Lydia Jackman.33 With her, he fathered a second daughter, Lilian Bonella Ella Stephens (1891-1981). There was a 30-year age gap between his two daughters.
His second marriage seems to have given him a new lease on life. He struck out on his own again with a bookstore and stationery business in Gawler Place by 1884. This later relocated to the Tavistock Buildings in Rundle Street East. Later still, he ran a newsagency assisted by his elder daughter, Grace Elizabeth.
He continued to work till shortly before his death on 4 March 1913. It was reported in the press that, ‘He was of a cheerful disposition, and had a large circle of friends’.34 But late in life he suffered some kind of setback:
. . . evil times came and he took up the news agency business. He had a big newspaper round and at the age of 79 one would meet him laden with [Adelaide] ‘Advertisers’ making the circuit of his customers. The [weight of the] big issues on Saturdays tried his strength very considerably but he was always cheerful and alert and no one to see him would have guessed his age. Within the last month or so he had given up the personal delivery of his papers but still retained his news agency and when I met him in the street last Saturday week he looked as brisk and merry as usual. The long stretch of sultry weather, however, appeared to have been too much for him and he passed away suddenly having been in harness till the last. Many men better known and far more prosperous have shown much less grit and courage than he did. He ‘grappled with his evil star’ in a most manly way and all who knew his career will hold him in the highest respect. Peace to his ashes!35
For almost 60 years William Stephens was a bookseller, stationer and newsagent in two major cities in Australia. He was an innovative bookseller in Melbourne in the 1860s. During that time he commissioned one or two of the best artists in the city to create illustrations of his bookstore. He was also a prominent social reformer and temperance campaigner for 30 years in two states. For these things he deserves to be remembered.
Notes
1. Geoffrey Blainey, ‘The history of leisure in Australia’, The Victorian Historical Journal, Vol. 49, Issue 191, February 1978, p. 13.
2. The Australasian Templar, November 1875, p. 102. Most of the following biographical information is drawn from this source.
3. The firm still exists, now mainly as a printer of banknotes.
4. These were his brother James (1831-1917) and their sister Harriet (1843-1889). (wikitree.com)
5. Sasha Grishin, S.T. Gill & his audiences National Library of Australia, ACT, 2015, p. 78.
6. The Argus, 14 December 1855, p. 4.
7. Ancestry.com
8. Australian electoral rolls; Ancestry.com
9. The Argus, 6 June 1855, p. 1.
10. The Australian News for Home Readers (Vic), 25 July 1864, p. 10.
11. The Argus, 14 March 1862, p. 8; Victoria Government Gazette, Friday 14 March 1862 (No. 31), ‘Dissolution of partnership’, p. 480.
12. The Age, 22 July 1864, p. 3.
13. The Australian News for Home Readers, op. cit., pp. 8 & 10.
14. ‘Post Office Obstruction’, The Herald, 26 January 1864, p. 3.
15. The Age, 6 February 1864, p. 5.
16. The Australian News for Home Readers, op. cit., pp. 10 & 13.
17. ‘February 7 [1867] and following days; Catalogue of books, stock-in-trade, &c.; Messrs George Martin and Wm. Detmold, trustees in the estate of Mr W.B. Stephens, to sell by auction on the above date, the whole of the valuable stock-in-trade, fixtures, etc, comprising one of the most choice collections of books, church services, Bibles, and prayers . . . , Melbourne, Greig & Murray, 1867, 61 pages.’ (The Age, 8 February 1867, p. 2.) Bookseller Samuel Mullen purchased all the newspapers and magazines offered. He promised to deliver those for free in 1867 to the Stephens subscribers provided they renew their subscriptions with him. (The Argus, 12 February 1867, p. 8.)
18. The Argus, 12 March 1864, p. 4.
19. Geelong Advertiser, 19 April 1864, p. 2.
20. The Age, 13 December 1866, p. 6.
21. The Herald, 6 December 1866, p. 3
22. The Herald, 18 January 1867, p. 3.
23. The Age, 8 February 1867, p. 2.
24. The Argus, 5 April 1872, p. 7.
25. Stephens paid a third and final dividend of one penny in the pound in March 1869. (The Argus, 20 March 1869, p. 3)
26. The Bacchus Marsh Express, 28 December 1867, p. 4.
27. Wikipedia.
28. The Australasian Templar, January 1876, p. 138.
29. The Express and Telegraph (Adelaide), 7 December 1875, p. 2
30. Christian Colonist (SA), 20 March 1885, p. 5.
31. Christian Colonist (SA), 16 May 1884, p. 6.
32. Ancestry.com
33. Ancestry.com
34. The Advertiser, 4 March 1913, p. 8.
35. The Mount Barker Courier and Onkaparinga and Gumeracha Advertiser (South Australia), 7 March 1913, p. 3. This extract is from a par included in a column by ‘Autolycus’.
(from Biblionews 411, September 2021, pp 112-121) + 4 images and captions