Members only: the Victorian gentlemen’s club as a space for doing business 1843–1900

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how the gentlemen's club was a space for facilitating business activities in the literary publishing industry of Victorian Britain. These clubs served to blur the boundaries between the social and professional sphere, to the point that many used the club as hub for networking and for providing opportunities. The gentlemen’s clubs of London have been examined within gender studies and in studies on social culture, where emphasis has been placed on its role in elite and middle-class society and its influence on gender and class inequality. However, little attention has been dedicated in academic business research to the club’s influence on shaping the activities of businesses in the publishing industry. By exploring how individuals engaged with so-called ‘club life,’ it is possible to analyze the dynamics of how and why gentlemen’s clubs were important to literary businesses. Through an exploration of narrative and documentary archival sources, this paper explores the perspective and choices of individuals working in the publishing industry, and the extent to which their choices in business were governed by the cultural influences of the gentlemen’s club.

KEYWORDS:

• Clubs
• professions
• culture
• nineteenth century
• Britain
• publishing

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. For example, the signature of John Morley was compared to a primary source authenticated by Dr. Richard Ford, Antiquarian Bookseller, member of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB).

2. Serialization was the practice of publishing successive parts of a story in a periodical, newspaper or magazine (Wald 2009).

3. For example, the bye-laws of the Travellers Club (rule #41) state that ‘A member should not use the Club House for the purposes of any trade, profession or business’ or ‘conduct business in the Club House’ (Black 2012).

4. Confirmed by The Member’s Record Books, The Garrick Club Archive, London.

5. For example, Watt represented Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) almost exclusively to the Macmillan Publishing house. Demonstrated in an agreement between Watt and Rudyard Kipling, giving Watt power of attorney and to act as Kipling’s agent, 13 August 1891; Folder 452.53/4, A. P. Watt (UNC).

6. Menu Card 9 December 1880, Garrick Club Archives, London.

7. The 12 attendees included: Alexander Macmillan (1818–1896); Frederick Macmillan (1851–1936); George Macmillan (1855–1936); John Morley (1838–1923) editor of Macmillan’s Magazine; Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) author; George Lillie Craik (1837–1905) Director of Macmillan’s New York; Henry James (1843–1916), author; James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) (known as J.R. Lowell) American poet; Philip Gilbert Hamerton (1834–1894) author; Lawrence Alma Tadema (1836–1912) artist. Three signatures were not discernible. I have taken advice from a professional document examiner and handwriting expert and he mentioned that it is extremely difficult to decipher signatures as they do not necessarily contain letters from the person’s name, and to his knowledge there are no experts in the field that decipher signatures, stated in email dated 7 February 2014.

8. From Maurice Macmillan to Richard Bentley Letters #136, 137, 140 May 16th ^– 25 May 1898, Add MS 59637, Correspondence of the Macmillans, BL.

9. Frederick and Maurice Macmillan detail meeting for lunch to discuss the terms of buying out Bentley’s publishing house, 19 May 1898 Letter #138, Add MS 59637, Correspondence of the Macmillans, BL.

10. For example, see letter to S. Squire Sprigge Secretary of the Society of Authors, Letter #52 20 February 1891, Add MS 56863 Society of Authors Archive, BL.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marrisa Joseph

Marrisa Joseph is a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship, her research focuses on the formation of business practices in the Victorian publishing industry, examining how socio-cultural influences enable and constrain how individuals made strategic decisions.