John Gibson Lockhart Initiate's John Murray's "The Family Library," the First Books Bound in Printed Cloth

In 1829 Scottish writer, biographer, and editor John Gibson Lockhart undertook the editorship of the London publisher John Murray's answer to inexpensive publications from Constable and Charles Knight--The Family Library. This series of small octavo volumes printed on good paper and illustrated with engravings, eventually extended to 80 volumes by 1842.  The volumes were distinguished by their bindings of tan cloth on which the upper cover, spine, and rear cover were printed with a simple typographic design in black ink. Unlike other early cloth bindings such as those by William Pickering, Murray's cloth bindings can be precisely dated since they carry the same date as the title pages of the volumes. The first volumes in the series were the first books issued in printed cloth bindings.

For the first book in Murray's The Family Library Lockhart selected his own The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte, which Murray issued as vols. 1 & 2 of the series in 1829. The set sold for 5 shillings. Note that the price was printed on the covers as well as the printer's name and address. It is probable that the printer discounted the production costs in return for the advertising.