Elkin Mathews Collection

Charles Elkin Mathews (1851-1921) and John Lane (who later founded the firm which became The Bodley Head) formed a partnership in the late 1880s to sell and publish books, particularly belles-lettres, from premises in Vigo Street, Piccadilly, London. The firm's reputation reached its height with the publication of The Yellow Book in 1894. The partnership later dissolved but Mathews continued to sell and publish books from the original premises and, after 1912, from a shop in Cork Street.

The collection consists about 400 books published under Elkin Mathews imprints. There are also archival materials, including correspondence, notes, drawings, announcements, catalogues, cuttings, photographs, prints, proofs and publications, covering the period 1811-1938.

More information

• About half the collection of printed books is catalogued on Unicorn, the rest appear in the Online Card Catalogue
• A full description is available on our online database
• Manuscript number (for the archival materials) MS 392