Series RAS COLL8/3 - Book and Journal Binding

The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was founded by the eminent Sanskrit scholar Sir Henry Thomas Colebrooke on the 15th March 1823. It received its Royal Charter from King George IV on the 11th August 1824 'for the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia'. It continues as a forum for those who are interested in the languages, cultures and history of Asia to meet and exchange ideas.

Green Street Bindery is part of the bindery of Alfred Maltby & Son Ltd. which was founded in 1834 by Henry Maltby and Charles Bloxham, and the first workshop was based in St Helen’s (Hell) Passage, New College Lane, Oxford.

Since then, three generations of Maltbys have passed through the business: Alfred Maltby, Alfred Henry Maltby and Raymond Maltby. In 1944 Maltby’s acquired the business of J. H. Fensham, Law Bookbinders, of Featherstone Buildings, Holborn, London, who bound for the Inns of Court. This is still a valuable part of the Company’s business.

Ronald Clargo MBE joined the firm in 1952 and was Managing Director when he retired in 2002. The present Managing Director, Tony Tanner, formed Green Street Bindery in 1982, and Green Street and Maltby’s became sister companies in 2002. The two companies trade under the umbrella of the Kemp Hall Bindery Group.

Whereas Maltby’s is a hand bindery specializing in single copies or a small number of copies, Green Street is a mechanical bindery producing hundreds or thousands of hardback books. The two binderies often combine when a client requires, say, 500 cloth bound copies plus 5 specially bound in leather. These leather bound editions are often for Royal Libraries.

The Wyvern Bindery is a small bindery situated on Hoxton Street, London, dedicated to preserving high standards of craftsmanship. Using traditional skills, they aim to produce quality work tailor made to our client's specific requirements for design, budget and deadline. It moved to the Hoxton Street premises in 2020 having previously been situated on Clerkenwell Road.