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Strahan,  William  (1715-1785), printer, was born on 24 March 1715 in Edinburgh, the elder of two children of George Strachan (d. in or before 1742), solicitor and later clerk of customs at Leith, and his wife, Anne, nee Smeiton (d. 1759). Educated at the Royal High School, young William served his apprenticeship, c.1729-1736, to Mossman and Brown, king's printers in Scotland. Moving to London, he worked as a journeyman compositor for William Bowyer the elder between May 1736 and 25 February 1738.

Strahan started in business swiftly and decisively. Between July and December 1738 he was admitted by redemption to the freedom of the Stationers' Company, became a freeman of the City of London, and, on 20 July married Margaret Penelope Elphinston (1719-1785), daughter of an episcopal clergyman in Edinburgh and sister of James Elphinston. He immediately opened his business with the usual one or two presses, hiring his best friend and fellow apprentice, David Hall. By 15 November he had printed George Costard's A Critical Dissertation, a minor work for the bookseller James Crockatt. It was advertised on sale in the December London Magazine. This private business, as he called it, followed the traditional printer's role of working for booksellers (equivalent to modern publishers), for 'gentlemen', and for institutions and merchants needing jobbing printing such as circulars. Among early bookseller customers were Andrew Millar, Thomas Longman, and Charles Hitch. Among early gentlemen customers were the new religious writers Charles Wesley and George Whitefield.

Strahan's few ledger entries in 1738-9 give way on 1 August 1739 to the meticulously kept records which make him historically important. Seventeen ledgers and seven travel diaries are extant from his lifetime, even if a number of other ledgers are missing. After Strahan's death the company records continue to 1861, a total of 121 manuscript volumes, housed today in the British Library.

By March 1740 Strahan was in Wine Office Court, St Bride's parish, London. He was able to start a long-lived wholesale trade in books to Philadelphia because James Read, an American, visited this shop. Through Read, Strahan also obtained a position for David Hall, who decided to migrate to America, where he became manager for Benjamin Franklin's fourth printing company. In 1742 Strahan was admitted to the livery of the Stationers' Company. His printing business flourished, while eight children were born (only three would survive him). In 1748 he moved to larger permanent quarters at the corner of Little New Street and Printer Street, also in St Bride's parish and holding seven presses.

To survive and prosper in the book trade Strahan had known he had to do more than printing. As early as 1738 he had started to buy copyrights from authors, or shares in copyrights from their booksellers. This branch of business remained secondary until Strahan began to attend the London trades sales consistently, notably those after the deaths of Jacob Tonson (1767) and Andrew Millar (1768). Between 1751 and 1780 he completed at least 330 transactions for sets of copyright shares in 411 books. He had the influence of a major bookseller, especially when he combined with Thomas Cadell, Millar's successor. But printing was the main concern, so Strahan had built another building to hold four more presses in 1754.

Strahan also expanded into 'public' businesses. Strahan and Henry Woodfall II each purchased half of the law patent, housed at Craven House, Clare Street, Clare Market, off the Strand in London. They took over in 1762 with four presses. After Woodfall's death in 1769 Strahan assumed sole management, with Woodfall's heirs retaining their share of the profits. His next step was to obtain the highest position he could in public printing: the patent as king's printer. During negotiations to purchase one-third from Charles Eyre, he built a new king's printing house with nine presses, next to the multiple buildings of his private business. This ensured that Strahan would also be appointed manager of the king's printing house when the patent began in January 1770. In the meantime, in 1764 he had added another building in Gunpowder Alley to the private printing business. In 1770, with the new public branches, Strahan operated and owned, or owned part of, three separate printing businesses housed in at least six different buildings in two areas of London and running at least twenty-five presses and possibly more. The private business alone was one of the largest printing firms in London, if not the largest in the kingdom.

Part of Strahan's plan for success had been to apprentice his three sons to different book trades: William to printing, George [see below] to bookselling, and Andrew [see below] to the stationers' trade in paper. But the forceful, competitive man had equally strong children. William set up for himself in 1769 (but Strahan gave him £2000 to start a business on Snow Hill), and George was called to the church (Strahan paid for his undergraduate study). Andrew stayed, becoming overseer when his eldest brother left.

In contrast to this attempt to control his sons, Strahan was a warm and caring friend. His close friendships with David Hume, Benjamin Franklin, and Samuel Johnson are well known through letters. Strahan's business friends included such diverse persons as Tobias Smollett, Adam Smith, Edward Gibbon, Henry Fielding, Oliver Goldsmith, and William Robertson. His correspondence with these literary figures is another reason for his historical importance. Strahan's skill in letter writing was respected in England and America; for example, the political portions of his monthly letters to David Hall were often published in the Pennsylvania Gazette until Hall's death in 1772.

While Strahan was master of the Stationers' Company in 1774, Lord North's ministry suggested he stand for parliament to support the government. Having purchased two seats, he was returned for Malmesbury (1774-80) and for Wootton Bassett (1780-84). Although he had been interested in law, politics, and debate all his life, he was completely undistinguished in office. Strahan appeared unconcerned when, in 1784, the government changed and he was out of parliament. His vigorous, healthy life slowed: in 1783 he had turned most of the business over to his son Andrew. In 1784 he also resigned from the Essex Head Club. He quietly declined and died at New Street on 9 July 1785. He died at the top of the trade, leaving a fortune. His estate, valued at £95,000, included private printing, copyright holdings, the law patent, and king's patent. His wife died on 7 August that same year.

Andrew Strahan  (1750-1831) , born at 10 Little New Street, London, on 15 January 1750, inherited the businesses. He sold some properties, consolidated others, finally lost the law patent, but carried on a flourishing business and received renewal of the patent as king's printer. A member of parliament between 1796 and 1820, he retired from formal management of the businesses in 1819. Strahan was unmarried and after his death on 25 August 1831, at New Street, the business passed to the family of John Spottiswoode, who had married William Strahan's youngest daughter, Margaret Penelope. In the mid-nineteenth century the King's House became Eyre and Spottiswoode Ltd, and the private business continued as Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & Co. Ltd.

George Strahan  (1744-1824) , the middle son, was born at Wine Office Court on 29 March 1744. He was apprenticed to his father and then read divinity at University College, Oxford. In 1768 he was awarded a fellowship at University College, and on 17 April 1771 his MA. He became DD in 1807. In 1772 his father presented him with the living of St Mary's, Islington, London. On 25 June 1778 George married Margaret Robertson (d. 1831). He is known for having been spiritual counsellor to Samuel Johnson, who entrusted him with the papers that became Prayers and Meditations (1785). George Strahan died at St Mary's vicarage on 18 May 1824. He was buried at St Mary's.

Patricia Hernlund 

Sources  J. A. Cochrane, Dr. Johnson's printer (1964) + P. Hernlund, 'William Strahan, printer', PhD diss., University of Chicago, 1965 + P. Hernlund, 'Problems of editing business and trade manuscripts', Eighteenth-century English books, Proceedings, Association of College and Research Libraries (1976), 42-51 + K. Maslen, 'William Strahan at the Bowyer press, 1736-8', The Library, 5th ser., 25 (1970), 250-51 + W. Strahan, business and personal records, BL, Add. MSS 48803A (family, printing); 48800, 48801, 48815 (printing); 48829, 48802 (payroll, cash disbursed); 48808 (personal accounts); 48809 (inventory); 48805-48806, 48804 (copyright); 48803B (printing, inventory); 48897-48904 (misc.); 48810 (law); 48807 (special accounts); 48816 (draft of 48815) + W. Strahan, letters to David Hall, diaries, journals, American Philosophical Society Library, Philadelphia, MSS B:S 142-1, 142-2; B:St. 75 + W. Strahan, correspondence with David Hall and others, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 10-13 (1886-9); 27 (1903); 29-30 (1905-6); 33 (1909); 35 (1911); 42 (1918); 60 (1936) + J. B. Nolan, Printer Strahan's book account (1939) + The letters of Samuel Johnson, ed. B. Redford, 5 vols. (1992-4) + J. Boswell, The life of Samuel Johnson, 2 vols. (1791) + DNB + D. F. McKenzie, ed., Stationers' Company apprentices, [3]: 1701-1800 (1978) + T. Belanger, 'Booksellers' sales of copyright', PhD diss., Columbia University, 1970 + I. Maxted, The London book trades, 1775-1800: a preliminary checklist of members (1977) + R. D. Harlan, 'William Strahan: eighteenth century London printer and publisher', PhD diss., U. Mich., 1960 + R. N. Lutes, 'Andrew Strahan and the London share-book system, 1785-1825', PhD diss., Wayne State University, 1979 + HoP, Commons, 1754-90 + HoP, Commons, 1790-1820 [Strahan, George] + R. Austen-Leigh, 'William Strahan and his ledgers', The Library, 4th ser., 3 (1922-3), 261-87 + P. Gaskell, 'The Strahan papers', TLS (5 Oct 1956), 592 + P. Hernlund, 'William Strahan's ledgers', Studies in Bibliography, 20 (1967), 89-111; 22 (1969), 179-95 + The Lounger (Aug 1785) + GM, 1st ser., 55 (1785), 666 + London Chronicle (11 July 1785) + The writings of Benjamin Franklin, ed. A. H. Smyth, 9: 1783-1788 (1907) + Nichols, Lit. anecdotes + The Bowyer ledgers: the printing accounts of William Bowyer, father and son, reproduced on microfiche with a checklist of Bowyer printing 1699-1777, a commentary, indexes and appendixes, ed. K. Maslen and J. Lancaster (1991) + W. Strahan, 'To the author of The Mirror', The Mirror (1 April 1780), 375-6 + P. Gaskell, A new introduction to bibliography (1972) + Letters of David Hume to William Strahan, ed. G. B. Hill (1888)
Archives American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, letters to David Hall, diaries, accounts, and journals + BL, business records, corresp., and papers, Add. MSS 48800-48918 | Hist. Soc. Penn., letters to David Hall and William Hall + NA Scot., corresp. with Archibald Grant
Likenesses  J. Reynolds, oils, 1780, NPG [see illus.] · W. Beechey (after J. Reynolds, 1783), Stationers' Hall, London · W. Owen, portrait (Andrew Strahan); formerly in the courtroom, Stationers' Company, 1898
Wealth at death  £95,000; plus businesses: Austen-Leigh, 'William Strahan and his ledgers' · £95,000; incl. businesses: Cochrane, Dr. Johnson's printer




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