Historic Alleys

And it's Cannanore connection!!

Many articles have been written about Higginbotham’s in the past and the consensus is that the founder and original owner was Abel Joshua Higginbotham. This has been documented so by the chronicler of Madras, the venerable S Muthiah, in his Madras books, as well as other authors who wrote specifically about the bookshop and its run through the ages. During my stay in Madras, in the 80’s it was a favorite haunt, just a quick trot from Ambika Nivas on Pycroft’s road to the Higginbotham’s building. I spent many an enchanted hour among the thousands of lined-up books, taking in those titles and smells. But more than that, it was omnipresent at all major railway stations and had been the source of ‘pocketbooks’ as they were called, those by James Hadley Chase, Perry Mason (ES Gardener), Nick Carter, Sudden, Louise L Armor, and so on, during school days.

Muthiah writes in “Madras Rediscovered” –Almost next door (to Poompuhar) is Higginbotham’s, till the millennium the largest bookshop in the country, floor-space wise, and the oldest, being founded by the side of its present Mount Road site in 1844 by librarian Abel Joshua Higginbotham of the Wesleyan Book depository. Many others added detail, some connected Abel Joshua to Cannanore, others to a stowaway from a ship, and so on. But who is Abel Joshua Higginbotham and what is the complete story?

Well, a good search will elicit hardly any results, and the only trace back is to a May 25^th, 1901 article in The Publisher’s Circular. The said article does not name its author, but borrows text from an appreciative article in the Madras mail of Aug 1, 1894, and goes on to say as follows -   Established in 1844, it has now had a continuous existence of 57 years, and in sporting parlance, is still ‘going strong’.

The narration continues thus - Prior to 1844 Mr. Higginbotham was the Librarian of the Wesleyan Book Depository situated in Black Town, which consisted chiefly of religious works. The Home Committee, finding after a few years that the undertaking was not a paying concern, decided to close it. They instructed the Rev. Joseph Roberts, who was their local chairman at the time, to dispose of the stock, giving Mr. Higginbotham the refusal on the liberal terms of paying when able. With such favorable conditions Mr. Higginbotham did not long wait to accept the offer; be at once closed with the bargain and immediately removed the stock to Mount Road to an unpretentious building which then occupied half the width of the entrance to the present premises This stock formed the nucleus of the business which is now familiarly known to all Madras and the sister Presidencies. Mr. Higginbotham, be it said, thoroughly understood his profession and took a keen and intelligent interest in literature. He knew something of the literary value of the books he sold and could converse with his customers about books and authors with some authority. His knowledge of rare books was indeed unequalled. He was always actuated by high principles in all his dealings. His maxim was " Live and let live." Both in business and in private life, Higginbotham was very much respected. The qualities he displayed in the earlier sphere of his career developed as his business advanced. He was compared in Southern India to Longmans in Paternoster Row. His success was so marked that after the lapse of ten years, he found his insignificant quarters a great deal too limited for his yearly increasing business, and he, therefore, resolved to erect more extensive premises of his own, and entrusted the present building to Mr. John Law, architect and builder of that time. When it was completed, he removed it and demolished the one he started in view to securing a wider entrance.

The article goes on to name many luminaries he was associated with and ends with – the name Higginbotham’s & Co. has become a household word. It also mentions how Mr. Russell of the London Times, thoroughly impressed with Higginbotham’s endeavors, helped get the bookshop appointed as the booksellers to His Majesty, a great honor in those days. Much had been done by now and the old man Higginbotham decided to hang up his socks and appoint his son to take over. But it was not to be.

Continuing with the story – After twenty-four years of continuous and arduous work Mr. Higginbotham resolved to retire and sold his business in 1868 to his elder son, John Joshua Higginbotham, the compiler of "Men whom India has Known" and to his conscientious and energetic manager, Mr. A. W. Saalfelt. After doing so Mr. Higginbotham settled down at Bangalore. But he did not long enjoy his wished-for retirement. He had the misfortune to suffer a domestic calamity, the death of this son in 1874, which lamentable event happened seven years after he had taken up the business.

By the terms of his son's will, Mr. Higginbotham was forced to take up his son's share and remained in the firm till his death in August 1891. Mr. Higginbotham after his return took no active part in the conduct of the business but maintained to the last a lively interest in its welfare. In recognition of his worthy career and value as a respected citizen Lord Connemara conferred on him the dignified office of Sheriff of Madras in the years 1889 and 1890, which appointment gave universal satisfaction to Mr. Higginbotham’s personal friends and the public.

In 1879, C. H. Higginbotham was initiated into the business as an assistant, and in January 1888 he was admitted as a partner. In 1891, on the death of Mr. Higginbotham, senior, he succeeded to his father's share also in the concern.

With the advent of Mr. C. H. Higginbotham, the firm commenced to extend its operations. A branch was opened in Bangalore, a military station in the Native State of Mysore, and some 200 miles from Madras. The branch filled a want in the station and has from first flourished. In November of last year, the Bangalore business was removed into new premises specially erected for it, so that it now occupies one of the largest and finest buildings in the town. The opening of bookstalls at railway stations was also initiated by Mr. C. H. Higginbotham, and the firm now has stalls at all the principal stations on the Madras and South Indian Railways.

In 1897 Mr. A. W. Saalfelt retired from the business, which was then carried on by Mr. C. H. Higginbotham as sole proprietor. Mr. C. J. Higgs joined the firm as Manager of the printing department, and under his direction, this branch of the business was largely extended. At this time the printing work done by the firm was almost entirely confined to book-work printing, but during the last three years a great deal of new type and machinery-for which new buildings had to be erected-has been added, until at the present moment the printing works of the firm are probably the most extensive controlled by private enterprise in the south of India. In 1898, Mr. Higgs was admitted as a partner.

Charles James Higgs, a native of Stroud, who used to work as a chief reporter and Manager for The Colombo Observer in Ceylon, came to Madras and joined Addison in 1891, became a partner in Higginbotham’s 1899, member in the Madras corporation in 1904 and the sheriff of Madras in 1905.

So much from the Madras Mail article. I managed to get some more information about the elusive founder, the librarian, from an obituary in the Wesleyan Methodist magazine. The Obituary records his name as R J Higginbotham, and I assume that J stood for Joshua. Though I guess R should be Richard, he went by the name Abel, since that is the name provided in the death notice of his son John Joshua.

It further adds that he was born in Cannanore in 1819 to the esteemed Lt J Higginbotham of the 67th or 69th regiment. His father died at Bangalore in 1820 and his mother Abel Penn, in 1831. It appears he had a sister named Hester who died in 1832. The 12-year-old orphan was taken up by his uncle in Madras and schooled there. He then joined as an apprentice on a merchant ship, left it, got sent back, completed his apprenticeship, and eventually got back to Madras in 1840. He then joined the Blacktown Methodist chapel, and soon enough the honest lad was placed in charge of the chapel’s bookstore and later as a school teacher, secretary, and superintendent of the church. For some reason, the obituary just quickly glosses over his career as the famous bookstore owner in a couple of sentences, though spending over 10 pages on his devout character and Church work. The myth about his being a stowaway who slunk away to Madras to start a bookstore thus remains what it was, a myth.

Muthiah adds (Hindu Aug. 13, 2003, Printers Ink on Mount Road) - He did not start with a large inventory, but having been a librarian, he had an encyclopedic memory about what to recommend to whom and what to get from where. He also maintained a huge catalogue. And so, in its early days, Higginbotham's was a `you-order-and we'll-get-it-for- you' business. The successful growth of the business - which included selling stationery from the 1860s - led to greater stocking and then the need for a bigger building: the present Madras landmark. He was succeeded by his son, C.H. Higginbotham, who joined the firm in 1880 and, in time, became as well known in Madras public life as his father. It was C.H. as managing director of Higginbotham & Co. - its name from 1888 - who expanded the firm beyond Madras. As Higginbotham's grew, it not only established branches throughout South India but also became a presence as familiar as the Spencer's restaurants in the Madras and South Mahratta and South Indian Railway stations. But while a number of those railway bookstalls remain in Southern Railway stations to remind the public of how big Higginbotham's used to be, there's very little today to show that it was once one of the leading publishers in the South and that it had its own printing press in one of those godowns.

The building itself was iconic – In 1904, the company's diamond jubilee year, the bookstore shifted to its well-known location on Mount Road. The building was designed specifically to protect its precious stock: the high ceiling allowed the air to circulate to reduce mustiness, potentially destructive to books; the number of windows was kept to the bare minimum to protect books from the dust of the unmetalled roads and were decorated with stained glass imported from Europe. Italian marble floors and a splendid staircase leading to a second floor added to the building’s ornamentation.

From 1890 to 1920, Higginbotham's was the sole supplier to the Connemara Public Library. James Higgs, who was the Managing Director from 1890 onwards, was a prominent Freemason. Spencers acquired it in 1921, then, in 1925, John Oakshott Robinson merged the company with his printing firm Associated Printers, to establish Associated Publishers. Publishers was acquired by the Amalgamations Group in 1945 and has remained a part of the conglomerate ever since. The historic building on Chennai’s Anna Salai, the current name for Mount Road, was given a facelift in 1989.

Higginbotham’s opened another historic outlet on MG Road, Bangalore. Perhaps the oldest bookstore in Bangalore, it has been around since the days of the British Raj. HBL is housed in a building that has been around since way back in 1897, when Bangalore was a small Cantonment under the British, and the road was called South Parade. The building today is one of the few reminders left of Bangalore’s glorious heritage.

A few words about Joshua and his book "Men whom India has Known", which covers 45 biographies, written in 1870. Times of India says - A quantity of admirably collated information, extremely readable sketches, a task requiring no ordinary skill, judgment, and patience. Some of the biographies present as finished pictures of the times and events and characters to which they refer as we have ever read in so short a space, a charming collection of short historical sketches, full of interest and drawn with considerable power and feeling. We are bound to say Mr. Higginbotham has handled his materials in a workmanlike style. As expected, it was mainly bios of several Englishmen and some petty chiefs.

The bookstore itself maintained its name and fame for over a century and many have mentioned it in their memoirs or travelogs. The 10,000-square-foot space still is home to books. The visit of the Prince of Wales (future King Edward VII) to Madras in 1875, highlighted the importance this shop had in the Empire. "Higginbotham’s & Co" stated a contemporary account, " has the unsolicited honour of being appointed booksellers to His Royal Highness, as a mark of favour not conferred on any other firm of booksellers in India".

By 1859, it became one of the premier bookstores of the country, as John Murray refers to it in his Guidebooks to the Presidencies of Madras and Bombay. Higginbotham’s is being repositioned as a place where book lovers can come and spend some time, leisurely reading or browsing over a cup of coffee. Its flagship stores in Chennai and Bengaluru will be the first outlets to be renovated along these lines.

Allied activities such as publishing and printing were pursued in succeeding years and by 1929 Higginbotham’s employed as many as 400 people. In this period, the valued list of the shop’s customers included eminent persons like Clement Attlee (on an official visit to India as a British MP, later the Prime Minister), the veteran Indian statesman Rajaji, who became the first Indian Governor General in 1948 after the British left; and Sir S. Radhakrishnan, the second President of India. Over time, it boasted an extended chain of 22 outlets spread across the southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and the Union Territory of Pondicherry.

Higginbotham’s came into the Amalgamations fold in 1945, and remains a hallmark in the city of Chennai. It represents large international publishing houses and is one of the largest suppliers of educational material to students and institutions. With a 180 year history, Higginbotham’s is still the one stop shop for knowledge!

Virginia Jealous mentions this in her book about Laurence Hope –There are fewer mosquitoes but considerably less conviviality at Higginbotham's. It's the oldest bookshop in India, founded in Madras in 1844, as a bookseller to royalty and government. It moved to its present location in Mount Road, close to the Connemara Hotel, in 1904, before LH died. A high-pitched roof allows air to circulate around the shelves and small windows lessen the intake of dust from the road outside. It's tempting to imagine LH shopping in the grand new store for, say, her English contemporary Algernon Charles Swinburne's collection of passionate poetry published that year, and then only weeks later, following the General's death, ordering the paper on which she would complete her last book of poems. Higginbotham's guards its heritage closely and in 2015 remains refreshingly if frustratingly old-fashioned. Though the English-language section has been well and truly overtaken by books written in the many languages of India, clerks still write separate receipts for individual items from different sections, and hand-carry them to the stern cashier. There is no time for exchanging pleasantries with those who are either browsing or buying: books mean business here.

Though Wheelers held sway to the north, Higginbotham's continued to maintain  a monopoly in the south and remains the oldest surviving bookstore, and as they say - a Mecca to Indian bibliophiles. I still wonder how one can feel happy with an e-book. I must hold, smell, and read the physical off-white pages of a book to enjoy it, and to this day, the same with a newspaper.

One could dreg out more trivia on Higginbotham's, and I recalled that the last discussion I had with Mr. Muthiah was about the initials in Higginbotham’s name.

This had been lying in the drafts box, like so many others, for far too long, time to finish it off and shine some light on it, if only to jog the memories of those who liked books and this bookstall. Others may pass it over, and wait for the next.

References

Hindu articles – S Muthiah

Madras weekly mail - Obituary

Wesleyan Methodist magazine – 1892, Memorial sketch

Rapture's Roadway – Virginia Jealous