Cotswold Collotype Co Ltd

Records including accounts, administration, lists of printing records and large collection of early twentieth century glass and celluloid negatives.

Cotswold Collotype Co. Ltd., of Britannia Mills, Wotton-under-Edge

Cotswold Collotype Company owes its existence to Francis Frith of Reigate, a firm of photographic printers and publishers formed in 1850. Francis Frith decided to reproduce its photographs by the collotype process towards the end of the nineteenth century. Premises were rented at Charfield in Gloucestershire to do this, but by 1907 difficulties had forced it to close. Three employees, C. R. Bagwell, F. Jeater and J. H. Russell, bought the business in partnership and also bought the factory at Britannia Mill, Wotton-under-Edge. The three registered the Cotswold Publishing Company in 1909 under which name it remained until 1952 when it was changed to its present name.

In 1942 the Company amalgamated with the Berkshire Printing Company and was a part of the Brooke Bond Liebig organisation, until November 1980 when it was sold to new owners Capel & Co. of London.

The Company is to date the only one in Britain still practising collotype printing. A staff of 60 work at the process producing inter alia fine book illustrations, coins and medals, drawings, engravings, manuscripts, oil paintings, lithographs, scientific illustrations, water colours and maps (see D4140/3/3-3/5 for examples of work).

Collotype printing is a continuous-tone process which does not use a screen, and which even under a magnifying glass shows no loss of detail (for a description of the process see D4140/3/4, 4/1-3). Output speeds are lower in order to achieve quality and both black and white and colour prints are made.