Robert Harrild
| Robert Harrild | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1 January 1780 Bermondsey, London, England |
| Died | 28 July 1853 (aged 73) Sydenham, Kent, England, |
| Years active | 1803-1853 |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Billing (1780–1853) (his death) |
Robert Harrild (1 January 1780 – 28 July 1853) was an English printing pioneer. Harrild was the founder of the business Harrild & Sons, his history is recorded in 'The House of Harrild' by Edward Living written in 1949, which gives the complete history of the Company, and also many names and dates of Harrilds.
Robert Harrild, born in Bermondsey, London, England, was the second son of Robert Harrild of Surrey and his wife Sarah Johnson.
In 1801, at the age of 21, Harrild set up in partnership with Edward Billing at the Bluecoat-Boy Printing Office, Russell Street, Bermondsey. In the same year, Harrild married Edward Billing's sister, Elizabeth. Joseph Billing, nephew of Edward, later married Sarah Harrild, daughter of Robert. Seven of Robert and Elizabeth's ten children survived into adulthood, their daughter Mary married the colour-printing innovator George Baxter (printer), Baxter's sister Mary married Robert's eldest son and heir Robert Harrild.
In 1807, Harrild branched off on his own to premises at 127 Bermondsey Street. During this period he published and printed a number of books, some copies of which are in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University.
In 1809, Harrild started up in business making printers' materials and working as a printers engineer. When he began, the blocks of type used in printing were inked by means of ink balls, a method introduced by Caxton. Harrild is noted for having improved the process by introducing ‘composition rollers’ which sped up printing and became an indispensable innovation. At first this change was met with opposition from the workforce, and Harrild had to bring all his tact and energy to the situation to persuade people that it was in their interests to work with the new rollers.
Harrild continued to make both balls and rollers for inking after 1810, but his new rollers vastly increased the production of newspapers, whereas the old ball method of inking limited printing to between 150 and 200 copies per hour. Harrild introduced the rollers for inking at his London factories in Farringdon Road; as printers and compositors from all over England visited to see the invention, his new method quickly became known and adopted throughout the industry. Harrild himself came to be considered one of the heads of the printing trade, and gained esteem in part due to his energetic character and philanthropic work.
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