Eyre & Spottiswoode, Ltd. was the London based printing firm that was the King's Printer, and subsequently, after April 1929, a publisher of the same name. It became part of Associated Book Publishers and merged with Methuen Publishing in the 1970s.

History

William Strahan

William Strahan

William Strahan was a Scottish printer and publisher, and a Member of Parliament.Born in Edinburgh as William Strachan, and educated at the Royal High School, Strahan was originally apprenticed to an Edinburgh printer but became a Master Printer in London...

 established his printing house in London in 1739 and by 1769 had a share in both the King's Printing House and the Law Printing House. George Edward Eyre and Andrew Spottiswoode were printers to the Queen's most excellent majesty for Her Majesty's Stationery Office in 1845. Their sons subsequently ran the business.

Publication of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

In 1920 the firm experienced the dubious distinction of being the first to publish,
if not in the "King's English

King's English

King's English may refer to:*Received Pronunciation, a form of English language pronunciation sometimes known as the Queen's English or the King's English*The King's English, a book on English usage and grammar, first published in 1906...

", at least in printed book form, the notorious antisemitic text,
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a fraudulent, antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for achieving global domination. It was first published in Russia in 1903, translated into multiple languages, and disseminated internationally in the early part of the twentieth century...

, with the additional title The Jewish Peril

The Jewish Peril

The Jewish Peril is the first edition of the text commonly referred to as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. It is also the lead titles of one of the many different imprints or editions of the Protocols of Zion - The Jewish Peril...

.

However, as Norman Cohn

Norman Cohn

Norman Rufus Colin Cohn FBA was a British academic, historian and writer who spent fourteen years as a professorial fellow and as Astor-Wolfson Professor at the University of Sussex.-Life:...

 points out, a distinction is to be made between the printer

Printer (publisher)

In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. With the invention of the moveable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450, printing—and printers—proliferated throughout Europe.Today, printers are found...

 and the publisher of the same name. The book, or rather pamphlet, shows it was printed by "EYRE & SPOTTISWOODE, LTD."

• "It seems that this edition of the Protocols was printed to private commission and therefore bears the imprint of the printers, Eyre & Spotiswoode Ltd[.], instead of a publisher's imprint. The firm of Eyre & Spotiswoode (Publishers) Ltd was not founded until April 1929." (Cohn 1996, footnote 4, pg 167)