the complete works of william shakespeare oxford university press

At the very top of the building was the publisher’s dining room, which was exclusively for the use of the head of the London office… and his guests. There were three dining rooms on the premises: “one in the basement for all staff, which provided hearty and generously subsidized fare, while on the second floor there was an officers’ dining room, reserved for editors and middle managers, where meals were prepared by a fine chef and the drinks were free. Tea ladies pushed trolleys down the corridors once in the morning and again in the afternoon, dispensing drinks and biscuits. In front of them were inkwells filled with fresh ink.Ĭharkin worked out of OUP’s Ely House offices in Mayfair. Editors attended in robes and sat around an enormous table. on Tuesdays (but not in summer when everyone was off on extended vacations). For instance, fortnightly editorial conferences were held at 11 a.m. In the mid-1970s, Charkin moved from Pergamon to Oxford University Press, which had traditions of its own. Also before marketing and IT departments, but publishers did have guilds, members of which met to discuss business at the pub. Needless to say, this was before the dawn of the HR department. Pergamon was considered a progressive company for its time.

The winner received a titled sash, cloak, crown, and the opportunity to greet VIP visitors at company events. It held an annual Miss Pergamon contest, essentially a beauty pageant for female employees.

It was not uncommon for people to spend their whole careers at a single company.Ĭharkin started at Pergamon Press, an Oxford-based scientific publisher. Living wages were paid and even mid-level jobs came with a car. Men wore suits and ties and hats women long skirts. Fifty years ago, when Richard Charkin (above) began his career in the book trade, telephones were wired to desktops and editors (male) wrote their letters and memos in longhand, turning them over to women in the typing pool who knocked them out on carbon paper because the publishing world was slow to photocopiers.Įmployees smoked at their desks and drank at lunch.

The complete works of william shakespeare oxford university press