A & C Black, like so many old publishing names, traces its origins to a bookshop.
Adam Black set-up shop in Edinburgh in 1807 and the publishing house A & C Black was born when he went into partnership with his nephew Charles Black.
Over time famous titles such as Encyclopedia Britannica and Who’s Who migrated to A & C Black’s list, and the company’s fortunes cannot have been hindered by buying the copyright to Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley novels - among the most popular books in Europe for more than a century.
In recent years the company acquired Christopher Helm and T & AD Poyser, both famous as publishers of highly regarded books on birds and birding.
The two ornithology imprints add to a wide-ranging natural history catalogue, which includes the Domino Field Guides, to wildflowers, trees and insects, the RSPB First Book series, aimed at children, and the recent Natural History Narratives.
A & C Black was acquired by Bloomsbury Publishing in 2000 and many of its natural history titles now carry the Bloomsbury imprint.
