The Hotspur Press produced an extraordinary range of magazines, books, and specialist printed material over the years. What follows is a selection of the publications we can still remember.
Our Dogs
This was actually a weekly newspaper which was edited just further up Whitworth Street in Manchester, Oxford Road Station Approach. It was printed at the Hotspur Press for many years and was a weekly paper which required some printers to work a night shift and provided quite a lot of the overtime needed to turn a flat wage into a reasonable living. In the Sixties, Our Dogs was edited by Denis Marples who drove a wonderful Mercedes Sports convertible with a chromium dog on the bonnet, a larger than life character. Someone told me he was the brother of Ernest Marples, the Conservative Transport Minister whose career ended in tales of corruption, but this turned out to be false. Clicker: Frank McCormick
My grandfather, Bob Cummings, was the stereotyper who often worked various late shifts for 47 years to ensure the paper went out. At Christmas we produced an Our Dogs Annual which again, required vast amounts of overtime at a rate of time and a half (double time on Sundays!) and came just before Christmas to help us all out with the extra expenses that brought.
Our Dogs – Today
Our Dogs is still alive and well, having moved not very far away from The Hotspur Press at Salford Quays.
Lancashire Life, Cheshire Life
When The Hotspur Press gained the contract for the prestigious Lancashire and Cheshire Life magazines, it was thought that the future of the company was assured. There was a large investment in equipment made in the composing room, including a light table whose use was way beyond my pay grade. The most talented compositors were assigned to the titles, mainly Charlie Penny who had previously worked on the stamp magazines, Philately and Stamp Magazine. However, the rumour was that the sales rep had accepted the jobs for a rate below break even point, the idea to go in with a more profitable figure after a couple of years. However, the publishers at that point decided to go elsewhere – a bit of a disaster all round.
Textile Weekly
This was a magazine The Hotspur Press printed every week. The ‘clicker’ (foreman) of the job at the time I worked there was Robert (‘Jod’) Carr. Both Ron Choularton and myself were young inexperience apprentices when working for Jod but, with a series of practical jokes, good humour and various other techniques, he soon turned us into lads who could put up with any kind of personal insults for the rest of our lives.
Philately
There were two fortnightly publications on stamps and stamp collecting, run by the FOC (Father of The Chapel – i.e., shop steward) – a very talented craftsman
Old Moore’s Almanac
A yearly publication that had been published for many, many years. Contained predictions about the year coming up. It was sold by homeless people – a forerunner to The Big Issue.
Post
Church Times
Poultry
Farmer’s Weekly
- Lancashire Life
- Cheshire Life
- Bees seed packets
- Our Dogs
- The Church Time
- Post Office Union Paper
- Ethiopia Times – edited by Richard Pankhurst
- Riding
- Farmer’s Weekly
- Poultry
- Textile Weekly
- Manchester Ship Canal magazine
- Opera House What’s On
- Mills and Boons books
- Various Masonic books
- Old Moore’s Almanac
- Telephone directories
- Voters List
Would like to contact Bob Cummings. I am Ian Eastabrooks son, Neil. Im sure Bob will have known him well.
Hi Neil, hope you are well. I can’t say I remember Ian off the top of my head but if you can give me some more details it might trigger a memory. I can then ask Ron Choularton who may also be able to help. A photo might also be useful. You can email me at
bob.cummings@rpmail.uk
Cheers Bob