Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1836-1937 / (Creation)
Level of description
Sub-fonds
Extent and medium
0.315 cubic metres (3 boxes, 40 volumes)
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
Gwasg Gee, publishing firm of Thomas Gee, later Messrs Gee & Son, Denbigh, Denbighshire, was an early nineteenth century printing works, important in the history of printing in the Welsh language. Thomas Gee (1815-1898) was born into a printing family. His father, also named Thomas Gee, had bought Thomas Jones' printing business, based in Ruthin, Denbighshire, in 1813. He moved it to Denbigh where he developed it further. The quarterly journal Y Traethodydd, was founded in 1845, published by Thomas Gee. Between 1854 and 1879, Y Gwyddoniadur Cymreig was published, a ten-volume encyclopaedia. His business adopted new printing technology as it emerged. In 1916, Gwasg Gee passed out of family hands, and after 1923, it was reformed as a limited company. When Thomas Gee died in 1898, D.S. Davies became the director of the printing company. Later, after 1928, the author Kate Roberts, together with her husband Morris T. Williams, bought Gwasg Gee.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited by Morris T. Williams, in 1936 and subsequently.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Records of the printing and publishing firm of Thomas Gee, 1836-1937, including: general ledger, 1897-1910; trade ledgers, 1894-1920; Baner ledgers, 1871-1904; insurance accounts, 1852-1914; printing accounts, 1905-1937; Baner accounts, 1908-1922; North Wales Times accounts, 1904-1928; advertisement journals and ledgers, 1872-1918; statements of work undertaken, 1889-1918; machine room and piecework records, 1868-1890; receipts to customers, 1892-1897; daybooks, 1904-1907; subscription address books, 1898-1931; return sheets and books, 1914-1922; documents relating to partnership, copyright etc., 1839-1892; letters, 1847-1918; and miscellanea, 1836-1935.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Action: All records have been retained.
Accruals
Accruals are not expected.
System of arrangement
Arranged as follows: ledgers; accounts; advertisement journals and ledgers; statement of work; machine room and piecebook; receipts to customers; cashbooks; subscription address book; return sheets and return book; documents relating to partnership, copyright etc.; letters; and miscellaneous papers.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright regulations apply.
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
English, Welsh.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
A hard copy of the catalogue is available at the National Library of Wales. The catalogue can be accessed online.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title supplied from contents of fonds.
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
Project identifier
Access points
Name access points
- Gee, Thomas, 1815-1898 (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Description follows ANW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.;AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
February 2003
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
This sub-fonds level (formerly the fonds level) description was compiled by Annette Strauch for the ANW project. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: NLW, Schedule of Thomas Gee Printing Papers; Davies, John, Hanes Cymru (1990); Y Gadwyn, Misolyn Eglwys y Crwys Caerdydd, Cyfrol LIII, Rhif 10; Jones, T. Gwynn, Cofiant Thomas Gee (Dinbych, 1913); Greenhalgh, Isoline, Thomas Gee, Argraffwr a Chyhoeddwr, Bywgraffiad byr (Dinbych, 2001); personal correspondence with the Rev. William Ieuan Cynwil Williams, Presbyterian minister of Capel Mawr, Denbigh in the 1950s and 1960s (17 January 2003); Dictionary of Welsh Biography down to 1940 (London, 1959); Stephens, Meic, Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales (Oxford, 1986).
Archivist's note
The original 'A Schedule of Material Relating to The Gee Printing Company, Denbigh' which forms this sub-fonds was compiled by Sian Jones, The National Library of Wales in 1977.