Leeds, a history of print

The first known printer in Leeds, John Hirst began the “Leeds Mercury” in 1718.

In 1810 there were still only 8 printing houses in Leeds but by 1911 printing was the largest employer in Leeds and employed 8000 people. Printing became one of Leeds most important industries because of the number of printing houses and printing machinery & equipment engineering companies. Key manufacturers, Crabtree, Howson’s and Horsell’s were all based in Leeds.

Notable Leeds printers included Alf Cooke’s, established in 1866 and by 1895 Cooke’s was the world’s largest print works and enjoyed Royal Patronage. The Crown Point listed building still stands in Hunslet Road adjacent to Kinyo UK.

Another famous Leeds Printer was John Waddington Ltd, which began printing theatre posters around 1900 then diversified into games, playing cards and packaging, most notably in 1935 “Monopoly”. By 1993 Waddington’s employed 2700 people in Leeds and exported their products all over the world. Today the production of games and playing cards has disappeared but the region is still home to one of the country’s highest concentration of printers.