Edward Lloyd was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
publisher.
Born in
Thornton HeathThornton Heath is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Croydon. It is situated south-southeast of Charing Cross.-Geography:...
, Lloyd studied
shorthandShorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed or brevity of writing as compared to a normal method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek stenos and graphē or graphie...
at the London Mechanics' Institution, then wrote a book on stenography. Before he was eighteen, he had opened shops in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to sell cheap books and
valentineValentine may refer to:* Valentine's Day, a holiday, or a card or gift given on that day-People:* Valentine , the pseudonym of Archibald Thomas Pechey* Saint Valentine, the name of several martyred saints of ancient Rome* Pope Valentine...
s.
From 1835, he began publishing cheap books, many being plagiarisations of
Charles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' work. In 1842 he moved into publishing periodicals, including
Lloyd's Penny Weekly Miscellany,
Lloyd's Penny Atlas and, most successfully,
Lloyd's Illustrated London Newspaper , which soon became
Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper-Founding:The paper was launched by Edward Lloyd in 1842 as Lloyd's Illustrated London Newspaper, following the success of his Lloyd's Penny Weekly Miscellany. The new paper was intended as a rival for the Illustrated London News...
. This was enormously successful, and by 1872 was selling 500,000 copies an issue.
Lloyd stopped publishing
penny dreadfulA penny dreadful was a type of British fiction publication in the 19th century that usually featured lurid serial stories appearing in parts over a number of weeks, each part costing an penny...
s, and concentrated with promoting his newspaper as a respectable publication for the literate
working classWorking class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
.
He founded the Lloyd News, later known as The Sunday News, and also published the
Daily ChronicleThe Daily Chronicle was a British newspaper that was published from 1872 to 1930 when it merged with the Daily News to become the News Chronicle.-History:...
.
He spent his weeks touring the country, looking for suitable advertising hoardings. He also set up his own printing works to publish the newspaper, supplied with esparto grass grown on 100000 acres (404.7 km²) of land which he leased in
AlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
.
One of his printing works was in
SittingbourneSittingbourne is an industrial town about eight miles east of Gillingham in England, beside the Roman Watling Street off a creek in the Swale, a channel separating the Isle of Sheppey from mainland Kent...
, bought in 1863. In 1912, with a workforce of 1,200 and output of 2,000 tonnes per week, the mill was one of the biggest in the world.
In 1876, Lloyd purchased the
Clerkenwell News, and transformed it into the
Daily ChronicleThe Daily Chronicle was a British newspaper that was published from 1872 to 1930 when it merged with the Daily News to become the News Chronicle.-History:...
, increasing circulation from 8,000 to 140,000.
In his spare time, Lloyd was active in
Liberal PartyThe Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politics and was a member of the
Reform ClubThe Reform Club is a gentlemen's club on the south side of Pall Mall, in central London. Originally for men only, it changed to include the admission of women in 1981. In 2011 the subscription for membership of the Reform Club as a full UK member is £1,344.00, with a one-off entrance fee of £875.00...
.
He had three sons Arthur, Herbert and Frank Lloyd. All who lived in
CroydonCroydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
.