Page one of the Journal of Trade Composition Co., 1921

Page 1 of the first ledger or journal of the Trade Composition Co. is a hand-written record of the formation of the partnership that six years later would become Cooper & Beatty, Limited. There were few trade typesetting companies in Toronto, leaving many printers little choice but to have their own in-house typesetting departments. However, it was a major expense to equip and staff a full-service typesetting operation and some printers were more than happy to turn that part of the operation over to qualified typesetters. Relieved of the burden of running a large typesetting operation as well as a full service print shop, Noble Scott would be assured of obtaining high quality type, possibly even better than they had been producing themselves, and they could devote their energy to printing. For their part, the new company, Trade Composition Co. could start with at least one major client, to help cover expenses, and be free to pursue outside work. Judging by the financial arrangements, Ed (Edgar) Cooper and Lew (Lewis) Beatty were the senior partners; at half their pay, Pepper likely was a salesman brought in to find new clients. The $132.00 monthly equipment and rental fee would be just over $2,000.00 in 2022 dollars.

There is an amusingly circular and ironic ending to this story: in the early 1990s, following the proliferation of the personal computer and as typesetting shops large and small were shutting down, Howarth & Smith Monotype—one of Cooper & Beatty’s major competitors for almost 70 years—was absorbed into Noble Scott Printers as their in-house typesetters.

Artifact Text

June 20 – 1921
A partnership consisting of L. W. Beatty, E. T. Cooper and J. L. Pepper, to be known as Trade Composition Co. was formed this day for the purposes of Casting Composition for the trade. Rented the Monotype Equipment of Noble Scott Ltd. at the rental of $132.00 per Calendar month, for one year, for use of Equipment and portion of building occupied at 102 Adelaide Street west, Toronto. All purchases for Capital Acct. to be shared equally, but all net profits to be divided two-fifths (2/5) each to L. W. Beatty and E. T. Cooper, and one-fifth (1/5) to J. L. Pepper.