Career
Benjamin Blackwell left formal education aged 13, working as an apprentice for local bookseller Charles Richards. Originally, he had hopes of becoming a librarian like his father, Benjamin Harris Blackwell. However his application for the post of City Librarian for Cardiff was turned down due to his lack of formal education.
An entry from his diary shows that in spite of this setback, Blackwell intended to continue working in the book trade:
In 1879 he opened his own shop, B.H. Blackwell"s, on Broad Street in Oxford.
The local fame he gained as a result enabled him to successfully campaign for political office, and he served as Liberal Councillor for Oxford North.
