Background
William Matthews was born on March 29, 1822 at Aberdeen, Scotland. Before the child was a year old his father died, and when he was seven his mother took him to London, where he was sent to school and later apprenticed to a bookbinder.
William Matthews was born on March 29, 1822 at Aberdeen, Scotland. Before the child was a year old his father died, and when he was seven his mother took him to London, where he was sent to school and later apprenticed to a bookbinder.
Employed in one of the largest binderies at the time of the great strike of 1841, young Matthews remained faithful to his employers and advanced rapidly to a responsible position and a broad and thorough knowledge of the business. In 1843 he emigrated to New York, where his ability was promptly recognized. Three years later he established a bindery of his own, at 74 Fulton Street, winning the highest award given for binding for his exhibit at the International Crystal Palace Exhibition in Reservoir Park in 1853. This attracted the attention of the firm of D. Appleton & Company, and the following year he became the head of their bindery, retiring in 1890, when he was succeeded by his son, Alfred. Among the large editions issued by the firm was an annual output of one million copies of Webster's spelling book. Matthews was preeminent in his art, his name becoming a synonym for good workmanship, while his advice and his bindings were alike eagerly sought by fellow-workers and by collectors. While thoroughness was to him the highest essential, he added a scholarly knowledge of the history of his craft, and the taste that is necessary to elevate it to the status of an art. For special work he could use to advantage all the resources at his command, but he denounced the "story-telling cover of commerce, " holding to restrained decoration for commercial binding. The forwarding of a book was always, to him, as important as the finishing. He regarded Francis Bedford as the greatest modern English binder. Matthews' winning personality, admirable qualities, and public spirit made him an active force in the charitable, religious, social, and commercial life of the city, and his hospitable home in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn was a center for the friends who sought his well-filled library and listened to his talk of the books and the bindings which he loved. Aside from his bookbinding interests, he was president of the Flatbush Water Works Company. In 1895 he moved to Brooklyn Heights, where his death at the age of seventy-five resulted from the shock of being run down by a bicycle.
a member of the Grolier Club
He had a wife (née Marle), two sons, both bookbinders, and three daughters.