Berwick and Smith
active Boston and Norwood, 1884-1894
James Berwick was born in Nova Scotia. He was the son of James Berwick and Lucy Charlotte Anderson. Berwick grew up in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, where he attended local public schools. In 1854, at the age of 14, he came to Boston with his mother and his two sisters. His father, a sea captain, had been lost at sea two years earlier. Within a year, Berwick had landed an apprenticeship as a printer for the Cambridge Chronicle. He established the printing firm of Berwick & Smith in 1884 with his friend George Harding Smith. The company grew quickly, and by 1889, they moved into a 10,000 square feet floor space. This large amount of space was needed for ten cylinder presses, three book presses, and several smaller presses. In 1894 he moved his operation again to the Norwood Press building on Washington Street in Norwood. Berwick was active in social and professional associations. He served as the president of the New England Printers Association, the president of the Boston Typothetae Board of Trade for nine years, president of the American Typothetae, and trustee of the Franklin Typographical Society. He bought the land and built the Norwood Press Club, a gathering and athletic club on Chapel Street in Norwood. He was a Mason, and was chairman on the Norwood Electric Light Commission.
Person TypeInstitution
Last Updated8/7/24
active London, 1800 - 1870
active Boston and Norwood, Massachusetts, 1882-1963
British, founded 1744
