Broderip, Wilkinson and the first English edition of the '48'

Musical Times, Summer 2006 by Kassler, Michael

Sometime afterwards he came to London where, in October 1773, James Longman and Charles Lukey of Longman, Lukey & Co., music sellers and musical instrument makers, made him a third partner of their business, which was restyled Longman, Lukey & Broderip. On 12 January 1774 he married Anne Longman - probably a relation of James - in the parish church of West Drayton, Middlesex. Lukey died in 1776 and the firm then became Longman & Broderip. Longman & Broderip were leaders in their field but got into financial difficulty; the firm was declared bankrupt in May 1795 and both Longman and Broderip spent time in jail.7 The assignees continued to trade until October 1798(8) and to pay dividends to creditors until September 1807, after Broderip's death.9

It is not known when or how Broderip first became acquainted with JS Bach's music. In an 1808 letter Charles Burney said that Broderip's uncle Edmund Broderip was one of at most four professors in England who had heard of Bach before Burney's German Tour was published in April 1773.10 The name 'Bach' must have been prominent in Francis Fane Broderip's thoughts when he six months later became a principal of Longman, Lukey & Broderip, as the firm then was in litigation with Bach's son John Christian Bach.11 In the same 1808 letter Burney recalled seeing JS Bach's name in a Longman & Broderip catalogue that had been issued about 1788, but no such catalogue has been located.

Broderip & Wilkinson subscribed to six copies of Kollmann's Essay on practical musical composition, which was entered at Stationers' Hall on 21 June 1799.'2 In this work Kollmann praised the '48' as 'highly esteemed by all who can judge of it' and announced his intention to publish it in the form of an 'analysed' edition.1' Although Broderip & Wilkinson presumably ordered these copies of Kollmann's Essay for sale to customers of their shop, it is plausible that Broderip read this passage and, when a copy of the Simrock edition of part 2 reached him, perhaps in May or June 1801, decided to engrave and print Book I in London before Kollmann had the opportunity to produce the edition he had announced.

The capital that enabled Broderip to re-establish himself commercially was provided by Charles Wilkinson Sr (1744-1819), a wealthy man who worked at the Custom House and lived at Highbury Place, Islington; with this investment he effectively 'bought' a half share of the new business for his eldest son, Charles Wilkinson Jr (1776-1849).'4 Charles Sr had known Broderip for at least a year before his son and Broderip began their partnership, as a record of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers shows that George Wilkinson (1783-1855), Charles Sr's youngest son, was bound apprentice to Broderip for seven years on 4 November 1797, the day before his 14th birthday.15

George's interest in the music business appears to have greatly exceeded his brother's. On 1 January 1805 - almost immediately after his apprenticeship ended - he replaced Charles Jr as half owner of Broderip & Wilkinson. Until George's marriage on 23 September 1809 he lived above the Broderip & Wilkinson shop at 13 Haymarket, where his unmarried sister Ann (1775-1861) kept house for him.16