George Bayntun

Who was George Bayntun?

George Bayntun was an English bookseller, bookbinder, and collector.

Born and living in Bath, Somerset, England. George Bayntun served an apprenticeship with the Taylor family, before starting his own bookbinding business in Northumberland Place in 1894. He took on London binders to raise the standard of craftsmanship and soon moved into larger premises on Walcot Street. It was recognised that "He has brought intelligence into play as well as high craftsmanship". In 1920 he bought the business of George Gregory, and in 1939 Bayntun and Rivière binderies were incorporated into a new set of premises on Manvers Street, in which the business still exists today.

George Bayntun was described by Wilmarth Lewis in Collector's Progress: "He wore a smock in the shop and after selling a certain number of books took snuff. The sneeze released fresh energies". He adhered to traditional book binding techniques and his response to an enquiry as to why is quoted "We work in the old way. Machine binding? Ah yes....but not for us." He had an especially good relationship with many pre-eminent American dealers, and Arthur Brenanto, Maurice Inman, Nat Ladden and Dr Rosenbach hosted a lunch in his honour on a visit to New York in 1936.