HIGGINBOTHAMS

- A BOOKSTORE , MOUNT ROAD

LAVANYA.G ~ NIVEDITA D ~ RANJANI T ~ SINDHU SWETHA

Higginbothams Pvt. Ltd. (premier bookshop of Madras) is

Indiasoldest bookstore and book retailer, the company has 71
stores across 52 cities, all in the South comprising 4 landmark
heritage stores, 14 campus stores,and 46 airport and railway
stalls. Higginbothams offers over 3,00,000 titles and deals with
over1700 publishers and possibly has the largest footprint of
stores ofany retailer in this trade.
NAME : Higginbothams Pvt. Ltd.
YEAR OF OPENING : 1844
AGE : 171 Years
PURPOSE : a religious
bookstore(Christian) and book sellers
and publishers based in the city
ofChennai.
LOCATION : Mount Road,Chennai
FEATURES: Has been a landmark since
then andhas the reputation of being
India's oldest bookshop in existence
and Asias second largest conventional
bookstore according to the sq.ft. It is
also Chennai's first 2 storied building.

It was started on a small scale by Abel Joshua Higginbotham.

HISTORY OF ABEL HIGGINBOTHAM'S

FIRST JOB
1- first job selling copies of the Bible to soldiers
SECOND JOB
2- during 1840s - librarian of the local Wesleyn Book Depository run
by Protestant missionaries. The book store did not run successfully and
to avoid further loss, the missionaries wanted to sell off the book store
for a cheap price.
AN INITIATIVE
3- In1844 , was able to afford the shop in a distress sale, and
named it Higginbotham. he eventually started the bookshop
with whatever stock he had (it was a small place on Mount
Road) later he expanded his collection when he got familiar
with what the public was reading.
4-The bookshop grew, so did its reputation. The bookstore
became very popular very soon and in 1850s and 1860s
people started considering Higginbothams as one of the
prominent bookstores of South India.
THE FAME

6-The 1869 opening of the Suez Canal, popularly known as The Highway to
India, made it possible for Higginbothams to get the latest publications for
a more broad-based readership.
7- When King Edward visited Madras as the Prince of Wales in 1875, Messrs
Higginbotham and Co had the sole honor of supplying him books.
EXPANSION
8- Higginbotham also expanded to publishing, with
Sweet Dishes: A little Treatise on Confectionary' by Wyvern coming out
in 1884.
OFFICIALLY
9-Higginbothams become the official book supplier for the government
and its institutions by the beginning of the 20thcentury, and had a list of
important customers, right from then British Prime Minister Clement
Atlee to the last Maharaja of Mysore, Jayachamaraja Wodeyar.
SON AFTER DAD
10-In 1891, Abel Higginbotham died, leaving his son C.H. Higginbotham in
charge. After his son took over, the bookshop shifted to where it is now, on
Mount Road. It was their diamond jubilee year and the shop was built just to
accommodate books. (The old one being besides the current location).

AFTER INDEPENDENCE
11- From british to indian family
In 1945, S. Ananthara- makrishnan, a pioneering industrialist of the south
and founder of the Amalgamations Group, bought Associated Publishers. He
already had a printing firm, Addison & Co., in his portfolio. Addison, it may
be added, was named in honour of Joseph Addison, the famous essayist and
coffee house habitu in London.
12-In 1925, John Oakshott Robinson, of the equally old and famous
company Spencers, took over The Madras Mail, an eveninger and strong
establishment paper that was famous for printing an illustrated cartoon
strip, Curly Wee and Higginbothams, and merged them with his printing
company Associated Printers and Spencers to form Associated Publishers.
13 - The Higginbotham's was the largest bookstore in India till the 1990s. In
1989, renovations helped restore the original look upon the building.
Higginbothams soon began to stock every genre of books, their most
popular section being the reference and technical books.

Before 1916

1950s

An ad stuck to the cover of a book in a

second-hand shop. The book, Maynes
Hindu Law was of the 1878 edition
which is the 1st one. The shop in the
picture must be the earlier outlet before

ARTICLE FROM MADRAS

MUSING
DATE: OCT 2001
Our OLD and NEW are something a
bit different this fortnight. They are both
part of ONE picture taken in the first
week of October. The old is that splendid
heritage building that is the home of
Higginbotham's, the oldest bookshop in
the country and the largest(though the
new landmark, scheduled to open any
day now in Spencer plaza, may well be
bigger if its non books space is
counted). It is a building that is well
maintained and reflects well the care a
heritage building deserves. But if only a
heritage act was in place, it would not
have to suffer a neighbor like the NEW.
When the neighbor first took shape a
few years ago, it was a two story
building remarkable for its narrowness
and five feet or so proximity it
maintained to what by any reckoning
would have been a listed building. But in
the last few weeks, the NEW has
become even NEWER, rising several
stories and sticking out like a sore
thumb. Such incognous construction
marring listed beauty is what a heritage
act would prevent. Do we need years to
decide on a heritage act and the
benefits it would give heritage buildings
and their owners?

PLANNING
A large, skewed, rectangular hall that
follows the
shape of the site, with soaring stained
glass windows
and an entrance verandah that fronts the
entire length
of the building, the Higginbotham's is a
striking piece
of architecture.
Painted a mellow white, the beauty of the
building
lies in the scale and details of the faade.
The long, tiled roof is intercepted in the
centre and at
the ends by decorated frontispieces, the
verandah,
with a portion of its centre pulled out to
resemble a
porch, is supported on slender circular
cast iron
columns and serves both to protect the

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES
Higginbotham is stunning and overwhelming with its charming
architecture.
Architectural style - Gothic, white faade that is archaic and regal, high
ceiling,
old
Beautiful interiors, mammoth staircase and
classic bookshelves, and its stately Gothic
architecture.

The building design is in keeping with the requirements

of a bookstore, to protect the stock the high ceiling
allows air to circulate better, reducing dampness and
mustiness, the number of windows was kept to a
minimum to prevent dust from the then unmetalled
roads.

 An antique clock at the foot of the staircase

reminds
visitors of the times gone by the times, but still
very
much 19thcentury.
Circular iron pillars have been used during
construction
which stand up till date.
They are protected, not by metal shutters like
todays
bookstores, but by stately wooden doors.
Although the store in centrally air-conditioned
(25 years before), it still uses old style high
ceiling fans
and lamps.
The exterior is unaltered from construction.
The changes have been made in the interiors
with
addition of ac, false ceiling and change of
light fixtures.
The interior of the double floor high hall
originally

 A rhythmic series of semicircular arched openings with flat

lintels at the corners
dominate the first floor and contrast with the reverse at the
lower level.

Exquisite stained glass was imported from

to decorate the entrance door and window

The large display windows on the facade o

store, are later additions to the store.

ADDITIONAL STRUCTURES - INTERIORS

RECTANGULAR COLUMNS

OFFICE SECTION
AIR CONDITIONING

STORAGE SECTIO

 The interior of the double floor high hall originally

contained a
gallery that ran around all the sides and was supported
on
slender columns. This was extended into a larger
mezzanine
floor and a wide staircase added in 1980s.

PANOROMA VIEW OF THE

INTERIOR

Today, the heritage buildings face threats of demolition, in the name of

Urbanization. Higginbothams was not victim to real estate agents , in the
name of development and urbanization.

INFLUENCING TIMES
It has witnessed the evolution, the inception of modernization and its
various stages. When the world around it was changing, Higginbotham
stood unaltered with its quaint architecture that was evidently colonial.
Higginbotham has survived close to two centuries because of its ability
to adapt, particularly to modern technology and grow with the times,
adjusting itself to the demands of the market.
The immediate space surrounding Higginbotham has become a sort of
centre for all books-related activity in Mount Road.
Has Higginbotham been hit by the influx of large chains of bookstore,
they have not affected Higginbotham. Firstly, its location , secondly, it
has probably the largest collection of academic and competitive books.

LOCATION SIGINIFICANCE
The social space that is Higginbotham has helped produce space around
itself.
Similarly, the location of an intellectual and cultural centre, has brought
art and diversity to the Mount road, bringing in several bookstores,
handloom and handicraft emporiums, and making this stretch of the road
important from a tourism point of view.

RECOMMENDATION:
ROOFING:
Highest Priority in Replacement Shingles:
best quality wood with a similar surface texture
matching size and shape: thickness, width, length
matching installation pattern: exposure length, overlap, hips,
ridges, valleys, etc.
matching decorative features: fancy butts, color, exposed nails
Areas of Acceptable Differences:
species of wood
method of fabrication of shingle, if visual appearance matches
use of fire retardants, or preservative treatments, if visual impact is minimal
use of modern flashing, if sensitively installed
use of small sleepers for ventilation, if the visual impact is minimal and rake
boards are sensitively treated
method of nailing, if the visual pattern matches
Coatings and Treatments:
Shingles are treated to obtain a fire-retardant rating; to add a fungicide
preservative (generally toxic); to revitalize the wood with a penetrating stain
(oil as well as water based); and to give color.
For untreated singles class B OR C can be used.
salts pressure-impregnated into the wood cells after the shingles have been
cut.
apply chemicals to the surface of the shingles
Penetrating stains and water repellent sealers are sometimes recommended

RECOMMENDATION:
GUTTER:
Galvanized steel or aluminum gutter or PVC gutter.
Downspout extension should be provided to collect the water into a
tank.
RAINWATER HARVESTING:
A storage tank either underground or placed on the ground to collect
rainwater from gutters.
FIRE PROOFING:
Asbestos mixed with concrete on coated over metal pipes or structures
Spraying of fire proofing plasters like gypsum plasters
Gypsum board for false ceiling
Fire exit through a fire separation wall
AC ducts should be sealed with fire resistant material
FLOORING:
It is better two provide a new flooring as the road level has increased.
PAINTING METAL COLUMN:
It could be done by spray painting
Then sand them
Prime them
Again paint them