London Missionary Society Press (1842 - 1889)

London Missionary Society Press (1842 – 1889), known in Chinese as 墨海書館, was a British-Chinese missionary publishing house active in Qing Shanghai during the second half of the 19th century. The press was founded by missionaries Walter Henry Medhurst (1796 – 1857), William Muirhead and William Lockhart (1811 – 1896) in 1842. Shortly afterwards they were joined by Joseph Edkins, and William Charles Milne. The firm is considered to be the earliest modern printing establishment in Shanghai and the first to introduce western-style Chinese-language printing. It is said their first presses were giant iron contraptions run by a belt that traveled through a hole in the wall where it was driving by concealed oxen walking in circles. The Society Press focused on publishing western religious and moral works in Chinese, as well as Chinese-English crossover works. The organization ceased printing on its own account in 1873, but continued to publish work by contracting other local printers until about 1890.