ABSTRACT
Charles Knight was fortunate that his professional career began in the Regency in a period before the economist's notion of the division of labour had been widely adopted in the printing and publishing trades. This lack of specialisation benefited Knight on a practical level as a working editor, for the duties of a country newspaper editor were quite broad, while the roles of bookseller or newspaper publisher frequently overlapped. Knight proved a good scholar, but although his teachers wanted him to stay on and attend university, his father insisted that he return to Windsor in June 1805 to serve an apprenticeship in the family bookselling and publishing business. When he attained his majority in March 1812, he completed his formal apprenticeship to his father as stationer, bookseller and printer in Windsor. Knight was stimulated by the metropolitan environment and encouraged by his journalistic experiences.
