Decorated with the symbols of a ship and a swan, the plaque is dated 1726 and marked simply L&Co. The story begins in August 1724, when Thomas Longman completed his apprenticeship with bookseller John Osborn. Taylor’s two premises in Paternoster Row were known by their signs rather than street numbers: the Black Swan and the Ship. Here, it built the Ship Binding Works, a substantial Victorian warehouse where books were bound not only for Longman but also for other publishers. Today, the former Ship Binding Works remains a six-storey office building.