The Legacy of AH Wheeler Bookstalls comes to an end

Books and magazines have always been an inherent part of train journeys. Train travel is incomplete without comics and books. In India, book stalls are present at almost every railway stations. Have you ever considered how these bookstalls got placed at stations? In this blog, we’ll be taking you to ancient times and will tell you about a European businessman who founded the book shops at railway stations.

History behind Book Stalls at Stations:
The idea of setting up a book stall sprang up when friend Arthur Henry Wheeler said that he had countless books in his library and wanted to sell out a few of them. Emile Moreau then took his wooden Almirah which had the pile of books to Allahabad railway station. This move clothed to be an enormous hit among the train travelers. As Emile got a positive response from the travelers, he had set up the chain of book shops with the name of A.H Wheeler and Co. (named after his friend) in Allahabad in 1877. Soon, the book stalls got widespread all over India, especially in North India. Passengers ordering food in train loved to visit the AH wheeler book stalls and preferred to buy books of various types. In order to provide reading journals and materials to the train passengers, Moreau had set up a printing press and also requested Rudyard Kipling to contribute some of his notable works to his book stalls. In 1888, Rudyard Kipling’s short stories book then became a part of Indian Railways Library Series. Some popular publications of Indian Railways Library Series include Under the Deodars, The Story of Gadsbys, Wee Willie Winkie, The City of Dreadful Night, The Phantom Rickshaw, Soldiers Three and other Eerie Tales. Each book was sold at the railway stations for one rupee.

License Agreement:
A.H. Wheelers have been setting up the Book Stalls on the Railway Stations since 1877 and undoubtedly these are the oldest in this field. In 1938, a partnership was formed to run this business, but subsequently on 31.10.1953, the firm, A.H. Wheeler was incorporated as a Joint Stock Company under the Businesses Act, 1913. Initially, permission was granted thereto for carrying on the business of selling books on the railway stations throughout the country, but after sometime, a formal agreement was entered between A.H. Wheelers and the Railways.

Prior to 1960, it had a monopoly in operating the bookstalls in all the railway divisions except Southern Railway and few parts of the South Central Railways. It was the year 1961, the position was reviewed by the Ministry of Railways and the sole selling rights of bookstalls were restricted to particular Railway stations. Subsequently, the sole selling rights of M/s A.H. Wheelers & Co. were restricted to only those stations where it had bookstalls prior to 1.1.1976. This means that the number of bookstalls was frozen and allotments were to be made to other categories like unemployed graduates and philanthropic organizations. The tenure of the agreement was initially for five years, which was renewed from time to time, and from 1967 onwards the tenure was increased to nine years and the last agreement which was executed in the year 1994 expired on 31.12.2002.

Takeover of Company:
T.K. Banerjee joined the firm in 1899, and after the World War I it became a partner. Wheeler and Company added many books and journals to its book store. Eventually, Moreau retired and returned to England. The Banerjee family took over the equity of A.H. Wheeler in 1950 when Moreau retired.

Preamble by Railway Board for opening of MSP’s
Passengers must have seen the AH Wheeler's bookstore at the railway station while traveling on the train. Now the Railway is planning to fare the bookstalls. According to the media reports, the Railway Board has created a policy to remove the AH Wheeler book stall. Railways argue that multi-purpose stores will be opened at the place of A.H. Wheeler book stall, which will benefit the passengers. In contrary, this action of the railway has been opposed by AH Wheeler.

According to the policy the Railway Board has planned that all stalls at the railway station should be converted into a multi-purpose stalls (MSP’s) which will provide all the facilities to the passengers simultaneously under one roof. In these stalls, books magazines, newspapers, medicines, water bottles, chips, biscuits and milk powder will be sold. According to owners of AH Wheeler stalls, if their stalls will be closed or converted in the multipurpose stall then it will harm their business models and effort. As per media statements, AH Wheeler now gives 5 percent of its annual turnover as fees to the Railways and according to the new guidelines, they will have to give 12 percent of their turnover. It has also been opposed by AH Wheeler.

A Global Businessman:
Apart from bestowing the Indian railway stations with book shops, Emile Moreau had served as a director in Trinidad Oilfields company. He had spent all his years by living a life with wealth or high social status at Fairlie Palace. Emile Edouard Moreau remained devoted to his institute, Framlingham College and had served the governing board for many years. In addition to this, he had also set up sports and scholarships for students by its name till his death in 1937. Emile Edouard Moreau died in 1937, but his legacy the A.H. Wheeler & Co. still lives on.