Born in Highgate to a family of Dutch descent, he served a six year apprenticeship in Wakefield from the age of 16 before returning to London to work for publishers Longman, Green, Orme, Hurst & Co. until he set up his own business in Paternoster Row in 1833.
Mudditt was a Bank of England clerk who decided to move into publishing after seeing the many publishers based on London's Paternoster Row during his lunch hours; the firm was named after the street, rather than being due to any Roman Catholic connections.
It was devastated by aerial bombardment during the Blitz of World War II, suffering particularly heavy damage in the night raid of 29–30 December 1940, later characterised as the Second Great Fire of London, during which an estimated 5 million books were lost in the fires caused by tens of thousands of dropped bombs.
During World War II Blackwood was a fighter pilot and at the height of the Battle of Britain recalled looking down from 25,000 feet to see the firm's London office in Paternoster Row ablaze.
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It has had many headquarters since its foundation in 1882, including Paternoster Row, St. Mark’s College Chelsea, Finsbury Barracks, Leytonstone, Manor Park, Barking, and Lewisham.