The Book-Hunter in London: Historical and Other Studies of Collectors and CollectingRoberts, W. (William)
History
The Book-Hunter in London: Historical and Other Studies of Collectors and Collecting
Roberts, W. (William)
Bibliomania; Book collecting; Booksellers and bookselling -- England -- London
Tonson himself, of the Judge's Head, near the Inner Temple Gate (he
started in Chancery Lane), are Fleet Street booksellers of the latter
half of the seventeenth century. Early in the following century we get
such names as Benjamin Tooke, of the Middle Temple Gate; Edmund Curll,
whose chaste publications appeared from the sign of the Dial and Bible,
against St. Dunstan's Church; Bernard Lintot, Tonson's great rival and
Pope's publisher, of the Cross Keys, between the Temple Gates; Ben
Motte, who succeeded Tooke; Andrew Millar, Samuel Highley, John Murray,
and many others who might be mentioned, but who were publishers rather
than second-hand booksellers.
One of the earliest, and perhaps the very first, of the Fleet Street
contingent of booksellers who advertised their stock through the medium
of priced catalogues was John Whiston, the younger son of the famous
William Whiston. Whiston sold several important libraries, including
those of such eighteenth-century celebrities as D'Oyly, Dr. Castell,
Wasse, Chishull, Dr. Banks, Prebendary John Wills, Adam Anderson (author
of 'The History of Commerce'), and many others; he included a large
number of literary men among his acquaintances. From 1756 to 1765 he
appears to have been in partnership with Benjamin White, and the
libraries which they sold during this period included those of the Rev.
Stephen Duck; Thomas Potter, Esq., M.P., son of the Archbishop of
Canterbury; Charles Delafaye, Esq., of the Secretary of State's Office;
Dr. James Tunstall, Vicar of Rochdale, etc. Of all the second-hand
booksellers of the latter half of the last century the most considerable
was the Benjamin White above mentioned, whose shop was at the sign of
Horace's Head, in Fleet Street, and whose bulky catalogues, often
including over 10,000 lots, are now very rare and exceptionally
interesting. The contents of these catalogues were classified, first
into three divisions, folio, quarto, and octavo and duodecimo, and then
again into numerous sections according to the subject-matter of the
volumes. 'The sale will begin' on such and such a day, and 'catalogues
may be had' at various stated booksellers' shops in London, and at
Oxford, and 'the principal towns of England.' From 1716 to 1792 Benjamin
White and his son and namesake issued catalogues of various collections
of books, including the libraries (or selections from) of Dr. Thomas,
Bishop of Salisbury; Sir William Calvert, M.P. for London; Dr. Secker;
Rev. Joseph Spence; Dr. Hutchinson, editor of Xenophon; Dr. William
Borlase; Dr. Matthew Maty, Secretary of the Royal Society, and Principal
Librarian, British Museum; Sir Richard Jebb; Rev. John Bowles, editor of
'Don Quixote'; Rev. John Lightfoot, chaplain to the Countess Dowager of
Portland, and author of the 'Flora Scotica.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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