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
Court of Common Pleas, which then sat within the hall itself, as did the
Chancery and King's Bench at its farther end. Gravelot's print of the
hall during term-time shows this arrangement. The stationers and other
tradespeople in the hall were a privileged class, inasmuch as they were
exempt from the pains and penalties relative to the license and
regulation of the press. Here as elsewhere there were plenty of inferior
books obtainable; Pepys, writing October 26, 1660, and referring to some
purchases made in the hall, remarks: 'Among other books, one of the life
of our Queen, which I read at home to my wife, but it was so sillily
writ that we did nothing but laugh over it.' The stalls were
distinguished by signs. One of the early issues of 'Paradise Lost,'
1668, contains the name, among others, of Henry Mortlock, of the White
Hart, Westminster Hall, but whose shop was at the Phoenix, St. Paul's
Churchyard; Raleigh's 'Remains,' 1675, was printed for Mortlock. The
majority of the hall booksellers had regular shops in St. Paul's
Churchyard or elsewhere, for it is scarcely likely that they would open
these stalls during vacation. Matthew Gilliflower, of the Spread Eagle
and Crown, was one of the most enterprising of his class during the last
quarter of the seventeenth century. James Collins, of the King's Head,
was here contemporaneously with Gilliflower. C. King and Stagg were also
extensive partners in 'adventures' in new books, and were among the
'unprejudiced booksellers' who acted as agents for the _Gentleman's
Magazine_ during the first year of its existence. At about the same time
also, B. Toovey and J. Renn, were selling books here. Early in the reign
of George III. the traders were ousted from Westminster Hall; and in
1834 the dirty and mutilated vast parallelogram was thoroughly cleaned
and repaired. Westminster Hall as a bookselling centre bears the same
affinity to the trade proper as the sweetmeat stalls at a fair bear to
confectionery. The books exposed for sale would only by a rare chance be
choice or notable, and it was certainly not a likely place for folios or
quartos.
BOND STREET AND PICCADILLY.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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