John Dunton
Encyclopedia
John Dunton was an English
bookseller and author. In 1691, he founded an Athenian Society to publish The Athenian Mercury
, the first major popular periodical and first miscellaneous periodical in England.
, when John Dunton senior became chaplain to Sir Henry Ingoldsby. At the age of fifteen John the son was apprenticed to Thomas Parkhurst, bookseller, at the sign of the Bible and Three Crowns, Cheapside
, London
. Dunton ran away at once, but was soon brought back, and began to love books.
During the struggle which led to the Glorious Revolution
of 1688, Dunton was the treasurer of the Whig
apprentices. He became a bookseller at the sign of the Raven, near the Royal Exchange, and married Elizabeth Annesley, daughter of Samuel Annesley
, whose sister married Samuel Wesley
. His wife managed his business, so that he was left free in a great measure to follow his own eccentric devices. He had early success with Thomas Doolittle
's The Lord's last-sufferings, the topical Stephen Jay's Daniel in the Den, and a sermon by John Shower
.
, he visited New England
, where he stayed eight months selling books and observing with interest the new country and its inhabitants. He sailed from Gravesend
in October 1685, and reached Boston
after a four months' voyage. He sold his books, and visited Cambridge
. In Roxbury
he saw the missionary John Eliot
and learnt something of Native American
customs. He stayed for a time at Salem
and Wenham
, and returned to England in the autumn of 1686.
Dunton had become security for his brother's debts, and to escape the creditors he made a short excursion to Holland.
.
He wrote several books whose titles are today among specialists better known than their contents ranging from The informer's doom, or, An unseasonable letter from Utopia directed to the man in the moon giving a full and pleasant account of the arraignment, tryal, and condemnation of all those grand and bitter enemies that disturb and molest all kingdoms and states throughout the Christian world (1689) to his Bumography: or, A touch at the lady's tails, being a lampoon (privately) dispers'd at Tunbridge-Wells, in the year 1707. By a water-drinker. With the names and characters of the most noted water-drinkers. Also, a merry elegy upon Mother Jefferies, the antient water-dipper (1707).
19th and 20th-century criticism neglected Dunton because of his tendency to use the public for his private businesses. Both his quarrels as a publisher and as a husband were more than reflected in his publications. He would thus offer Reflections on Mr. Dunton's leaving his wife. In a letter to himself. (1700?) followed by the public proclamation of his reunion with his wife. While at the same moment he would portrait himself as a lover of privacy with his The art of living incognito being a thousand letters on as many uncommon subjects, written by John Dunton during his retreat from the world, and sent to that honourable lady to whom he address'd his conversation in Ireland (1700).
His accounts of quarrels he had as a book trader and publisher offer information to book historians dealing with the period. Important titles are here his Religio bibliopolae in imitation of Dr. Browns Religio medici (1691), his The Dublin scuffle being a challenge sent by John Dunton, citizen of London (1699) and his Life and Errors of John Dunton (1705). His letters from New England were published in the U.S.
in 1867.
He also wrote the first periodical and the first dictionary designed specifically for women: The Ladies' Mercury
- an imitation of his wider Athenian project - and acting here as the publisher more than the author: The ladies dictionary, being a general entertainment of the fair-sex, a work never attempted before in English (1694).
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
bookseller and author. In 1691, he founded an Athenian Society to publish The Athenian Mercury
The Athenian Mercury
] The Athenian Mercury, or The Athenian Gazette or The Question Project or The Casuistical Mercury, was a periodical written by The Athenian Society and published in London twice weekly between 17 March 1690 [i.e. 1691 new Calendar] and 14 June 1697...
, the first major popular periodical and first miscellaneous periodical in England.
Early life
His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all clergymen. He was born at Graffham, Huntingdonshire, where his father John was rector. The family shortly moved to IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, when John Dunton senior became chaplain to Sir Henry Ingoldsby. At the age of fifteen John the son was apprenticed to Thomas Parkhurst, bookseller, at the sign of the Bible and Three Crowns, Cheapside
Cheapside
Cheapside is a street in the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Mansion House Street. To the east is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and the major road junction above Bank tube station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Dunton ran away at once, but was soon brought back, and began to love books.
During the struggle which led to the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1688, Dunton was the treasurer of the Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
apprentices. He became a bookseller at the sign of the Raven, near the Royal Exchange, and married Elizabeth Annesley, daughter of Samuel Annesley
Samuel Annesley
Samuel Annesley was a prominent Puritan and nonconformist pastor, best known for the sermons he collected as the series of Morning Exercises.-Life:...
, whose sister married Samuel Wesley
Samuel Wesley (poet)
Samuel Wesley was a poet and a writer of controversial prose. He was also the father of John Wesley and Charles Wesley, founders of the Methodist Church.-Family and early life:...
. His wife managed his business, so that he was left free in a great measure to follow his own eccentric devices. He had early success with Thomas Doolittle
Thomas Doolittle
-Early life:Doolittle was the third son of Anthony Doolittle, a glover, and was born at Kidderminster in 1632 or the latter half of 1631. While at the grammar school of his native town he heard Richard Baxter preach as lecturer the sermons later published as ‘The Saint's Everlasting Rest’ . These...
's The Lord's last-sufferings, the topical Stephen Jay's Daniel in the Den, and a sermon by John Shower
John Shower
-Life:The elder brother of Sir Bartholomew Shower, he was born at Exeter, and baptised on 18 May 1657. His father, William, a wealthy merchant, died about 1661, leaving a widow and four sons. Shower was educated in turn at Exeter, and at Taunton under Matthew Warren....
.
In New England
In 1686, probably because he was concerned in the Monmouth RebellionMonmouth Rebellion
The Monmouth Rebellion,The Revolt of the West or The West Country rebellion of 1685, was an attempt to overthrow James II, who had become King of England, King of Scots and King of Ireland at the death of his elder brother Charles II on 6 February 1685. James II was a Roman Catholic, and some...
, he visited New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, where he stayed eight months selling books and observing with interest the new country and its inhabitants. He sailed from Gravesend
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
in October 1685, and reached Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
after a four months' voyage. He sold his books, and visited Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. In Roxbury
Roxbury, Massachusetts
Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...
he saw the missionary John Eliot
John Eliot (missionary)
John Eliot was a Puritan missionary to the American Indians. His efforts earned him the designation “the Indian apostle.”-English education and Massachusetts ministry:...
and learnt something of Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
customs. He stayed for a time at Salem
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
and Wenham
Wenham, Massachusetts
Wenham is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,875 at the 2010 census.The Town of Wenham was originally settled in 1635 and has retained much of its unique historic character and tranquil rural scenery...
, and returned to England in the autumn of 1686.
Dunton had become security for his brother's debts, and to escape the creditors he made a short excursion to Holland.
Later life
On his return to England, he opened a new shop in London in the Poultry, in the hope of better times. Here, he founded in 1691 a new kind of journal, The Athenian Gazette/The Athenian Mercury, with anonymous questions-and-answers, powered by his Athenian Society. His wife died in 1697, and he married a second time; but a quarrel about property led to a separation; and being incapable of managing his own affairs, he spent the last years of his life in great poverty.Works
He gave an account of his travels around Ireland in Teague Land: or A Merry Ramble to the Wild Irish (1698)Teague Land: or A Merry Ramble to the Wild Irish (1698)
Teague Land: or A Merry Ramble to the Wild Irish is a book by John Dunton describing his travels in Ireland in 1698.-The text:Teague Land consists of seven letters to a fictional lady friend of Dunton, in which he describes his experiences while travelling around Ireland...
.
He wrote several books whose titles are today among specialists better known than their contents ranging from The informer's doom, or, An unseasonable letter from Utopia directed to the man in the moon giving a full and pleasant account of the arraignment, tryal, and condemnation of all those grand and bitter enemies that disturb and molest all kingdoms and states throughout the Christian world (1689) to his Bumography: or, A touch at the lady's tails, being a lampoon (privately) dispers'd at Tunbridge-Wells, in the year 1707. By a water-drinker. With the names and characters of the most noted water-drinkers. Also, a merry elegy upon Mother Jefferies, the antient water-dipper (1707).
19th and 20th-century criticism neglected Dunton because of his tendency to use the public for his private businesses. Both his quarrels as a publisher and as a husband were more than reflected in his publications. He would thus offer Reflections on Mr. Dunton's leaving his wife. In a letter to himself. (1700?) followed by the public proclamation of his reunion with his wife. While at the same moment he would portrait himself as a lover of privacy with his The art of living incognito being a thousand letters on as many uncommon subjects, written by John Dunton during his retreat from the world, and sent to that honourable lady to whom he address'd his conversation in Ireland (1700).
His accounts of quarrels he had as a book trader and publisher offer information to book historians dealing with the period. Important titles are here his Religio bibliopolae in imitation of Dr. Browns Religio medici (1691), his The Dublin scuffle being a challenge sent by John Dunton, citizen of London (1699) and his Life and Errors of John Dunton (1705). His letters from New England were published in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1867.
He also wrote the first periodical and the first dictionary designed specifically for women: The Ladies' Mercury
The Ladies' Mercury
The Ladies' Mercury was the first periodical published that was specifically designed just for women. It contained an advice column in the periodical. It was first published in London on February 27, 1693. - History :...
- an imitation of his wider Athenian project - and acting here as the publisher more than the author: The ladies dictionary, being a general entertainment of the fair-sex, a work never attempted before in English (1694).
- The informer's doom, or, An unseasonable letter from Utopia directed to the man in the moon : giving a full and pleasant account of the arraignment, tryal, and condemnation of all those grand and bitter enemies that disturb and molest all kingdoms and states throughout the Christian world. London: Printed for John Dunton, 1683.
- Religio bibliopolæ: in imitation of Dr. Browns Religio medici, with a supplement to it London: Printed for P. Smart ..., and are to be sold at the Raven, 1691.
- N. H. The ladies dictionary, being a general entertainment of the fair-sex: a work never attempted before in English London: Printed for John Dunton, 1694.
- The Dublin scuffle : being a challenge sent by John Dunton, citizen of London, to Patrick Campbel, bookseller in Dublin. London: (Printed for the author) and are to be sold by A. Baldwin ... and by the booksellers in Dublin, 1699.
- The art of living incognito : being a thousand letters on as many uncommon subjects London: Printed (for the author), and are to be sold by A. Baldwin, 1700.
- The life and errors of John Dunton : late citizen of London; written by himself in solitude. With an idea of a new life; wherein is shewn how he'd think, speak, and act, might he live over his days again London: printed for S. Malthus, 1705. vol. 1 1818 reprint vol.2 1818 reprint
- Bumography : or, a touch at the lady's tails, being a lampoon (privately) dispers'd at Tunbridge-Wells, in the year 1707. By a water-drinker. With the names and characters of the most noted water-drinkers. Also, a merry elegy upon Mother Jefferies, the antient water-dipper London : [s.n.], [printed in the year MDCCVII. [1707]
- The Athenian Oracle abridged at Google Books
- vol. I: 1st ed. (1703), 2nd ed. (17??), 3rd ed. (1728)
- vol. II: 1st ed. (1703), 2nd ed. corr. (1704), 3rd ed. (1728)
- vol. III: 1st ed. (1704), 2nd ed. (1706), 3rd ed. (1728)
- vol. IV: 1st ed. (1710), 2nd ed. (17??), 3rd ed. (1728)
Further reading
- Gildon, Charles (1692). The history of the Athenian Society: for the resolving of all nice and curious questions. London: printed for James Dowley . (Rather hagiographic pamphlet.)
- McEwen, Gilbert D. (1972). The Oracle of the Coffee House: John Dunton's Athenian Mercury. San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library .
- Parks, Stephen (1976). John Dunton and the English book trade: a study of his career with a checklist of his publications. Garland reference library of the humanities, v. 40. New York: Garland Pub. .