Andrew Millar (17058 June 1768) was a British publisher in the eighteenth century.
Biography
In 1725, as a twenty-year-old bookseller apprentice, he evaded
Edinburgh city printing restrictions by going to
Leith
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
to print, which was considered beyond Edinburgh's jurisdiction. Millar was soon to take over his apprentice master's London print shop. He was actively involved in railing against the authorities in Edinburgh.
[http://www.millar-project.ed.ac.uk/manuscripts/html_output/5.html Letter from Andrew Millar to Robert Wodrow, 15 July 1725.]
About 1729, Millar started business as a bookseller and publisher in the
Strand, London. His own judgment in literary matters was small, but he collected an excellent staff of literary advisers, and did not hesitate to pay what at the time were considered large prices for good material. "I respect Millar, sir," said
Dr Johnson
Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford D ...
in 1755, "he has raised the price of literature." He paid
Thomson £105 for ''The Seasons'', and
Fielding a total sum of £700 for ''
Tom Jones
Tom Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer
*Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist
*''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...
'' and £1000 for ''Amelia''.
Millar was one of the syndicate of booksellers who financed
Johnson's Dictionary
''A Dictionary of the English Language'', sometimes published as ''Johnson's Dictionary'', was published on 15 April 1755 and written by Samuel Johnson. It is among the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language.
Th ...
in 1755, and on him the work of seeing that book through the press mainly fell.
During the same year Millar published the first edition of the
Mitchell Map
The Mitchell Map is a map made by John Mitchell (1711–1768), which was reprinted several times during the second half of the 18th century. The map, formally titled ''A map of the British and French dominions in North America'' &c., was used ...
. He also published the histories of
Robertson
Robertson may refer to:
People
* Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name)
* Robertson (given name)
* Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan
* Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837)
Place ...
and
Hume
Hume most commonly refers to:
* David Hume (1711–1776), Scottish philosopher
Hume may also refer to:
People
* Hume (surname)
* Hume (given name)
* James Hume Nisbet (1849–1923), Scottish-born novelist and artist
In fiction
* Hume, ...
.
Millar was the
plaintiff in the 1769 case ''
Millar v Taylor'' which held that authors and publishers are entitled to a perpetual
common law copyright
Common law copyright is the legal doctrine that grants copyright protection based on common law of various jurisdictions, rather than through protection of statutory law.
In part, it is based on the contention that copyright is a natural right ...
. That decision was ultimately overturned in the landmark 1774 case ''
Donaldson v Beckett
''Donaldson v Becket'' (1774) 2 Brown's Parl. Cases (2d ed.) 129, 1 Eng. Rep. 837; 4 Burr. 2408, 98 Eng. Rep. 257; 17 Cobbett's Parl. Hist. 953 is the ruling by the British House of Lords that held that copyright in published works was not perpet ...
'', whose unsuccessful plaintiff was Millar's apprentice, Thomas Becket (or Beckett).
Millar died at his villa at
Kew Green
Kew Green is a large open space in Kew in west London. Owned by the Crown Estate, it is leased to the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is roughly triangular in shape, and its open grassland, framed with broadleaf trees, extends to abo ...
, near London, on 8 June 1768.
References
*
External links
*
Andrew Millar Project [email protected].
University of Edinburgh.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millar, Andrew
Scottish publishers (people)
1705 births
1768 deaths
English booksellers
18th-century English businesspeople
Publishers (people) from London