Thomas Astley (died 1759) was a bookseller and publisher in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in the 18th century.
He ran his business from Saint Paul's Churchyard (circa 1726-1742) and
Paternoster Row
Paternoster Row was a street in the City of London that was a centre of the London publishing trade, with booksellers operating from the street. Paternoster Row was described as "almost synonymous" with the book trade. It was part of an area ca ...
(circa 1745). He belonged to the
Company of Stationers
The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was formed i ...
. He published the celebrated ''Voyages and Travels'' which described localities in Africa and Asia, compiling information from travel books by
John Atkins, Jean Barbot,
Willem Bosman,
Theodor de Bry
Theodor de Bry (also Theodorus de Bry) (152827 March 1598) was an engraver, goldsmith, editor and publisher, famous for his depictions of early European expeditions to the Americas. The Spanish Inquisition forced de Bry , a Protestant, to ...
, Francis Moore,
Jean-Baptiste Labat, Godefroi Loyer, Thomas Phillips, William Smith, and Nicolas Villaut de Bellefond. It included engravings by G. Child and
Nathaniel Parr. Astley intended his ''Voyages'' to improve upon the previous travel collections of
Samuel Purchas
Samuel Purchas ( – 1626) was an English Anglican cleric who published several volumes of reports by travellers to foreign countries.
Career
Purchas was born at Thaxted, Essex son of an English yeoman. He graduated from St John's College, Cam ...
,
John Harris, and Awnsham & John Churchill.
It was read by patrons of
Hookham's Circulating Library,
Boosey
Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments.
Formed in 1930 throug ...
's circulating library,
,
Royal Institution
The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...
,
Salem Athenaeum, and Cape Town public library.
Astley's ''Voyages'' was translated into German
() and French
().
Titles issued by Astley
* ''
London Magazine
''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and miscellaneous topics.
1732–1785
''The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly I ...
''
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Indexref name="Bartlett1870">
*
v.1(via Google Books). "First voyages of the Portugueze to the East Indies, 1418-1546. First voyages of the English to Guinea, and the East Indies, 1552-1598. First voyages of the English to the East Indies, set forth by the company of merchants, 1600-1620. Voyages to Africa and the islands adjacent, 1455-1721"
*
v.2(via University of Virginia). "Voyages and travels along the western coast of Africa, 1637-1735. Voyages and travels to Guinea and Benin, 1666-1726. Description of Guinea"
** v.3. "Voyages and travels to Guinea, Benin, Kongo and Angola. Description of Loango, Kongo, Angola, Benguela, and adjacent countries. Description of the countries along the eastern coast of Africa, from Cape of Good Hope to Cape Guarda Fuy. Voyages and travels in China, 1655-1722"
*
v.4(via Google Books). "Description of China, of Korea, eastern Tartary and Tibet. Travels through Tartary, Tibet, and Bukhâria, to and from China, 1246-1698"
** (facsimile reprint)
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References
Further reading
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External links
* Digital Public Library of America
Digitized imagesfrom Astley's ''Voyages''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astley, Thomas
Publishers (people) from London
English booksellers
1759 deaths
Year of birth unknown