W. C. Firebaugh was the author of two works on the history of

inns Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

and

taverns A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that ...

, and also of a fine English translation of Petronius's ''

Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petr ...

'', the fragmentary realistic novel of low life under the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. The translation was published in 1922 in New York, in a very expensive ($30) limited edition, by

Horace Liveright Horace Brisbin Liveright (pronounced "LIVE-right," anglicized by Horace's father from the German ''Liebrecht;'' 10 December 1884 – 24 September 1933) was an American publisher and stage producer. With Albert Boni, he founded the Modern Lib ...

, founder of the Modern Library. Like earlier English translations, but more completely, Firebaugh's ''Satyricon'' includes the spurious supplements devised by various early scholars and forgers in an attempt to round out the fragmentary story. Firebaugh was however careful to distinguish all these supplements from the real translated text. His is still the only English translation of the supplement by José Marchena, which, because of its obscenity, had previously been printed only in the original Latin. The 1923 publication includes a sequence of 100 etchings by the Australian artist

Norman Lindsay Norman Alfred William Lindsay (22 February 1879 – 21 November 1969) was an Australian artist, etcher, sculptor, writer, art critic, novelist, cartoonist and amateur boxing, boxer. One of the most prolific and popular Australian artists of his ...

, originally used in the even rarer 1910 ''Satyricon'' edited by Stephen Gaselee. The original text, the etchings, and the Marchena supplement were all arguably pornographic by the strict standards of English-language publishing in the 1920s. John S. Sumner, secretary of the

New York Society for the Suppression of Vice The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (NYSSV or SSV) was an institution dedicated to supervising the morality of the public, founded in 1873. Its specific mission was to monitor compliance with state laws and work with the courts and di ...

, obtained a copy before publication and accused Liveright of selling obscene material directed to the public. After a celebrated trial the case was dismissed by the New York court. Four years after the initial publication of Firebaugh's ''Satyricon'', a version adapted for a general market was published by Liveright in 1927. It was edited by

Charles Whibley Charles Whibley (9 December 1859 – 4 March 1930) was an English literary journalist and author. In literature and the arts, his views were progressive. He supported James Abbott McNeill Whistler (they had married sisters). He also recommended ...

Works

*''The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter. Complete and unexpurgated translation by W. C. Firebaugh, in which are incorporated the forgeries of Nodot and Marchena, and the readings introduced into the text by De Salas''. (New York, Boni and Liveright, 1922) *''The Inns of the Middle Ages''. (Reprint, Kessinger Publishing, 2005: ) *''The Inns of Greece and Rome, and a history of hospitality from the dawn of time to the Middle Ages'' (Chicago, 1928. Reprint, New York, Benjamin Blom, 1972)

Bibliography

*Dardis, Tom, 1995, ''Firebrand: The Life of Horace Liveright'', New York: Random House *Boroughs, Rod, 2000,
Petronius on trial"
in ''The Petronian Society newsletter'' vol. 30.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Firebaugh, W.C. American historians Latin–English translators Year of birth missing Year of death missing

Works

See also

Bibliography

External links