__NOTOC__ Bela Marsh (1797-1869) was a publisher and bookseller in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, in the 19th century. Authors under his imprint included

Spiritualists Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at least ...

and

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

such as John Stowell Adams,

Adin Ballou Adin Ballou (April 23, 1803 – August 5, 1890) was an American proponent of Christian nonresistance, Christian anarchism, and Christian socialism. He was also an abolitionist and the founder of the Hopedale Community. Through his long career ...

Warren Chase Warren Chase (January 5, 1813 – February 25, 1891) was an American pioneer, farmer, reformer and politician. He served in the state senates of Wisconsin and California, and was a candidate for Governor of Wisconsin in the election of 1849. ...

Lysander Spooner Lysander Spooner (January 19, 1808 – May 14, 1887) was an American abolitionist, entrepreneur, lawyer, essayist, natural rights legal theorist, pamphleteer, political philosopher, and writer often associated with the Boston anarchist tr ...

, and

Henry Clarke Wright Henry Clarke Wright (August 29, 1797 – August 16, 1870) was an American abolitionist, pacifist, anarchist and feminist. He was fervent in his beliefs and often was more extreme in his rhetoric than other peace activists or abolitionists. Wright ...

. Marsh kept offices on Washington Street (ca.1820-1832), Cornhill (ca.1847-1852), Franklin Street (ca.1854-1856), and Bromfield Street (ca.1858-1868). Among his business partners were Nahum Capen, Gardner P. Lyon, T.H. Webb, and George W. Williams. He belonged to the

Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association The Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association (est.1795) of Boston, Massachusetts, was "formed for the sole purposes of promoting the mechanic arts and extending the practice of benevolence." Founders included Paul Revere, Jonathan Hunnewell, ...

and the Physiological Society.Boston Almanac. 1838 Marsh was the defendant in the seminal copyright case, ''

Folsom v. Marsh ''Folsom v. Marsh'', 9. F.Cas. 342 (C.C.D. Mass. 1841), is a 19th-century US copyright case, widely regarded as the first "fair use" case in the United States. The opinion was written by Judge Joseph Story, who set forth four factors that are i ...

'' (C.C.D. Mass. 1841), for publishing a two-volume abridgment of George Washington's letters, where the Justice

Joseph Story Joseph Story (September18, 1779September10, 1845) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1812 to 1845. He is most remembered for his opinions in ''Martin ...

found he had infringed the copyright in the 12-volume set of the same edited by

Jared Sparks Jared Sparks (May 10, 1789 – March 14, 1866) was an American historian, educator, and Unitarian minister. He served as President of Harvard College from 1849 to 1853. Biography Born in Willington, Connecticut, Sparks studied in the common s ...

References

External links

* WorldCat
Marsh, Bela 1797-1869
* Open Library
Bela Marsh, publisher
* Library of Congress
Position of the Democratic Party in 1852. "Freemen of America, how long will you be ledd by such leaders"
(item sold by Marsh) {{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh, Bela 1797 births 1869 deaths Businesspeople from Boston 19th century in Boston Abolitionism in Massachusetts Spiritualism American publishers (people) 19th-century American businesspeople