Charles Dilly (1739–1807) was an English publisher and bookseller.

Life

He was born 22 May 1739 at

Southill, Bedfordshire Southill is a rural village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England; about south-east of the county town of Bedford. The 2011 census showed the population for the civil parish as 1,192. The ...

, in a

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-1 ...

family. After making a short trip to America, he returned to London, his elder brother

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

, took him into partnership, and the business was carried on under their joint names. The brothers published

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 ( N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of the English writer Samuel Johnson, '' Life of Samuel ...

's '' Life of Johnson'' (first three editions), '' Tour to the Hebrides'', and '' An Account of Corsica'', Lord Chesterfield's ''Miscellaneous Works'', and other standard books. They were also hospitable at The Poultry, and gave dinners described in the memoirs of the period.

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

was frequently their guest, and had his famous meeting with

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...

at their table, 15 May 1776; with whom he dined a second time with them, 8 May 1781. Other frequent guests were Richard Cumberland,

Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish poet, novelist, playwright, and hack writer. A prolific author of various literature, he is regarded among the most versatile writers of the Georgian e ...

, John Hoole,

Vicesimus Knox Vicesimus Knox (1752–1821) was an English essayist, headmaster and Anglican priest. Life Knox was born 8 December 1752, at Newington Green, Middlesex, the son of Vicesimus Knox (1729–1780), a cleric and schoolmaster, and his wife Ann Wall, d ...

Samuel Parr Samuel Parr (26 January 1747 – 6 March 1825), was an English schoolmaster, writer, minister and Doctor of Law. He was known in his time for political writing, and (flatteringly) as "the Whig Johnson", though his reputation has lasted less wel ...

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, Unitarian, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher, English Separatist, separatist theologian, Linguist, grammarian, multi-subject educator and Classical libera ...

, Isaac Reed,

Samuel Rogers Samuel Rogers (30 July 1763 – 18 December 1855) was an English poet, during his lifetime one of the most celebrated, although his fame has long since been eclipsed by his Romantic colleagues and friends Wordsworth, Coleridge and Byron. ...

, Sutton Sharpe and James Thomson were among the frequent dinner guests. On the death of his brother Edward in 1779, Charles Dilly continued the business alone, and kept up the social life for which the two had been famous. He was invited to become an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

for the ward of Cheap in 1782, but retired in favour of Boydell. A plea of nonconformity excused him from the office of

sheriff of London Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...

. In 1803 he was master of the

Stationers' Company 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 in 1 ...

Last years

After a prosperous career of more than 40 years, Dilly retired in favour of Joseph Mawman, who had been in business in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. He continued literary dinner-parties at his new house in Brunswick Row, Queen Square, and lived there a few years before his death, which took place at

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

, while on a visit to Richard Cumberland, on 4 May 1807. He was buried 12 May, in the cemetery of St. George the Martyr, Queen Square. He left a fortune of nearly £60,000.

Politics

Edward and Charles Dilly were seen as radical publishers. Charles Dilly, a dissenter, belonged to the Club of Honest Whigs circle, and was a member of the

Society for Constitutional Information The Society for Constitutional Information was a British activist group founded in 1780 by Major John Cartwright, to promote parliamentary reform and knowledge of the English constitution. It was an organisation of social reformers, many of who ...

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Dilly, Charles 1739 births 1837 deaths Publishers (people) from London English Dissenters People from Southill, Bedfordshire