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 servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

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

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

, 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 his friend and older contemporary the English writer S ...

's ''

Life of Johnson Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy tr ...

'' (first three editions), '' Tour to the Hebrides'', and ''

An Account of Corsica ''An Account of Corsica'' is the earliest piece of writing related to the Grand Tour literature that was written by the Scottish author James Boswell. Its first and second editions were published in 1768, with a third edition within twelve mont ...

'', Lord Chesterfield's ''Miscellaneous Works'', and other standard books. They were also hospitable at

The Poultry Poultry (formerly also Poultrey) is a short street in the City of London, which is the historic nucleus and modern financial centre of London. It is an eastern continuation of Cheapside, between Old Jewry and Mansion House Street, towards Bank ...

, and gave dinners described in the memoirs of the period.

Samuel 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 ...

was frequently their guest, and had his famous meeting with

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

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 novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet, who is best known for his novel '' The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766), his pastoral poem '' The Deserted Village'' (1770), and his ...

, John Hoole, Vicesimus Knox,

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, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted e ...

, 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. His ...

, 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 assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

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 are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...

. In 1803 he was master of the Stationers' Company.

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 with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

. 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 town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to the Census, there was a populatio ...

, 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 Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

circle, and was a member of the Society for Constitutional Information.

Notes

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