John Dunton (4 May 1659 – 1733) was an English bookseller and writer. In 1691 he founded
The Athenian Society to publish ''
The Athenian Mercury'', the first major popular
periodical
Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...
and first miscellaneous periodical in England. In 1693, for four weeks, the Athenian Society also published ''
The Ladies' Mercury'', the first periodical published that was specifically designed just for women.
Early life
His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all clergymen. He was born at
Graffham, Huntingdonshire, where his father John was rector. The family shortly moved to
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, when John Dunton senior became chaplain to
Sir Henry Ingoldsby. At the age of fifteen John the son was apprenticed to
Thomas Parkhurst, bookseller, at the sign of the Bible and Three Crowns,
Cheapside
Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, England, which forms part of the A40 road, A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St Martin's Le Grand with Poultry, London, Poultry. Near its eas ...
,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. Dunton ran away at once, but was soon brought back, and began to love books.
During the struggle which led to the
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...
of 1688, Dunton was the treasurer of the
Whig apprentices. He became a bookseller at the sign of the Raven, near the Royal Exchange, and married Elizabeth Annesley, daughter of
Samuel Annesley, whose
sister
A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...
married
Samuel Wesley. His wife managed his business so that he was left free in a great measure to follow his own eccentric devices. He had early success with
Thomas Doolittle's ''The Lord's last-sufferings'', the topical Stephen Jay's ''Daniel in the Den'', and a sermon by
John Shower.
In New England
In 1686, probably because he was concerned in the
Monmouth Rebellion
The Monmouth Rebellion in June 1685 was an attempt to depose James II of England, James II, who in February had succeeded his brother Charles II of England, Charles II as king of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and ...
, he visited
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
, where he stayed eight months selling books and observing with interest the new country and its inhabitants. He sailed from
Gravesend
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...
in October 1685, and reached
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 ...
after a four months' voyage. He sold his books, and visited
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
. In
Roxbury he saw the missionary
John Eliot and learnt something of
Native American customs. He stayed for a time at
Salem and
Wenham, and returned to England in the autumn of 1686.
[
Dunton had become security for his brother's debts, and to escape the creditors he made a short excursion to ]Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
.
Later life
On his return to England, he opened a new shop in London in the Poultry, in the hope of better times. Here, he founded in 1691 a new kind of journal, ''The Athenian Gazette''/''The Athenian Mercury'', with anonymous questions-and-answers, powered by his Athenian Society. His wife died in 1697, and he married a second time; but a quarrel about property led to a separation; and being incapable of managing his own affairs, he spent the last years of his life in great poverty.
In literature
Dunton received a rather backhanded compliment from Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...
in the latter's ''A Tale of A Tub
''A Tale of a Tub'' was the first major work written by Jonathan Swift, composed between 1694 and 1697 and published in 1704. The ''Tale'' is a prose parody divided into sections of "digression" and a "tale" of three brothers, each representin ...
'' (see p. 38 of text in 1st edition of 1704).
Dunton both complimented and derided his contemporary Ned Ward, praising him as 'truly born a poet, not made, not form'd by industry' but also criticized him as 'a hardened impudent rake' when Dunton mistakenly thought Ward ridiculed him in print.
Works
He gave an account of his travels around Ireland in '' Teague Land: or A Merry Ramble to the Wild Irish (1698)''. He gave an interesting view of the workings of the Irish Courts and brief sketches of the Irish judges, whom he praised in general as "men of whom no one complains". He was impressed by their learning: in particular, he thought that Sir Henry Echlin was one of the great book lovers of his time, owning a "very large and curious library". He had an equally high opinion of Echlin's colleague Thomas Coote, another noted bibliophile
A bookworm or bibliophile is an individual who loves and frequently reads or collects books. Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books.
Bibliophiles may have large, specialized book collections. They may highly value old editions, aut ...
.
He wrote several books whose titles are today among specialists better known than their contents, ranging from ''The informer's doom, or, An unseasonable letter from Utopia directed to the man in the moon giving a full and pleasant account of the arraignment, tryal, and condemnation of all those grand and bitter enemies that disturb and molest all kingdoms and states throughout the Christian world'' (1689) to his ''Bumography: or, A touch at the lady's tails, being a lampoon (privately) dispers'd at Tunbridge-Wells, in the year 1707. By a water-drinker. With the names and characters of the most noted water-drinkers. Also, a merry elegy upon Mother Jefferies, the antient water-dipper'' (1707).
19th- and 20th-century criticism neglected Dunton because of his tendency to use the public for his private businesses. Both his quarrels as a publisher and as a husband were more than reflected in his publications. He would thus offer ''Reflections on Mr. Dunton's leaving his wife. In a letter to himself.'' (1700?) followed by the public proclamation of his reunion with his wife, while at the same moment he would portray himself as a lover of privacy with his ''The art of living incognito being a thousand letters on as many uncommon subjects, written by John Dunton during his retreat from the world, and sent to that honourable lady to whom he address'd his conversation in Ireland'' (1700).
His accounts of quarrels he had as a book trader and publisher offer information to book historians dealing with the period. Important titles are here his ''Religio bibliopolae in imitation of Dr. Browns Religio medici'' (1691), his ''The Dublin scuffle being a challenge sent by John Dunton, citizen of London'' (1699) and his ''Life and Errors of John Dunton'' (1705). His letters from New England were published in the U.S.
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
in 1867.
He also wrote the first periodical and the first dictionary designed specifically for women: '' The Ladies' Mercury''—an imitation of his wider Athenian project—and acting here as the publisher more than the author: ''The ladies dictionary, being a general entertainment of the fair-sex, a work never attempted before in English'' (1694).
* ''The informer's doom, or, An unseasonable letter from Utopia directed to the man in the moon: giving a full and pleasant account of the arraignment, tryal, and condemnation of all those grand and bitter enemies that disturb and molest all kingdoms and states throughout the Christian world''. London: Printed for John Dunton, 1683.
* ''The amazement of future ages, or, This swaggering world turn'd up-side down'' London: printed for John Dunton, 1684. Partly reprinted in 106 copies in 1926.
* ''Religio bibliopolæ: in imitation of Dr. Browns Religio medici, with a supplement to it'' London: Printed for P. Smart ..., and are to be sold at the Raven, 1691.
* N. H.
The ladies dictionary, being a general entertainment of the fair-sex: a work never attempted before in English
' London: Printed for John Dunton, 1694.
* ''The Dublin scuffle : being a challenge sent by John Dunton, citizen of London, to Patrick Campbel, bookseller in Dublin''. London: (Printed for the author) and are to be sold by A. Baldwin ... and by the booksellers in Dublin, 1699.
* ''The art of living incognito : being a thousand letters on as many uncommon subjects'' London: Printed (for the author), and are to be sold by A. Baldwin, 1700.
* ''The Post-Angel, or Universal Entertainment.'' A monthly journal edited by John Dunton, 1701–1702.
* ''The life and errors of John Dunton : late citizen of London; written by himself in solitude. With an idea of a new life; wherein is shewn how he'd think, speak, and act, might he live over his days again'' London: printed for S. Malthus, 1705
vol. 1 1818 reprintvol.2 1818 reprint
* ''Bumography : or, a touch at the lady's tails, being a lampoon (privately) dispers'd at Tunbridge-Wells, in the year 1707. By a water-drinker. With the names and characters of the most noted water-drinkers. Also, a merry elegy upon Mother Jefferies, the antient water-dipper'' London : .n. rinted in the year MDCCVII
* ''The Athenian Oracle'' abridged at Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
:* vol. I: 1st edition (1703), 2nd edition (17??), 3rd edition (1728)
:* vol. II
1st ed.
(1703)
2nd ed. corr.
(1704)
3rd ed.
(1728)
:* vol. III
1st ed.
(1704)
2nd ed.
(1706)
3rd ed.
(1728)
:* vol. IV: 1st edition (1710), 2nd edition (17??)
3rd ed.
(1728)
Notes
References
*
* Berry, Helen M. (2003). ''Gender, Society, and Print Culture in Late Stuart England: the Cultural World of the Athenian Mercury''. Ashgate Pub. (); esp. p
18
130 at Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
* Berry, Helen M. (2004)
"Dunton, John (1659–1732)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
''. Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online ed., Jan 2008, Retrieved 7 Sept 2008
* Dunton, John (1818 705. ''The Life and Errors of John Dunton, Citizen of London'' (2 vol.)
Annotated 1818 reprint
(2 vol. in 1) at Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
(esp. vol. 1, p
187
197 for the Society's main history)
* Tyerman, Luke (1866). ''The Life and Times of the Rev. Samuel Wesley, M.A.'', esp. chap. VII "The Athenian Gazette", p
128
149, and VIII, p
150
166, at Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
Further reading
* Gildon, Charles (1692). ''The history of the Athenian Society: for the resolving of all nice and curious questions''. London: printed for James Dowley (). (Rather hagiographic pamphlet.)
* McEwen, Gilbert D. (1972). ''The Oracle of the Coffee House: John Dunton's Athenian Mercury''. San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library ().
* Parks, Stephen (1976). ''John Dunton and the English book trade: a study of his career with a checklist of his publications''. Garland reference library of the humanities, v. 40. New York: Garland Pub. ().
External links
Works by John Dunton
from Hathi Trust
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunton, John
English non-fiction writers
English satirists
English booksellers
1659 births
1733 deaths
Bookshops in London
17th century in London
English male non-fiction writers
People from Huntingdonshire