University of Virginia Library

The Printing of Fielding's Miscellanies (1743)
by
Donald D. Eddy

The assertion that the first two editions of Henry Fielding's Miscellanies (both published in April 1743) are in reality only one edition, was first made over forty years ago.[1] However, recent bibliographic studies, such as William B. Todd's "Recurrent Printing" (SB, XII [1958], 189-198), have stimulated a re-examination of the truth of such statements. Since the two

standard bibliographies of Fielding—in volume III of Cross's History and in volume II of CBEL —both rely upon the information printed on title pages, and since such information is frequently misleading bibliographically, it may be worthwhile to examine the Miscellanies in some detail.

The history of the composition and publication of this work is one of delays and postponements. At some time during the winter of 1741-1742 Fielding issued proposals for printing by subscription a miscellaneous collection of his works, both poetry and prose, in three volumes. On June 3, 1742, Henry Woodfall printed 700 more proposals for Fielding.[2] Two days later the Daily Post printed a notice of these proposals which describes the contents of the volumes and then states:

However, in the winter of 1742-1743 Fielding was again plagued with sickness and worries (which he describes in the preface to the Miscellanies), and so publication was again postponed. On February 14, 1742/43, the Daily Advertiser carried the following notice:

For some reason, however, the volumes were not published on February 28. The next notice to the subscribers appeared in the St. James Evening

Post of March 22-24, 24-26, and 26-29: "On Thursday the 7th of April, will be deliver'd to the SUBSCRIBERS, MISCELLANIES. IN THREE VOLUMES, octavo, By HENRY FIELDING, Esq;"[5] Finally, in its issue of April 5-7, 1743, the General Evening Post announced that "This Day, April 7, began to be delivered to the Subscribers, Miscellanies. . . ."[6] This first edition, "printed for the Author and sold by A. Millar," was issued (according to the subscription list) to 427 subscribers who took a total of 556 sets (214 on royal paper at two guineas a set, and 342 on coarse paper at one guinea a set). The list of subscribers was printed alphabetically at the front of the first volume, and Fielding was undoubtedly pleased with the 770 guineas he received. In fact, since the printing of the Miscellanies cost Fielding less than £100 (see below), he had a net profit of over £700, which is more than he received for any of his works with the exception of Amelia.

The General Evening Post for April 21-23 announced that "Next Week will be published, Price bound 15s. The Second Edition, of Miscellanies. . . ." In its next issue of April 23-26, 1743, the same paper advertised that "This Day were published . . . The Second Edition, of Miscellanies. . . ."[7] This so-called second edition, "printed for A. Millar" and minus the list of subscribers,[8] was thus offered to the public only nineteen days after the first edition was ready for the subscribers.

Careful comparison of these two "editions" indicates not only that they are in truth, one edition but also that they are merely varying states of the same impression.[9] The first state is composed of copies printed on both royal paper and coarse paper and contains the list of subscribers. Copies of the second state have different title pages, lack the list of subscribers, and are printed only on coarse paper. More specific information is given in the following description of variants.

First State, Volume I.

• Title: MISCELLANIES, / BY / Henry Fielding Esq; / In Three Volumes. / [ornament] / LONDON: / Printed for the AUTHOR: / And sold by A. Millar, opposite to / Catharine-Street, in the Strand. / MDCCXLIII.
• Special Title: MISCELLANIES, / BY / Henry Fielding Esq; / VOL. I. / [ornament] / LONDON: / Printed for the AUTHOR: / And sold by A. Millar, opposite to / Catharine-Street, in the Strand. / MDCCXLIII.

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250




• Collation: 8°: iA (8 leaves) a (5 leaves) b-c8 d 1.2,3 A-Y8 Z1 [$4 (—A2, B4, T4,X2) signed], pp. [26] i ii-xxxvii xxxviii, 1-3 4-115 116 117-178 179-180 181-227 228-230 231-251 252-254 255 256 257-277 278-280 281-294 295-296 297-322 323-324 325-340 341-342 343-354 [misnumbering xxxiii-xxxvii as xxxi, xxviii, xxix, xxvi, xxvii; 255 as 254]. (See below for an explanation of the collational formula.)
• Contents: iA1r title, iA1v blank, iA2r special title, iA2v blank, iA3r-a5v "LIST OF SUBSCREBERS" [sic], pp. i-xxxvii preface, xxxviii blank, 1-354 text (with 2, 116, 180, 228, 230, 252, 254, 256, 278, 280, 296, 324, 342 blank).
• Press figures: iA8v-1, a1v-1, a2v-1, iv-1, xv-2, xx-1, xxx-2, 9-1, 15-1, 23-1, 24-1, 36-1, 38-1, 50-1, 64-3, 74-3, 80-3, 86-1, 96-1, 106-1, 109-2, 118-1, 121-1, 130-2, 140-2, 146-1, 156-1, 173-1, 174-1, 186-2, 189-1, 207-2, 210-3, 212-1, 226-2, 232-2, 242-2, 244-2, 260-2, 271-2, 276-1, 283-2, 290-1, 293-3, 312-1, 319-1, 331-2, 336-2, 345-1, 351-1.
• Italicized numbers indicate that these press figures are occasionally missing. In both the first and second states, gathering d has no press figures and is misnumbered throughout.
• Royal Paper: Heavy, with a watermark of a fleur-de-lis over a shield with Strasbourg bend and initials "LVG." Size of page: 22.5 x 14 cm. Number printed: probably 250. Copies consulted: Newberry Library; University of Texas, Aitken collection.[10]
• Coarse Paper: Heavy, with a fleur-de-lis watermark and the initials "IR" or "IV" for a countermark. Size of page: 20 x 12.5 cm. Number printed: approximately 350. Copies consulted: University of Illinois (2 copies); University of Michigan; Princeton University; University of Texas, Aitken collection and Wrenn collection (1 copy each).

Second State, Volume I.

• Title: MISCELLANIES, / BY / Henry Fielding Esq; / In Three Volumes. / The Second Edition. / [ornament] / LONDON: / Printed for A. Millar, opposite to / Catharine-Street, in the Strand. / MDCCXLIII.
• Special Title: MISCELLANIES, / BY / Henry Fielding Esq; / VOL. I. / The Second Edition. / [ornament] / LONDON: / Printed for A. Millar, opposite to / Catharine-Street, in the Strand. / MDCCXLIII.
• Collation: 8°: a 2 b-c8 d4 (—d4) A-Y8 Z1 [d4] [$4 (—B4,T4,X2) signed], pp. [4] i . . . . (rest of collation same as first state, volume I).
• Contents: a1r title, a1v blank, a2r special title, a2v blank, pp. i-xxxvii preface. . . . (rest of contents same as first state, volume I).
• Press figures: The second state of this volume, although lacking gatherings iA and a and having different title pages, is otherwise identical with the first state in its signatures and press figures. However, some copies of the second state lack figures 226-2 in P or 242-2 in Q.

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251




• Paper and size of page: Same as coarse-paper copy of first state, volume I. Number printed: approximately 650. Copies consulted: University of Chicago, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, Newberry Library.

J. P. de Castro (p. 259) was the first person to publish the fact that William Strahan was the printer of this volume. The entry in Strahan's ledger is as follows:

The first state of this volume contains 26 sheets plus one leaf of printed material, but the second state contains only 24¾ sheets. The majority of the copies printed were second state; so by charging for 26½ sheets for all the copies printed, Strahan increased his profit at Fielding's expense.[11] Volume II contains 26½ sheets and volume III 27 sheets. Assuming the same rate for the printing of these volumes, the total cost to Fielding for printing his Miscellanies was approximately £90.

I assume that Strahan made a mistake in listing only 200 copies printed on the fine (or "royal") paper. In the first place, the subscription list calls for 214 copies on royal paper. Secondly, we know that there were some subscribers whose names are not on the subscription list.[12] Thirdly, we know that 250 copies of volume III were printed on royal paper (see below). Since the royal-paper copies are noticeably larger than those printed on coarse paper, Millar would surely have detected a shortage of fifty copies of volume I. Strahan may have been unfair to Fielding but certainly not to this extent; the ledger entry must be in error.

First State, Volume II.

• Title: MISCELLANIES, / BY / Henry Fielding Esq; / [rule] / VOL. II. / A Journey from this / World to the Next, &c. / [ornament] / LONDON: / Printed for the AUTHOR: / And sold by A. Millar, opposite to / Catharine-Street, in the Strand. / MDCCXLIII.
• Collation: 8°: A1[2E4] B-2D8 2E4 (—2E4) [$4 (—E3) signed], pp. [2] 1-5 6 7-250 251-252 253-290 291-293 294-295 296 297-420 421-422.

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252




• Contents: A1r title, A1v blank, pp. 1-5 text, 6 blank, 7-291 text, 292 blank, 293-422 text.
• Press figures: 25-5, 31-4, 44-3, 47-3, 60-5, 63-4, 78-5, 94-4, 111-4, 114-4, 143-5, 155-5, 178-1, 203-5, 224-4, 238-4, 256-4, 271-4, 287-5, 302-5, 306-5, 322-5, 338-5, 367-5, 382-5, 399-5, 414-5.
• The royal-paper copy lacks figure 25-5.
• Royal-paper and coarse-paper copies: Paper, size, and number printed are the same as first state, volume I. Copies consulted: University of Illinois (2 copies coarse paper), Newberry Library (royal paper).

Second State, Volume II.

• Title: MISCELLANIES, / BY / Henry Fielding Esq; / [rule] / VOL. II. / A Journey from this / World to the Next, &c. / [ornament] / LONDON: / Printed for A. Millar, opposite to / Catharine-Street, in the Strand. / MDCCXLIII.
• Collation and Contents: Same as first state of this volume.
• Press figures: Same as coarse-paper copies of first state of this volume.
• Coarse paper: Paper, size, and number printed are the same as second state, volume I. Copies consulted: University of Chicago, University of Illinois, Newberry Library.

Volume II is the only volume that does not have "Second Edition" printed on the title page of the copies of the second state. The printer of this volume is unknown.[13]

First State, Volume III.

• Title: MISCELLANIES. / [rule] / THE / LIFE / OF / Mr. JONATHAN WILD / THE GREAT. / [rule] / VOL. III. / [rule] / By Henry Fielding, Esq; / [double rule] / LONDON, / Printed for the Author; and sold by A. Mil-/lar, opposite to Catharine-Street in the Strand. / [rule] / MDCCXLIII.
• Collation: 8°: A1[2E4] a4 B-2D8 2E4[—2E4] [$4 (—a3,4;2E3) signed], pp. [10] 1 2-284 285 286-421 422.
• Contents: A1r title, A1v blank, a1r-a4v contents, 1-421 text, 422 blank.
• Press figures: 15-1, 29-3, 31-1, 47-1, 57-2, 79-3, 88-1, 109-3, 123-3, 136-3, 142-2, 157-3, 159-1, 162-3, 176-2, 185-1, 186-3, 206-2, 223-1, 237-1, 254-5, 270-5, 286-2, 303-3, 317-1, 319-3, 336-3, 344-4, 346-4, 354-3, 384-1, 411-2.
• In most copies figure 185-1 is a faint, indistinct smudge. The royal-paper copy lacks figures 142-2, 159-1, 176-2, and 317-1. The coarse-paper copies have all these figures but lack 384-1.
• Royal-paper and coarse-paper copies: Paper, size, and number printed are the same as first state, volume I. Copies are the same as first state, volume II, plus the royal-paper copy in the Aitken collection, University of Texas.

Second State, Volume III.

• Title: MISCELLANIES. / [rule] / THE / LIFE / OF / Mr. JONATHAN WILD / THE GREAT. / [rule] / VOL. III. / [rule] / By Henry Fielding, Esq; / [rule] / The SECOND EDITION. / [rule] / LONDON, / Printed for A. Millar, opposite to Catharine-/Street in the Strand. MDCCXLIII.
• Collation and Contents: Same as first state of this volume.
• Press figures: Copies of the second state have all the figures listed above for the first state, and in addition they are the only copies that have figure 418-1 in 2E.
• Coarse paper: Paper, size, and number printed are the same as second state, volume I. Copies are the same as second state, volume II.

The printer of volume III was William Bowyer the younger, and the entry in his ledger reads as follows:[14]

Facts and Conjectures Concerning the Printing

Volume I was printed in a somewhat unusual manner. In the first state iA and a (including d1-3) were printed as separate sheets, whereas Z1 was printed separately. In the iA gathering, however, leaves 1 and 2, 3 and 6, 4 and 5, and 7 and 8 are conjugate.[15] The evidence of the watermarks and chain lines indicates that the imposition was as follows:

Thus iA3-6 were in their normal order for an octavo forme, and iA1-2 and iA7-8 were cut out and pasted before and after iA3-6. This method kept the title and special title conjugate and yet separate from the list of subscribers. As a result of such a method, however, the evidence of the watermarks is not uniform in all copies. In some cases the title pages printed on one sheet were bound with the list of subscribers printed on another sheet.

In the a gathering, leaves 1 and 5, 2 and 4, and d1.2 are conjugate. a3 is pasted in between a2.4 and d3 is pasted in after d2. (This too is proved by the Princeton copy.) Again, the evidence shows that the imposition was as follows:

Further evidence that the forme of a was arranged in the above manner is found by examining the offsets in the University of Michigan coarsepaper copy of the first state. At some stage of printing the inner forme (probably when the sheets were stacked after "drying"), two sheets that were not quite dry were laid down with their wet sides facing each other and end-for-end. The result was a mutual offset of pages d1r and a3v, d2v and d3r, a1v and a2r, and a4v and a5r.

The only puzzling aspect of the first state of volume I is the separate imposition of Z1. In a book of 26 sheets surely Strahan could have included the printed matter of Z1 if he wished to without resorting to pasting in an extra leaf at the end of the book. Note, however, that by printing even one leaf more than 26 sheets, Strahan charged a rate throughout the printing for 26½ sheets. At a time when labor was cheap and paper was expensive, this was profitable for Strahan. Thus, as mentioned above, on all the copies of the first state Strahan saved three-eighths of a sheet and on the second state one and three-fourths sheets.

In the second state of this volume the iA and a gatherings were deleted, d and Z were printed together as a half-sheet, and the revised title and special title (again conjugate) were printed on a quarter-sheet. This manner of printing shows that a simple mistake at the bindery can account for the fact that Wells (cited above) says that he has a copy of the second state that contains the list of subscribers.

Both states of volume II contain 26 1/2 sheets, and in each case 2E and the title were printed together as the half-sheet.

Both states of volume III contain 27 sheets, and it seems most likely that a, the title, and 2E were printed on one sheet.

Each of the three volumes was printed by a different printer; but since the printers were all printing approximately the same number of sheets with the same kinds of paper and type, and since they were probably provided with their copy at the same time, it seems very likely that the chronology of their work was approximately the same. Assuming that the notice in the Daily Advertiser (see above) was correct in stating that the subscription would close on February 22; assuming that no copies were printed until the subscription closed; and knowing that at least two of the volumes were completely printed by the end of March or the beginning of April, it seems that the printers were faced with the task of printing 1250 copies of 26 1/2 or 27 sheets octavo in a period of about five weeks. I believe that they could do this at their normal rate of printing.[16]

The printing probably proceeded in this manner: (1) 250 copies of the first state were printed on royal paper; (2) without altering the formes, approximately 350 copies were printed on the smaller sheets of coarse paper; (3) altering the forms of volume I as described above, and changing the title pages on all the volumes, approximately 650 copies of the second state were then printed on coarse paper.[17]

Of course, it is another matter to prove that such a procedure was followed. An examination of the royal-paper copy and the coarse-paper copy of each state of a given volume shows that they are invariant so far as the body of the text and the headlines are concerned. (Volume I has no headlines except in the preface.) Any further conjectures concerning the printing, therefore, must be based upon the evidence of the press figures.

Both states of volumes I and II lack enough variations in their press figures to enable one to make meaningful deductions. The evidence of the printing sequence, therefore, must be found in volume III. The royal-paper copies of volume III lack four press figures found in all the coarse-paper copies of both states, the figures being added before the coarse-paper copies were printed. Also, only the second state has a press figure in 2E. (Since the title page was changed in the second state, and since it was printed on the forme with 2E, the printer undoubtedly introduced the new figure at that time.)

Perhaps it will be argued that the coarse-paper copies may have been printed first and that the press figures fell out before the royal-paper copies were printed. This, however, was not the case. In the royal-paper

copies the average bottom margin on a page is 5.5 cm., while in the coarsepaper copies this margin is usually 3.5 cm. Undoubtedly the printers noticed the unusually large margin in the royal-paper copies, and some of them placed their press figures so that they were printed several centimeters below the body of the text. When confronted with the problem of printing these same formes on the smaller sheets of coarse paper, in certain instances it probably seemed necessary or at least advisable to raise the press figures, and this was done. It is inconceivable, of course, to believe that if the coarsepaper copies had been printed first the printers would have bothered to lower the press figures when they printed the larger royal-paper copies.

This particular evidence reflects the printing practices only in Bowyer's shop and thus is limited to volume III, the press figures in the other volumes generally being on the level of the catchwords. Admittedly there is no conclusive proof to show that volumes I and II were printed in the same manner, but the available evidence does indicate that the printing probably proceeded in the sequence described above.

notes