University of Virginia Library

Several years ago I reported, as somewhat out of the ordinary, the issue of six different impressions of Burke's Reflections (1790), all within a period of seventeen days.[1] Even more remarkable, I now suggest, is the publication of three distinct editions of Lyttelton's Dialogues (1760), all in less than a week. If the rapid appearance of two editions, the two easily distinguished, provoked some comment at the time,[2] the actual existence of three may deserve this later notice.

Of greater interest than mere numbers, however, is the extraordinary manner in which the book was prepared. Superficially the Burke and Lyttelton are much alike: both are octavos running over 300 pages and, in the initial printing, both have several cancels. But where the one, a product of the end of the century, was efficiently machined by some fifteen pressmen, the other, printed thirty years before, was tortuously worked—so far as they can be identified—by no more than eight. And where in the course of printing the one required only two alterations in procedure, each easily arranged from standing type, the other necessitated at least five, most of them achieved with the greatest difficulty from new settings. By one means or another, though, Lyttelton's printer, the eminent Samuel Richardson, accomplished more in less time than Burke's. How he performed this miracle remains to be seen.

Throughout the account of the three editions (ABC) and, later, of a fourth (D), the reader should consult the accompanying table of press figures. As these appear, at first sight, to be a very heterogeneous mixture they have been partitioned in several groups, or phases of press-work, and assigned distinctive numbers.

For the first edition it may also be convenient to arrange these figures and phase signs in a graph indicating the skeleton-formes used for the work.

As illustrated in the graph, work began in an orderly fashion, after a tentative beginning at B, with pressmen 3 and 4 sharing three formes for the first two signatures in each sequence and 3 or 2 working the odd pair in the third signature. Since this book has a running-title across both pages of an opening (DIALOGUES | of the DEAD), the arrangement of the headings in any one skeleton generally limited its use to one forme. Thus through signature H skeletons I, III, and IV carry letter only for inner formes; and V, together with II, the common property of two presses, carry letter only for the outer. At I, however, the headlines were completely transposed, not only for the three but for the independent two-skeleton sequence, so that from this sheet onward the frames previously used for one forme are now consistently used for the other. Whatever the reason for this, work continued to K when, as noted, the pair of formes for each signature, hitherto assigned to a single press, are now allocated to two. This shift from successive to simultaneous printing was doubtless intended, here and elsewhere, to speed up the work and thereby reduce the accumulation of ready-type set by the compositors. Once this backlog was eliminated, upon the completion of L, the presses again revert to successive printing.

At signature O occurs the first major alteration (phase 2), an increase in issue perhaps by another 500 copies. While this eventually complicated matters its only immediate effect was a further delay in presswork and thus, from R through U, further simultaneous printing to reduce the accumulation of type. Then again, from X through the preliminaries, the pace slackened as 8 alone finished off the remaining sheets needed to complete the book for publication on Friday, May 17. Of the preliminaries signature A4 was probably machined as a half-sheet and a2 imposed with eight reset pages of C, all required for an extensive cancellation in that sheet.

Once the book went on sale it immediately became apparent that the demand would exceed the original order; but as that possibility had already been anticipated, in part, by an overprinting of O-X and the preliminaries, it seemed an easy matter to reset and machine the earlier sheets and thus bring all signatures up to the count for the expanded issue. Work therefore began on the third phase of operations, a sequence including the first four text sheets less only C, a signature deferred until the pages newly set for cancels could be reimposed with the others required for this sheet. Towards the end of the run, however, it became apparent that the supplementary issue would still fall short of the demand, and again the men were obliged to overprint, now most[5] of F, all of G through K, and the reimposed C. But in this, the fourth phase, the situation was far different from that encountered in the second, for any extension of the run after publication only served to delay the issue. Though Richardson endeavored to finish the job by assigning every available man to press and simultaneously printing the formes of every sheet, his best efforts, as he must have realized, were not enough. Whether he maintained the increased issue or reverted to the lesser number, some customers would fail to receive their copies.

Faced with this unhappy dilemma Richardson, we may suppose, admitted defeat and immediately sought assistance from another printer. The sheets produced by the other shop, all easily recognized by differences in ornaments and measure, and by the absence of press figures, extend in this edition from M through N, the two signatures needed to complete an issue previously expanded from O through X. With these off his hands, Richardson then ordered his own shop to reduce the issue of L, the last of the sheets in his sequence.[6] So by dint of various strategems edition B hastily emerged as a composite of sheets, some produced from an earlier overprinting (2) and thus shared with A, some produced

from a later overprinting (4) and thus shared with C, and some produced by a normal run before (3) and after (5) the later extension (3, 5) and thus peculiar to itself.

As the advertisements disclose that C, the 'Second Edition', also appeared less than a week after A, it is easy to believe, as the figures indicate,[7] that this too was rushed through the press and hurried to the stalls. Fortunately some of the work was already done, by virtue of the overprinting in B, and what remained was now conveniently divided between two shops. Among the 17 sheets still lacking the second office reimpressed M and N, the two it had set for the preceding edition, and reset O through X, while Richardson's men reimpressed L, the sheet they had previously underprinted, and reset A, a, B, D, and E. To equalize the work Richardson also probably undertook the printing of an errata leaf Y1, a list belatedly received to correct errors in the first edition, as well as a cancel leaf I2. Perhaps the cancel was also intended for the first edition but, if so, in the rush of events on this work it could be supplied only for the last several copies of C. It now appears, so far as I know, only in the British Museum copy, which has several lines transposed to page 115 so that on 116 space is allowed for Boileau to remark, in further commendation of Pope: "Nor could I, nor did even Lucretius himself, make Philosophy so poetical, or embellish it with such charms, as you have, Mr. Pope, in your Essay on Man." All the shuffling of type required to introduce this sentence must have been particularly annoying to Richardson, already much harrassed with the production of the book, for the encomium came sixteen years too late to be appreciated by its recipient. Even so it may be admitted, I suppose, for these are dialogues of the dead.

With all these little details arranged, the so-called 'Second Edition' (C) was published on May 22, and both shops now stood ready for any eventuality. To the extent other commitments would allow, the type was now held intact, one shop retaining all the letter for B, D, and E, the three sheets most recently impressed, and the other retaining most of the letter from M through R. But alas, after clamoring for copies the public was now, for awhile, sated with Lyttelton; and it was not until September that the printers could again use, for edition D, what they had so carefully preserved. Thus after many desperate measures the well-laid plans which finally evolved were all to little avail. Nonetheless the work was done, and while Richardson and his unknown associate have left us none of their Dialogues the book itself is adequate testimony of their remarkable achievement.