University of Virginia Library

Preacher and Publisher: Oliver Heywood and Thomas Parkhurst
by
Harold Love

The diaries and memoranda of the Yorkshire non-conformist Oliver Heywood (1630-1702)[1] preserve valuable information about the production and distribution of his eighteen books, and in doing so raise a number of interesting questions about the commercial basis of clerical publication in seventeenth-century England. It was Heywood's custom to list the numbers of copies received from his publishers, and the names of those to whom they were distributed, giving him perhaps the best-documented public of any provincial author before the advent of the subscription list. It is also clear that he was not as a general rule paid cash for his manuscript, but in bound copies of the work, and that over and above these copies he would normally purchase a significant portion of the edition for distribution among his co-denominationalists. As his publisher was in all but three cases an important London bookseller, Thomas Parkhurst, it seems likely that a general trade practice was involved.

Heywood belonged by descent to a highly literate culture of Puritan clothworkers and farmers spread over Eastern Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire which even in the earlier years of the seventeenth century probably formed a significant market for London printers of devotional literature. His mother instructed him from an early age in "Mr Bals" catechism[2] and "was continually putting us upon reading the scriptures and good bookes" (I, 51). His father, a fustian manufacturer of Bolton, assembled a library of "the most plain practicall experimentall Treatises in Divinity such as Calvin, Luther in English Mr Perkins, Dr Preston, Dr Sibs" only to lose it to Prince Rupert's soldiers who discovered the books imperfectly concealed in a "colepit-house" and burned them on Cockey Moor (I, 84). Oliver himself was a patient accumulator of books, a catalogue of 1664 listing 264 items, though like his father he lost volumes through confiscation.[3] The

printed memoranda also include a list of twenty-nine titles acquired during 1677-78, and a summary of a register of borrowers.[4] There is in addition a reference to his being called upon to "prize" the books of a deceased fellow clergyman (I, 294). Testimony to the general knowledge of religious literature of Heywood's Coley congregation is an anecdote of a candidate minister who attempted to present a printed sermon as his own but "was traced by the sent of an intelligent hearer even as he was preaching it" (I, 189).

For the victims of the great ejectment of 24 August 1662, of whom Heywood was certainly not the least heroic, the printed word gained an added importance as a means of communication with their scattered and embattled flocks. Heywood seems to have regarded his writing as an extension of his personal ministry, declaring in the dedication of his first book, Heart Treasure (1667) to his "very loving and dearly beloved Friends and Neighbours, the Inhabitants of Coley, and the places adjacent":

The appearance of the book in print prompted the following note in his diary: The work had characteristically been composed in the course of an energetic tour of the houses of sympathisers and of scattered conventicles immediately following his banishment from his former parish under the Five Mile Act (I, 224). A separate memorandum (III, 66-69) allows us to follow the distribution of Heywood's share of the edition of Heart Treasure in exact detail. The £10 covers two separate deliveries of sixty copies, the first of which was received in Yorkshire and the second in Lancashire. The Yorkshire list records the recipients of fifty-six copies, most of them Heywood's hearers, some of whom took two or more. The Lancashire list is largely composed of relatives. These first deliveries appear to have been received in September or October 1667. At Christmas a further dozen arrived, followed by an undated two dozen and then a further twenty-eight received on 20 February 1667/8, after which four further consignments are recorded, the last dated 12 February 1670/1. The "dozens" usually consisted of fourteen copies, except for the last two deliveries when they had shrunk to thirteen. The total number of copies distributed by Heywood, the sum being calculated from his headnotes rather than the lists of recipients which are not always complete, appears to have been 286. The books were delivered bound, but it is not clear whether the unit cost of 1/8d includes the cost of carriage.

Similar lists are preserved for the distribution of eleven of Heywood's other books. Closet Prayer a Christian Duty was received by Heywood in sixteen separate batches dated between 1669 (this edition does not appear to survive) and 28 February 1681/2, totalling at least 324 copies (III, 53, 69-73). In this case, as well as the bundles from Parkhurst there were three copies "Bought at Manchest" and a further group of five "Ordered to be bought at Bolton octob 19 [1669]." The first copies of the second edition were received on 26 August 1670. Sure Mercies of David, or, the Second Part of Heart Treasure (1672) was delivered to Heywood on 17 February 1671/2 as a consignment of eight dozen (=100) books. Fourteen of these are in a separate sublist headed "guilded b" recording bestowal on such worthies as Lady Hewley, Lady Watson, Lady Standley and Heywood's wife and first wife's mother. (It would seem that as a general rule he also reserved one of the gilt copies for himself.) Four further consignments followed, the last of which, bringing the total to 172 copies, was received on 17 August 1672 (III, 51-53). In the case of Life in God's Favour (1679), for which Heywood temporarily abandoned Parkhurst in favour of Dorman Newman,[5] twelve dozen copies were received or assigned according to his direction between 29 March and 16 June 1679, of which one dozen were gilt—four being more particularly designated "guilded edges"—and the remainder plain, one consignment being noted as "white leather" i.e. vellum (II, 211-213). The dozens in this case were an exact twelve. Of Israel's Lamentation after the Lord (1683), Heywood initially took delivery of twenty-five gilt copies and seventy-five plain arriving on 3 February 1682/3, after which he records the receipt of a further eight copies from the Halifax bookseller Francis Bentley, four dozen from Parkhurst at 9/- a dozen, and a final consignment of five from Parkhurst sent for on 1 April 1683, making 161 in all (II, 214-215). Heywood also took eight dozen copies of his A Narrative of the Holy Life and Happy Death of . . . Mr. John Angier (1683), the first two dozen arriving on 26 September 1684 (II, 215). For Baptismal Bonds Renewed (1687) there was again a special "12 better bound then ordinary in calves leath: guilt," one of which went to Mrs. Heywood and another to Lady Hewley (III, 53). The headnotes of the distribution lists are more than usually cryptic in this case but indicate that Heywood was responsible between 10 October 1687 and 31 March 1688 for the disposal of at least 188 copies (III, 53-55). Of his later books, Heywood took 300 copies of Meetness for Heaven (1690) at 9d per copy, 100 of Advice to an Only Child (1693), 200 of The Heavenly Converse (1697), printed for John Back, 150 of The General Assembly (1700), and eighty of The Two Worlds (1701).[6] He also records the receipt of twenty-five copies of Christ's Intercession (1701) (IV, 262). The books for which no records survive

among the printed memoranda are The Best Entail and A Family-Altar (both 1693), the Life of the Rev. Nathaniel Heywood (1694), and Job's Appeal and A New Creature (both 1695). Heywood also assisted in the distribution of 400 copies of his brother Nathaniel's Christ Displayed (1679) (II, 213-214). His energetic subvention through purchase of the publication of his works is an interesting gloss on Dunton's riddling comment that Parkhurst had been known to "sell off a whole Impression before the Book has been almost heard of in London."[7]

Scattered among the lists of consignments and recipients are a number of references to Heywood's financial agreements with his publishers. In the case of Heart Treasure, all the copies received by Heywood were apparently paid for, suggesting that publication had been secured through an agreement to purchase a given proportion of the edition. The dedication refers to an undertaking by friends who had read the work in manuscript that "some would be at the charges" (A4r); however there is no reference to any such subvention in Heywood's own records. For a number of his subsequent books it is clear that a rather different arrangement prevailed under which while continuing to purchase substantial numbers of copies he would receive a quantity gratis in payment for his manuscript. Recording the distribution of Life in God's Favour, he refers specifically to "6 dozen wch Mr Dorman Newman gave me for my copy" (II, 212). A further six dozen were also purchased by Heywood at 11d a copy. For his brother's book Christ Displayed, which was published by Parkhurst, the terms were that the widow would receive 100 volumes for the copy and that the family would purchase another 300 (II, 213). In the case of Israel's Lamentation after the Lord, Heywood received 100 copies gratis, twenty-five of them gilt, and paid Parkhurst 36/- for a further four dozen (II, 214-5). With The General Assembly, fifty were given gratis and a further 100 taken at 9d each, 6/2d being specified for carriage. A notebook of reflections and engagements preserves details of a similar agreement with regard to Baptismal Bonds Renewed:

The distribution lists among the memoranda give the number of free copies received from Parkhurst as 71 not 62. They also reveal that subsequent purchases were at the lower rate of 1/8d a copy. Details also survive of the publication of Heavenly Converse printed for John Back by arrangement with Matthew Pinkerton of Manchester. On this occasion Heywood received only twelve copies gratis but purchased a further 200 "at 4½ in sheets 6½ bound" —a rate which will be seen to be very favorable[8] (II, 215-216). With The Two Worlds Heywood records the receipt of thirty free copies and fifty at 3d (IV, 259-261). The general pattern seems clear enough, though there were no doubt variations according to the price, bulk and estimated popularity of the volume.

The precise degree of advantage to author and bookseller under this system would depend on whether the author chose to resell his copies, and the basis on which the price of the additional copies purchased by him was calculated. Heywood's clear statement in the passage concerning Baptismal Bonds Renewed quoted above indicates that he regarded the gratis distribution of his works as an integral part of his pastoral cure, though even in this case twenty-eight copies were sent to the bookseller Francis Bentley and six are noted as having been purchased by John Armitage for 11/-. His diary reference quoted earlier to the distribution of Heart Treasure would again seem to imply that the copies were a gift to their recipients. In the case of Christ Displayed, 112 copies were passed on for resale to Bentley and there is a list of sums totaling £2/6/0 received on a varying unit basis from seven other individuals. This however was not one of Heywood's own books and its publication was probably regarded by all concerned in it as a charitable exercise for the benefit of the author's widow. Towards the end of his career, when Heywood was once again securely established in a permitted meeting house, he seems to have developed a closer relationship with the local book trade. A letter to Ralph Thoresby accompanying a copy of a A New Creature requests his aid in the "furtherance of its sale" by John Whitworth, a bookseller of Leeds who was subsequently joint-publisher with Parkhurst of A Treatise of Christ's Intercession (Works, I, 435). In general, however, the indications are that at the period when Heywood was a persecuted exile from the pulpit, his books were designed for free distribution, a decision that is a testimony to his seriousness of purpose in straitened times.

As regards the prices paid by Heywood to his publishers, the indications are that they represent a substantial discount. It is even possible that he enjoyed the benefit customary at a later date of a special reduction for religious books intended for gratis distribution, though there is no direct evidence of this among the surviving records. Life in God's Favour which Heywood purchased bound for 11d is advertised bound in the Term Catalogue for Easter 1672 at 1/6d. Similarly Heavenly Converse which Heywood bought at 4½d in sheets and 6½d bound is advertised bound in the Term Catalogue for Michaelmas 1697 at 1/-.[9] Unfortunately neither of these titles was handled by Parkhurst, who while a copious advertiser in the Term Catalogues—often in blocks of up to twenty or more titles—does not as a rule specify prices; nevertheless it is difficult to imagine Heywood remaining so constant if he were not receiving the kinds of discount offered by Newman and Back. In

the case of Heart Treasure, as the first work of an unknown author, Parkhurst may not have been so generous. The 1/8d charged Heywood for a bound small octavo of twenty-two sheets does not compare particularly favorably with the publicly advertised bound price of 2/- for two Parkhurst publications of 1669 in the same format, Ralph Venning's Sin the Plague of Plagues and John Crump's The Parable of the Great Supper Opened, both of twenty-four sheets, or with the 1/6d asked in the same year for Thomas Watson's Heaven Taken by Storm of fourteen and a half sheets. Thomas Wadsworth's Antipsychothanasia (1671) containing thirteen sheets and advertised at 2/- offers a more favorable comparison. Closer calculations taking account of en-totals and paper quality might help resolve the matter, but would only be of significance if we knew whether or not Parkhurst's price to Heywood included the cost of carriage to the North.

II

Thomas Parkhurst was bound apprentice to John Clark II on 24 June 1645 and became a freeman of the stationers' company on 3 July 1654.[10] He was active as a publisher from 1655 to 1711, issuing under his imprint from the Golden Bible on London Bridge and the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside close to a thousand titles of a predominantly theological character. That he should have been approached by Heywood to publish Heart Treasure was primarily, it can be assumed, the result of religious affinity. John Dunton, who had served his apprenticeship under Parkhurst, speaks of him as "the most eminent Presbyterian Bookseller, in the Three King-doms"—John Laurence, another ex-apprentice, being the second—and as "Scrupulously Honest in all his Dealings" (Life, p. 281).

Heywood seems to have been generally contented with Parkhurst, his only stated causes of complaint being irregularities in delivery. In a letter to his son of 25 April 1693, he complained "he hath printed Parents advice—sent down 100 but by Tom-long-carrier J.P. cannot find them, tho he and I haue notice of them, but no mention of carriers name: I partly chide Mr Park. yet will not leaue him, as Dr. Sampson Adviseth, we are well, my wife longs to see you" (IV, 172). Heywood's characteristically erratic punctuation fails to clarify whether Dr [Henry] Sampson's advice referred to Parkhurst (and if so whether favorably or unfavorably) or to the state of health of the elder Heywoods; however it may be significant that Heywood gave Job's Appeal (1695) to Brabazon Aylmer—characterised by Dunton (Life, p. 282) as "a very just and Religious Man"—and Heavenly Converse (1697) to John Back, though also continuing to publish with Parkhurst. At an earlier period, Heywood entered an irritated memorandum regarding a consignment of his brother's Christ Displayed made up with eight volumes "not of the right sort"—viz "1. Medes Ast Christian, 2 glorious Lovers in verse, 3 Mr Corbets book of Chts Kingdom 4, 4 Glimpses of Eternity 2."[11] On the other hand,

the parcel also contained an additional eight free copies of "glimpse of eternity," and in 1701 there was a gift of "aboue twenty books" on devotional subjects from Parkhurst to his by now well-known author (IV, 262). It is highly probable that on his visits to London Heywood was a purchaser of books other than his own though the only reference of this kind in the memoranda is to "2 dozen of Prot Catich" received from Parkhurst on 28 June 1673 (III, 73). On 12 February 1671, he purchased a ream of paper from Parkhurst for 6/4d (III, 17).

Although the terms of publication were, as we have seen, calculated to protect the publisher against loss, it is clear that even when Heywood had become an established author Parkhurst still had to approve a manuscript and that Heywood did not regard such approval as being automatic. In the letter of 25 April 1693, he mentions, apparently with reference to Advice to an Only Child, "another letter from Mr. Parkhurst who is willing to print it, only would see it first." Two months earlier, on 7 February 1692/3, he had recorded an unfavorable response from a bookseller who was probably not Parkhurst (under whose imprint both titles mentioned were to appear during 1693):[12]

Turner's edition of the manuscripts and Vint's Works include a number of unpublished treatises which may have been similarly submitted and rejected. Indeed, Heywood's review of his actions during 1696 records the completion of six treatises "but none printed, except Job's Appeal in 95" (III, 267). In November 1676, he had described himself as "busy about preparing my book of louetoken for the presse" (III, 148)—but without success. The "Last Diary," (IV, 184-305) running from October 1699 to 29 April 1702—five days before his death—records work on more than twenty treatises and lives, only two of which achieved contemporary publication. Several of these, however, were contributions to Sampson's projected account of non-conformist ministers (subsequently incorporated into Calamy's) while others appear to have been intended from the start for private distribution in manuscript.

On one occasion recorded among Heywood's "Experiments" we see Parkhurst acting as a censor. The episode is worth quoting at length as an illustration both of the hazards attending the publication of non-conformist divinity and the pleasantly unhurried relationship of the London bookseller and his north-country author:

Heywood refers to the cause of offence as a passage in which he had written "that a law was made to thrust out 2000 ministers Aug 24 1662" (III, 336) which was open to condemnation as a "complaining of the laws." The reference seems to be the following passage on A2r: The preface, which is dated two days before the twentieth anniversary of the "Black Bartholomew" of 1662, goes on to identify the fate of the Israelites in bondage with that of the ejected ministers with a boldness suggesting that Heywood in his Yorkshire isolation had totally misgauged the strength of the nation's swing towards Toryism during the preceding year. It seems likely that without Parkhurst's intervention the repercussions would have been quite as serious as Heywood feared. The hint that Parkhurst circulated the manuscript to London clerics acting as publisher's readers is an interesting one and seems to reflect a regular practice. In a letter to Ralph Thoresby of 25 November 1695, Heywood (Works, I, 435) complains of the London ministers having "expunged" material from the extracts from John Angier's diaries included as a postscript to The Holy Life and Happy Death. Parkhurst's advisers will almost certainly have included the celebrated John Howe of whom he is described by Dunton (Life, p. 281) as "a great Admirer, and constant Hearer" and who with John Starkey supplied a laudatory preface to Heywood's A Family-Altar in 1693. Heywood appears also to have circulated his works among Northern ministers before sending them to London, launching "A Scriptural Fast," which was to remain unpublished, with the comment to Thoresby "I have lately written a Treatise on a Scriptural Fast, being desired to do it. My son John hath it. If I have any encouragement, [I] shall send it to the press."[13] He was himself in his later years the recipient of a steady flow of manuscripts for comment and "encouragement" (Works, I, 428-442 passim).

While the relationship, financial and otherwise, between Heywood and Parkhurst was to some extent conditioned by geographical and sectarian factors, the picture it presents of an author writing explicitly and voluminously for the edification of his flock, distributing large numbers of copies at his own expense, advising other authors on their manuscripts, maintaining a substantial private lending library of devotional works, and in effect acting as an energetic unpaid publicist for the productions of the London book trade is unlikely to have been unique and may even have been typical of a substantial body among the 1800 ejected clergy who maintained an active ministry, and of a significant though probably smaller proportion of conformists. The question that arises is whether the country clergyman may not have been an even more important force in the distribution of books outside London than the country bookseller. And what bookseller can we imagine declaring with the fervency of Heywood in the Dedication to Heart Treasure: "Blessed be God for good Books" (A2[=A3]v)?

Notes