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Richard Hurd's Editions of Horace and the Bowyer Ledgers by Donald D. Eddy
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Richard Hurd's Editions of Horace and the Bowyer Ledgers
by
Donald D. Eddy

Richard Hurd (1720-1808) is a familiar figure to students of the literature and times of eighteenth-century England. As a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, for more than twenty years, his circle of friends included John Brown, Thomas Gray, William Mason, William Whitehead, Sir Edward Littleton, Henry Hubbard, Thomas Balguy, and Dr. William Heberden. In the 1750s he developed close friendships with William Warburton and Ralph Allen. Through his own considerable merits as well as the active assistance of Warburton and Charles Yorke, he was promoted steadily in the church until he was made Bishop of Worcester in 1781, a position he retained until his death.

The See of the Bishop of Worcester was (and is) Hartlebury Castle, an ancient house in a lovely valley a few miles south of Kidderminster. When Hurd arrived there in July of 1781, he immediately decided to add a library to the house. Finished in 1782, it is a long room at the back of the house, overlooking the valley. It is spacious and beautiful, housing 3040 titles in some 5,000 volumes. The well-oiled leather bindings gleam in the light, and the oil portraits of Warburton and Pope—as well as books from both their libraries—and the Gainsborough portrait of Hurd provide an ideal setting in which to study eighteenth-century books. This investigator was delighted to do so, and he thanks the Bishop of Worcester for the privilege.

Hurd's academic and clerical careers were helped greatly by the large number and high quality of his writings. Beginning with his first book, an edition of Horace's Ars Poetica in 1749, more than two dozen editions of his various writings were printed in London by William Bowyer the younger (1699-1777). This is a fortunate coincidence for any present investigator, because Bowyer's printing records still exist, have recently been well edited


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and published, and present a unique source of additional information about many of Hurd's writings (see note).

This paper has three objectives. It is the beginning of a bibliography of the writings of Richard Hurd. (The Bowyer ledgers show that Hurd's editions of Horace are the only work which he chose to have printed with both regular and large paper copies, and this seemed sufficient reason for beginning the bibliography by examining them.) It will provide some examples of ways that printing ledgers can give us both bibliographical and biographical information about an author's writings. Finally, it inevitably raises questions about certain aspects of the book trade—the use of illustrations, and large paper copies; relationships among author, publisher, and printer; and even the tangled problem of shared printing.

In the last paragraph of his introduction to the Ars Poetica of 1749, Hurd mentions several Italian critics whose methods he chooses not to follow. Instead, he says, "I chuse therefore to rest on the single authority of a great author, who hath not disdained to comment a like piece of a late critical poet. What was indeed the amusement of his pen, becomes, it must be owned, the labour of inferior writers. Yet, on these unequal terms, it can be no discredit to have aim'd at some resemblance of one of the least of those merits, which shed their united honours on the name of the illustrious friend and commentator of Mr. Pope" (p. xv). This fulsome praise of Warburton, a man Hurd had never met, had its intended effect. The book was published May 27, 1749 (see below), and Hurd at once sent Warburton a copy—a large paper copy, presumably stitched in marbled paper, since there was no time to have it bound. Warburton, in his earliest known letter to Hurd, dated June 1, 1749, thanked him for the book and added, "I tell you, with all sincerity, I think the Notes one of the most masterly pieces of criticism that ever was written . . . I wish it was in my power to make a suitable acknowledgment for my obligations" (see Letters from a late eminent Prelate to one of his Friends. 2d ed. [1809], 1-2—cited hereafter as "Letters"). Warburton returned the compliment when his nine-volume edition of The Works of Alexander Pope was published on June 18, 1751 (Daily Advertiser; General Advertiser). In the Essay on Criticism Pope has a passage beginning "But where's the man . . ." (lines 632 ff.) describing the characteristics of an ideal critic; and in his note on this passage Warburton says, "And indeed the discovery of him, if it could be made, would be but an invidious business. I will venture no farther than to name the piece of Criticism in which these marks may be found. It is intitled, Q. Hor. Fl. Ars Poetica, with an English Commentary and Notes" (I, 202). Hurd had just published his edition of the Epistola ad Augustum the previous month—on May 21, 1751 (see below)—so he had to wait until 1753 to dedicate to Warburton the second volume of his new edition of Horace. Friendship flourished amid the mutual admiration.

As Hurd progressed in his editing of the Epistle to Augustus, two things became increasingly apparent. His interest in Horace was primarily in his critical writings, so he felt that his editorial work would be finished when it


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was published in the spring of 1751. As he commented in the Advertisement of the book, "It will, further, be observed, that these two pieces make a com plete edition of Horace's Critical, that is to say, the best and most exquisit of all his writings" (p. iv). At the same time he was interested in writing and publishing critical essays on other topics. Throughout 1750 he was writin and showing to Warburton drafts of his "Discourse on Poetical Imitation, the first of a group of essays which he later always referred to as "Disserta tions." In a letter to Hurd dated April 21, 1750, Warburton commented that "I am glad the discourse on imitation is advancing. If the Commentary on the Ars Poetica and the Epistle to Augustus and that discourse will altogether make a just volume, I think they should do so. If they will not, I think the discourse should not be published alone. Pamphlets are soon forgotten; and this should be conveyed to posterity" (Letters, 49). As usual, Hurd followed his advice; the Discourse was printed with the Epistle to Augustus in 1751 and one more "dissertation" was added to each of the next three editions The second edition of Hurd's Horace of 1753 added the dissertation "On the Provinces of the Several Species of Dramatic Poetry"; the third edition (1757) added "A Letter to Mr. Mason; On the Marks of Imitation"; and the fourtl (1766) added "A Dissertation on the Idea of Universal Poetry." The third and fourth of these dissertations were also reprinted and published separately a the same time their respective editions of Horace were published. The fiftl and final edition (1776) was merely a reprint of the 1766 edition.

These editions, plus a Dublin reprint and a German translation, make a total of ten works which are listed below in chronological order. I mark with an asterisk those copies I have examined personally. I am deeply grateful to all those librarians who have answered patiently my questions about copie I have not examined. In most instances the reader will find some additional copies of these editions listed in NUC or ESTC.

Note: The citation "Bowyer Ledgers" refers to The Bowyer Ledgers, edited by Keitl Maslen and John Lancaster (London: The Bibliographical Society; New York: The Bibliographical Society of America, 1991). Whenever a reference is followed merel by a number, it refers to an entry in the Chronological Checklist, which constitute the bulk of the printed book. When the number is preceded by a "B," it refers to the number in the microfiche edition of Ledger B (Grolier Club Library 19474). When the number is preceded by a "P," it refers to the number in the microfiche edition on the Paper Stock Ledger (Bodley MS.don.b.4).

Throughout this paper I am indebted to Edwine Montague Martz, Bishop Hurd as Critic, unpublished Ph.D dissertation, Yale University, 1939—hereafter cited a "Martz."

RICHARD HURD'S EDITIONS OF HORACE

  • I. 1749 (ESTC ID: To46134). First Edition.
  • Q. HORATIIFLACCI / ARS POETICA. [red] / EPISTOLA ad PISONES. With an English / COMMENTARY [red] / AND / NOTES. [red] /

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    LONDON, [red] / Printed by W. Bowyer, / And sold by R. Dodley in Pall-mall, and / M. Cooper in Paternoster-Row. / MDCCXLIX. [red]
  • Collation: 8: a8 B-K8 L2 = 82 leaves = 164 pages.
  • Contents: Page i title, ii blank, iii-xv Introduction, xvi blank, 1 2-32 Ars Poetica, 33 special title "Notes on the Art of Poetry," 34 blank, 35 Preface, 36 blank, 37-148 text. Page 57 misnumbered 75.
  • Press figures: 25-1, 50-1, 77-1, 91-1, 98-1, 121-3, 132-4, 143-3.
  • Size of an uncut copy: None examined.
  • Number of copies printed: Bowyer Ledgers #3556: 480 copies on demy and 20 copies on royal paper (26 May 49).
  • Date of publication: Saturday, May 27, 1749 (London Evening-Post). On Tuesday, May 23, the same newspaper advertised that "Next Thursday will be publish'd" the Ars Poetica, but the "This Day is publish'd" advertisement did not appear until Saturday, May 27. The book also was advertised on Friday, June 2, 1749, in the General Advertiser. N.B. These are strange advertisements, for they list no author, price, format, or bindings. In its review, the Monthly Review (see note 3, below) lists the price of the book as 3s. William Warburton wrote to Richard Hurd on June 1, 1749, saying, "I received the favour of your edition of Horace's Art of Poetry: for which I beg leave to make my best acknowledgments" (Letters, 1).
  • Illustrations: Page 1 has an engraving of the Muses, signed "F. Hayman inv. & del.", "C. Grignion Sculp." (see Figure 1).
  • Copies: Regular (demy) paper copies: *Bodleian Library 2 copies: Godw. Pamph. 2094 (10) and Vet. A4e. 497 (2); Brown (ex libris Charles Townsend) PA 6393 E6 1749 Foster Collection [I thank the Coordinator of Readers' Services, Jean Rainwater, for describing this copy for me]; *Hartlebury Castle Lf6 (1); *Harvard (Houghton) *78-1291; Indiana (Lilly) PA 6393 E6H9 1749 [I thank the Head of Public Services, Joel Silver, for describing this copy for me]; *Jesus College, Cambridge H.14.68 (1); Northwestern 871 H5 Ohu [I thank the Curator of Special Collections, R. Russell Maylone, for describing this copy for me]; *Princeton PTT 2865 .311 .249; *Yale Gnh6 B749. Royal paper copies: *British Library 76.e.4; Free Library of Philadelphia 1749M629 [I thank the Reference Librarian, Karen Lightner, for describing this copy for me]; *Hartlebury Castle Lf10(1). (See note 2, below.)
  • Notes: 1. The watermark of the royal paper, seen clearly only in the Hartlebury Castle copy which although trimmed measures 22.0 x 13.0 cm., is a fleur-de-lis over a shield with the Strasbourg bend, over LVG. For a sketch of this watermark, see Edward Heawood, Watermarks mainly of the 17th and 18th Centuries (1950, repr. 1981), no. 106—hereafter cited as "Heawood"; also see W. A. Churchill, Watermarks in Paper in Holland, England, France, etc., in the XVII and XVIII Centuries and their Interconnection (1935, repr. 1965), no. 434. The three elements of this watermark are also reproduced in Philip Gaskell, A New Introduction to Bibliography (1972), 68—hereafter cited as "Gaskell." LVG are the initials of Lubertus van Gerrevink, the owner of the Egmond mill near Hoef in North Holland. He had his initials registered as a trademark in paper in 1726 (see Churchill, p. 40). [When I see this paper used in a book, I am apt to think of it as "Large & Very Good" paper.] The regular paper copies have no visible watermark. 2. The British Library copy is bound in full white vellum with the remains of a gilt morocco label on the spine. Both covers are gilt-stamped with the seal of King George the Third. All edges are cut, but the page measures 20.6 x 12.7 cm. The copy in the Free Library of Philadelphia is 21.2 cm. tall. Both of these copies show the edge of a star or sun as watermark, so this may be a variant (or quite different) paper used for large copies. In any case, enough of some watermark may be seen in the margins to classify these two—very hesitantly—as trimmed royal paper copies.

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    3. This volume was reviewed very favorably in the Monthly Review: "The ingenious author of this commentary and notes, has with great judgment and accuracy cleared the sense, ascertained the scope and purpose, and pointed out the connexion of the several parts of this celebrated epistle" (Monthly Review 1 [Aug. 1749], 277). This is the opening sentence of the fine review written by Dr. William Rose (1719?-86); for confirmation of his authorship, see Benjamin Christie Nangle, The Monthly Review First Series 1749-1789 Indexes of Contributors and Articles (1934), #2052—hereafter cited as "Nangle."
  • II. 1751 (ESTC ID: To46141). First Edition. One Horatian Epistle and one dissertation.
  • Q. HORATII FLACCI / EPISTOLA [red] / AD / AUGUSTUM. / With an English / Commentary and Notes. [red] / To which is added, / A DISCOURSE / CONCERNING / POETICAL IMITATION. [red] / [rule] / By the AUTHOR of the Commentary, &c. / on the Epistle to the Pisos. / [rule] / LONDON, [red] / Printed for W. Thurlbourn in Cambridge. / And sold by R. Dodsley in Pall-mall; J. Beecroft in Lom-/bard Street; and M. Cooper in Paternoster-Row. / [rule] / M DCC LI. [red]
  • Collation: 8°: A2 B-O8 = 106 leaves = 212 pages.
  • Contents: Page i title, ii blank, iii-iv Advertisement, 1 2-27 text, 28 blank, 29 special title "Notes on the Epistle to Augustus," 30 Advertisement, 31-106 text, 107 special title "A Discourse on Poetical Imitation," 108 blank, 109-207 text, 208 blank.
  • Press figures: 11-5, 22-1, 36-1, 50-1, 66-1, 112-4, 123-3 or none, 144-1, 160-1 or none, 173-4, 192-1 or none, 204-3.
  • Size of an uncut copy: None examined.
  • Number of copies printed: Bowyer Ledgers #3684: 500 copies on demy and 26 copies on royal paper (16 May 51).
  • Date of publication: Tuesday, May 21, 1751 (General Evening Post). In its issue of Saturday, May 18, 1751 the same newspaper advertised that "Next Tuesday will be published" the Epistola ad Augustum, and accordingly the "This Day was published" notice appeared in the issue of Tuesday, May 21. N.B. Once again this advertisement seems strange, for it lists no author's name, price, format, or bindings.
  • Illustrations: Page 1 has an engraving of the head of Augustus, signed "WS" (see Figure 2).
  • Copies: Regular (demy) paper copies: * Bodleian Library 3 copies: Vet. A4e. 497(1), Godw. Pamph. 2095(4), and Montagu 257; *British Library 11355.ff.4; Chicago PA 6393 .E75H9 1751 Rare [I thank the Rare Books Coordinator, Willard J. Pugh, for describing this copy for me]; *Cornell; *Hartlebury Castle Lf6(2); *Harvard (Houghton) *78-1292; *Jesus College, Cambridge A/G.9.30; McMaster B14650 [I thank the Archives Cataloguer, Renu Barrett, for describing this copy for me]; Northwestern Horace H961 1751 [I thank the Curator of Special Collections, R. Russell Maylone, for describing this copy for me]; *Princeton 2865 .331 .251; *Yale Gnh6 ea751; *D. D. Eddy. Royal paper copies: *Hartlebury Castle Lf10(2).
  • Note: The watermark of the royal paper, seen clearly only in the Hartlebury Castle copy which although trimmed measures 22.0 x 13.0 cm., is a fleur-de-lis over a shield with the Strasbourg bend, over LVG (see Heawood 106). This is the same large paper used in Hurd's 1749 Ars Poetica, and the two works are bound together in the volume at Richard Hurd's library at Hartlebury Castle. The regular paper copies have no visible watermark.

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  • III. 1753 (ESTC ID: T150243). The two Horatian Epistles and two dissertations.
  • Volume I. Edition title page.
  • Q. HORATII FLACCI / EPISTOLAE / AD / PISONES, / ET / AUGUSTUM: / With an English / COMMENTARY and NOTES. / To which are added / TWO DISSERTATIONS: / THE ONE, / On the Provinces of the several Species / of Dramatic Poetry; / THE OTHER, / ON POETICAL IMITATION. / [rule] / IN TWO VOLUMES. / [rule] / The Second Edition, Corrected and Enlarged. / [rule] / LONDON: / Printed for W. Thurlbourne, at Cambridge; / and sold by R. Dodsley, in Pall-mall; / J. Beecroft, in Lombard-street; and / M. Cooper, in Pater-noster-Row. / [rule] / MDCCLIII.
  • Volume I. Volume title page.
  • Q. HORATII FLACCI / ARS POETICA, / EPISTOLA ad PISONES: / With an English / COMMENTARY and NOTES. / To which is added / A Dissertation concerning the Provinces / of the several Species of the Drama. / [rule] / VOL. I. / [rule] / LONDON: / Printed for W. Thurlbourne at Cambridge; / And sold by R. Dodsley, in Pall-mall; / J. Beacroft, [sic] in Lombard-street, and / M. Cooper, in Pater-noster-Row. / [rule] / MDCCLIII.
  • Collation: 8°: π4 A-S8 T4 = 152 leaves = 304 pages.
  • Contents: π1r edition title page, π1v blank, π2r volume title page, π2v blank, π3r Dedication to Sir Edward Littleton, π3v blank, π4r "VOL. I," π4v blank, pages iii-xvi Introduction, 1 2-34 text of Ars Poetica, 35 section title, 36 blank, 37 Preface to the Notes, 38 blank, 39-216 Notes of the Art of Poetry, 217 section title, 218 blank, 219 Contents, 220 blank, 221-280 A Dissertation on the several Provinces of the Drama, 281 Errata, 282 blank. Page 272 misnumbered 472. In two copies (British Library and Emmanuel College, Cambridge), page 16 is misnumbered 6.
  • Press figures: ix-3, 12-1, 15-3, 29-1, 48-2, 60-3, 72-4, 84-1, 110-2, 127-1, 141-4, 161-4, 177-4, 180-4, 210-3, 214-5 or none, 242-1, 246-1, 273-4.
  • Volume II. Title page.
  • Q. HORATII FLACCI / EPISTOLA / AD / AUGUSTUM. / With an English / COMMENTARY and NOTES. / To which is added / A DISCOURSE / CONCERNING / POETICAL IMITATION. / [rule] / VOL. II. / [double rule] / [short rule] / M.DCC.LIII.
  • Collation: 8°: a8 A-Q8 = 136 leaves = 272 pages.
  • Contents: Page i title, ii blank, iii iv-xv Dedication to William Warburton, dated 29 March 1753, xvi blank, 1 2-27 text of Epistola ad Augustum, 28 blank, 29 section title, 30 Advertisement, 31-113 Notes on the Epistle to Augustus, 114 blank, 115 section title, 116 blank, 117-231 A Discourse on Poetical Imitation, 232 blank, 233-253 Index to the Two Volumes, 254 blank, 255 Errata, 256 blank. Page 121 is misnumbered 112. In the British Library copy, page 73 is misnumbered 7.
  • Press figures: None.
  • Size of an uncut copy: None examined.
  • Number of copies printed: Bowyer Ledgers #3800: 730 copies on crown and 20 copies on medium royal paper (29 Mar. 53)

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  • Date of publication: Presumably it was published shortly after printing was completed on March 29. In April, 1753 William Warburton wrote to Richard Hurd saying, "I received this evening your most kind present of the Commentary on Horace" (Letters, 133). In its review, the Monthly Review (see note 4, below) lists the price of these two volumes as 7s. 2d.
  • Illustrations: In Vol. I, page 1 has an engraving of the Muses, signed F. Hayman inv. & del., C. Grignion Sculp. In Vol. II, page 1 has an engraving of the head of Augustus, signed WS. These are the same plates used in the 1749 and 1751 editions.
  • Copies: Regular (crown) paper copies: *Bodleian Library 2 copies: Godw. subt. 280-281 and Vet. A5f. 1652-3 (lacking leaves π1 and π4 in Vol. I); Brown PA 6393 E4 1753 Foster Collection [I thank the Coordinator of Readers' Services, Jean Rainwater, for describing this copy for me]; *Cambridge University Library 2 copies: 7706.d.93,94 (lacking leaves π1 and π4 in Vol. I) and Ely.d.696 (Vol. II only present); Chicago 2 copies: PA 6393 .E2 1753 Rare (c. 1, Vol. I only present; c. 2, Vol. I lacks dedication leaf) [I thank the Rare Books Coordinator, Willard J. Pugh, for describing these copies for me]; Free Library of Philadelphia 1753M653 [I thank the Reference Librarian, Karen Lightner, for describing this copy for me]; *Harvard (Widener) Lh8 565; *Princeton 2865 .331 .253; *Yale Gnh6 B753. Royal paper copies: *British Library 11385.f.17 (lacks leaf π4 in Vol. I); *Emmanuel College, Cambridge 328.4.64-65.
  • Notes: 1. The watermark of the royal paper is a crowned shield containing a fleur-delis, over LVG (see Heawood 1743; Gaskell, 68, Fig. 29). The regular paper copies have no visible watermark.

    2. The two royal paper copies are exceedingly handsome. Both volumes of the British Library copy are bound in full straight-grain red morocco and have all edges gilt. Both front and rear covers have gilt supra libros with the front covers adding the motto "Deus alit me" and the script initials "TW." This copy belonged to the Rev. Theodore Williams, who died in 1826 and whose library was sold at auction on April 5 and 23, 1827.

    The second copy is much more significant because it was the gift of Richard Hurd to one of his colleagues at Emmanuel College. The first volume contains the note "The Gift of ye Author (in Sheets) to H. Hubbard Eman. Coll. (Binding 2 Vols. 3s 6d)." This was Henry Hubbard (1708-78), who had been a Fellow of Emmanuel College since 1732; for an accurate, brief account of him, see John Venn (1834-1923). Alumni Cantabrigienses . . ., 10 v. (1922-54) Part I, Vol. II, p. 422. When Richard Hurd matriculated at Emmanuel in 1735, "he was happy in receiving the countenance, and in being permitted to attend the Lectures, of that excellent Tutor, Mr. Henry Hubbard, although he had been admitted under another person"; see Hurd's own list "Some occurrences in my Life" as printed in The Correspondence of Richard Hurd & William Mason, ed. E. H. Pearce and L. Whibley (1932) xxvi—hereafter cited as "Hurd-Mason Correspondence."

    3. It is probably not wise to make generalizations based on the few copies thus far examined. However, all of the regular paper copies examined have horizontal chain lines throughout both volumes, and both of the royal paper copies examined have vertical chain lines throughout both volumes. If this holds true as more copies are seen, it will be an easy way to differentiate between regular and royal paper copies, even in closely trimmed volumes.

    Of course, there are also differences in thickness of the two papers. In the royal paper copy in the British Library, for example, the sheets of Vol. I measure 2.7 cm. thick; while in the regular paper copy in Cambridge University Library, the sheets of Vol. I measure 1.9 cm. thick. In comparing the same copies of Vol. II, the British Library copy measures 2.2 cm. versus 1.7 cm. in the Cambridge copy. Such comparisons are made with due diffidence, for an unpressed book in sheets bulks much, much larger than a copy of the same book which has been heavily pressed during several rebindings.

    4. Dr. William Rose (1719?-86) again wrote a long and highly laudatory review


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    article in the Monthly Review 9 (July 1753), 11-33; see Nangle, #2055.

    5. Two printers were involved in printing this edition. According to his ledgers (B544, P1094), William Bowyer printed only Vol. I. Thurlbourne had the second volume composed and printed at Cambridge University Press; in the Cambridge University Library Archives, see Cambridge University Press Minutes Book (Min. VI. 1*, p. 88), listing as copies "730 & 20 Fine." Volume I has all the usual Bowyer press figures; Volume II has none. For a discussion of this edition, see below under the heading "Shared Printing."

  • IV. 1757 (ESTC ID: T149881). The two Horatian Epistles and three dissertations.
  • Volume I. Edition title page.
  • Q. HORATII FLACCI / EPISTOLAE / AD / PISONES, / ET / AUGUSTUM: / With an English / COMMENTARY and NOTES. / To which are added, / TWO DISSERTATIONS; / The one, on the Provinces of the Drama: / The other, on Poetical Imitation: / AND / ALETTER to Mr. MASON. / [rule] / In TWO VOLUMES. / [rule] / The third edition, Corrected and Enlarged. / [rule] / CAMBRIDGE, / Printed for W. THURLBOURN & J. WOODYER; and / sold by R. DODSLEY in Pall-mall, J. BEECROFT and / M. COOPER in Pater-noster Row, London. / [rule] / M DCCLVII.
  • Volume I. Volume title page.
  • Q. HORATII FLACCI / ARS POETICA, / EPISTOLA ad PISONES: / With an English / COMMENTARY and NOTES. / To which is added / A DISSERTATION / Concerning the PROVINCES of the several / Species of the DRAMA. / [rule] / VOL. I. / [double rule] / CAMBRIDGE, / Printed for W. Thurlbourn & J. Woodyer. / [rule] / M DCCLVII.
  • Collation: 8°: π4 A-U8 = 164 leaves = 328 pages.
  • Contents: π1r edition title page, π1v blank, π2r volume title page, π2v blank, pages i ii-iii Dedication to Sir Edward Littleton, signed "Cambridge, 21 June 1757," iv blank, iii [sic]-xvi Introduction, 1 2-34, 35-36 39 [sic]-242 243-246 247-308 text. Page 225 is correctly numbered in the Bodleian and Cambridge University Library copies; it is unnumbered in all other copies examined. Other pages misnumbered as above.
  • Press figures: 86-4.
  • Volume II. Title page.
  • Q. HORATII FLACCI / EPISTOLA / AD / AUGUSTUM: / With an English / COMMENTARY and NOTES. / To which are added, / A DISCOURSE / CONCERNING / POETICAL IMITATION; / AND / A LETTER to Mr. MASON. / [rule] / VOL. II. / [double rule] / CAMBRIDGE, / Printed for W. Thurlbourn & J. Woodyer. / [rule] / M DCCLVII.
  • Collation: a8 A-T8 = 160 leaves = 320 pages.
  • Contents: Page i volume title page, ii blank, iii iv-xv Dedication to the Rev. Mr. Warburton, signed "Cambridge, 29 March, 1753," xvi blank, 1 2-27 text, 28 blank, 29 section title, 30 blank, 31-101 text, 102 blank, 103 section title, 104

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    blank, 105-207 text, 208 blank, 1 title page to A Letter to Mr. Mason. . . 2 blank, 3 [misnumbered 1] 4-76 text, dated on p. 76: "15 August 1757," 77-96 Index to the Two Volumes. In the Letter to Mr. Mason . . ., page 3 is misnumbered 1 and 67 is misnumbered 76 in all copies. In the course of printing, page 190 slowly lost its first digit: in three copies examined it is correctly numbered, in four other copies it is numbered 190, and in another five copies it is misnumbered 90.
  • Press figures: 13-4 or none, 31-4, 43-4, 66-2, 91-4, 166-4, 178-3, 206-4, 210-4, 222-1 or none, 226-2, 2 79-2.
  • Size of an uncut copy: Regular (small) paper copy, 19.8 x 12.5 cm. (Cornell copy, in blue wrappers).
  • Number of copies printed: Unknown; but since 750 copies of the second edition had been printed four years earlier, it is probably safe to assume that this edition was at least that large. Keep in mind that the next printing—the fourth edition of 1766—was printed in 1000 copies. Volume II of this edition was printed at Cambridge University Press, and the colophon on the last page reads: "CAMBRIDGE, / Printed by J. Bentham Printer to the University. / [rule] / M DCC LVII." Joseph Bentham presumably printed this work for Thurlbourne and Woodyer on his "private account," so since it was not a publication of Cambridge University Press there is no record of it among the archives of the Press in Cambridge University Library. There is no record of this edition in the Bowyer ledgers, nor are there any decorative initials or ornaments of any kind in either volume to help in identifying the printer.
  • Date of publication: Although the last piece in Vol. II is dated 15 August 1757, at least a few printed copies were available immediately afterwards. In a letter to Thomas Gray dated August 16, 1757, Hurd states that "The Letter to Mason is printed off, and I shall send you a copy very soon to Dodsley's" (Hurd-Mason Correspondence, 36-37). In a letter to Hurd dated September 12, 1757, William Warburton says that "I have received your new Edition.—Your additional notes, and new pieces, are admirable" (Letters, 253).
  • Illustrations: In Vol. I, page 1 has an engraving of the Muses, signed F. Hayman inv. & del., C. Grignion Sculp. In Vol. II, page 1 has an engraving of the head of Augustus, signed WS. These are the same engravings found in the previous editions.
  • Copies: Regular (small) paper copies: *British Library 1578/2836; *Cambridge University Library 4 copies: Adv. d. 75. 6-7, Ely d. 697-698, Keynes R. 3. 15-16 (ex libris Edward Gibbon Esq.), and X. 5. 80-81; *Cornell; University of Florida at Gainesville 871 H5e 1756 [sic]; Free Library of Philadelphia 1757M680 [I thank the Reference Librarian, Karen Lightner, for describing this copy for me]; *Jesus College, Cambridge MK. 3. 1-2; Northwestern Horace H961 1757 [I thank the Curator of Special Collections, R. Russell Maylone, for describing this copy for me]; *Yale Gnh6 b753b; *D. D. Eddy. Large paper copies: *Bodleian Library Vet. A5e. 2067, 2068.
  • Notes: 1. The watermark of the regular paper copies is best seen in the uncut copy at Cornell; it has a watermark of a fleur-de-lis over the initials "IV" (see Heawood 1540; Gaskell, 68).

    2. The Bodleian copy is handsomely bound in speckled calf with double labels, the covers and spines ornately gilt, and all edges gilt. Both volumes contain the ex libris of Sir Edward Littleton Bart., so this is a dedication copy. Although both volumes were so heavily trimmed in binding that only traces of a watermark are visible, yet both measure 20.6 x 13.0 cm. and so are slightly larger than the uncut small paper copy at Cornell.

    The University of Florida copy is bound similarly to the Bodleian copy, except that its edges are not gilt. Both of its volumes also contain the ex libris of Sir Edward Littleton Bart., so it appears that Richard Hurd sent attractively bound sets of both the large and small paper copies to the dedicatee. In binding, the pages of both volumes of the Florida copy were trimmed to 18.0 cm. in height. [I am grateful to the University of Florida Library Curator of Rare Books,


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    Miss Carmen Hurff, for giving me an accurate description of these volumes.]

    "At Cambridge [Hurd] formed a close friendship with his pupil and old schoolfellow, Sir Edward Littleton, bart." (DNB). Littleton was admitted to Emmanuel College as a nobleman on April 20, 1744, and he received his M.A. in 1746; see Venn, Alumni Cantabrigienses, Part I, Vol. III, p. 92.

  • V. 1757 (ESTC ID: To68159)
  • A / LETTER / TO / Mr. MASON; / ON THE / MARKS of IMITATION. / [rule] [quotation from Malherbe] / [double rule] / CAMBRIDGE: / Printed for W. THURLBOURN & J. WOODYER; and / sold by R. DODSLEY in Pall-mall, J. BEECROFT and / M. COOPER in Pater-noster Row, London. / [rule] / M DCCLVII.
  • Collation: 8°: A-E8 = 40 leaves = 80 pages.
  • Contents: Page 1 title, 2 blank, 3-76 text, 77-80 Advertisements for "Books printed for and sold by W. Thurlbourn and J. Woodyer, in Cambridge." Page 58 misnumbered 85.
  • Press figures: 26-1, 34-1, 58 [misnumbered 85]-3, 68-1.
  • Size of an uncut copy: None examined.
  • Number of copies printed: Unknown. Although this is a different edition from the one included in the 1757 edition of Hurd's Horace, it was presumably printed at approximately the same time at Cambridge University Press.
  • Date of publication: Again citing Hurd's letter to Thomas Gray (see above), at least some printed copies were available on August 16, 1757.
  • Illustrations: None.
  • Copies: *Bodleian Library 2 copies: Godw. Pamph. 105(1) and Godw. Pamph. 1860 (16); *British Library 11825.b.29(1); *Cambridge University Library Yorke. d. 630 (3); *Cornell (lacking pp.77-80); *Princeton 2865 .331 .253(2); *Yale Had 21 g757h; *D. D. Eddy (ex libris R. W. Chapman).
  • Note: Owen Ruffhead (1723-69) praised this book highly in a long review article in the Monthly Review 18 (Feb. 1758), 114-125; see Nangle, #2457. The price is listed as 1s.
  • VI. 1766 (ESTC ID: To46143). The two Horatian Epistles and four dissertations.
  • Volume I.
  • Q. HORATII FLACCI / EPISTOLAE / AD / PISONES, / ET / AUGUSTUM: / WITH AN ENGLISH / COMMENTARY AND NOTES: / TO WHICH ARE ADDED / CRITICAL DISSERTATIONS. / BY THE / REVEREND MR. HURD. / IN THREE VOLUMES. / THE FOURTH EDITION, / CORRECTED AND ENLARGED. / VOL. I. / LONDON, / PRINTED FOR A. MILLAR, IN THE STRAND; / AND W. THURLBOURN AND J. WOODYER, / AT CAMBRIDGE. MDCCLXVI.
  • Collation: 8°: a4 b1(=T4) A-S8 T4(-T4=b1) = 152 leaves = 304 pages.
  • Contents: Page i title page, ii blank, iii Contents, iv blank, v-ix Dedication to Sir Edward Littleton, Bart., x blank, 2i-xvi Introduction, 1-36 text, 37 section title, 38 blank, 39-277 text, 278 blank.
  • Press figures: vii-1 or none, 2iv-1, 2-4, 13-2, 22-2 or none, 34-2, 41-4, 52-1, 58-4,

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    70-4, 76-1, 84-4, 98-2, 123-1, 140-4, 156-4, 164-1, 175-4, 182-1, 194-2, 212-2, 240-1, 270-4, 276-2.
  • Volume II.
  • [Title identical with Vol. I, but deleting "IN THREE VOLUMES" and reading "VOL. II."]
  • Collation: 8°: a8 b2 B-Q8 R4 = 134 leaves = 268 pages.
  • Contents: Page i title, ii blank, iii-xix Dedication to William Warburton, xx blank, 1-32 text, 33 section title, 34 blank, 35-131 text, 132 blank, 133 section title, 134 blank, 135-161 text, 162 blank, 163-247 text, 248 blank.
  • Press figures: xi-2 or none, 11-1, 28-1, 42-4, 59-4, 68-4, 92-2, 105-1, 124-4, 139-4, 146-1, 173-2, 174-3, 185-2, 186-2, 203-2, 222-2, 233-4, 242-1.
  • Volume III.
  • [Title identical with Vol. I. but deleting "IN THREE VOLUMES" and reading "VOL. III."]
  • Collation: 8°: A1 B-R8 S4 T1 = 134 leaves = 268 pages.
  • Contents: A1r title page, A1v blank, 1-240 text, 241-265 Index, 266 blank.
  • Press figures: 9-2, 18-2, 38-2, 57-2, 70-1, 94-1, 100-3, 106-1, 121-2, 136-2, 153-2, 169-2, 184-2, 190-4, 205-2, 210-1, 234-4, 242-3, 249-2, 262-3, 264-2.
  • Size of an uncut copy: None examined.
  • Number of copies printed: Bowyer Ledgers #4608: 1000 copies (6 May 66).
  • Date of publication: Thursday, May 15, 1766 (Public Advertiser). "This Day is published, Elegantly printed on a fine Writing-Paper, in Three Volumes, Duodecimo [sic], Price bound 9s. A new Edition (being the Fourth) corrected and enlarged . . . By the Rev. Mr. Hurd, Preacher to the Honourable Society of Lincoln's-Inn. . . ." On May 6, the day printing was completed, the Public Advertiser carried its first "Speedily will be published . . ." notice.
  • Illustrations: None.
  • Copies: *Bodleian Library Montagu 252-254; *British Library 237. l. 21-23; *Cornell; Free Library of Philadelphia 1766M713 [I thank the Reference Librarian, Karen Lightner, for describing this copy for me]; *Hartlebury Castle Bb 24-26; *Harvard (Houghton) Lh8 .567* (see note 2, below); *Jesus College, Cambridge F. 5. 22-24; *Princeton PTT 2865 .331 .266 (Vol. II lacks signature Q); *Yale Gnh6 b753c; *D. D. Eddy.
  • Notes: 1. The paper used has vertical chain lines throughout all copies examined but has no visible watermarks. No copies were printed on large paper.

    2. Hurd was made "Preacher of Lincoln's Inn, on the recommendation of Mr. Charles Yorke, &c., November 6, 1765" (Hurd-Mason Correspondence, xxvii); and when the fourth edition of his Horace was published the following spring, Hurd was happy to include his name and new title in the newspaper advertisements (see above). Also residing at Lincoln's Inn at that time was Thomas Hollis, who presented to the Harvard College Library a set of the three volumes of this edition of Hurd's Horace, the copy listed above. The volumes were bound by John Shove of London and have his characteristic tool in the center of each cover. Each volume also contains the college bookplate engraved by Nathaniel Hurd of Boston, filled out in manuscript "The Gift of Thomas Hollis, of Lincoln's Inn, London." For pictures of Shove's binding tool and Hurd's bookplate, see W. H. Bond, Thomas Hollis of Lincoln's Inn: A Whig and his Books (1990), 54-55, 89-90.

    3. This edition apparently contains Hurd's final thoughts about his edition of Horace. "A manuscript in Hartlebury Library, in the handwriting of Hurd's nephew, reveals the Bishop's directions concerning the collected edition of his


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    works: . . . Horace & the Critical Dissertations [are to be] printed from the 4th Edition in 1766" (Martz, p. 587).

  • VII. 1766 (ESTCID: No58848)
  • A / DISSERTATION / ON THE / IDEA / OF / UNIVERSAL POETRY. / [ornament] / LONDON, / Printed for A. Millar, in The Strand. / MDCCLXVI.
  • Collation: 8°: A-B8 = 16 leaves = 32 pages.
  • Contents: Page 1 title, 2 blank, 3 4-29 text, 30-32 blank.
  • Press figures: None.
  • Size of an uncut copy: None examined.
  • Number of copies printed: 250. "Used for 2 sheets No. 250 1 [ream]; Dd to Mr Millar the Pamphlet No. 250" (Bowyer Ledgers P1221).
  • Date of publication: Friday, May 30, 1766 (Daily Advertiser). In the month of May, 1766, none of the advertisements for the fourth edition of Hurd's Horace in either the Daily Advertiser or the Public Advertiser mentioned any separate reprint of the "Dissertation" until the notice in the Daily Advertiser of May 30 added: "Note: The above Dissertation on Universal Poetry may be had separately, Price 6d."
  • Illustrations: None.
  • Copies: *Emmanuel College, Cambridge 331.3.65 (3) [I thank the Sub-librarian, Rhiannon Jones, for initially describing this copy for me]; Folger Shakespeare Library PN 1055 H9 Cage, lacking final blank leaf B8 [I thank the Reference Librarian, Georgianna Ziegler, for describing this copy for me]; University of Kansas B 4569, lacking final blank leaf B8 [I thank the Associate Special Collections Librarian, Richard W. Clement, for describing this copy for me].
  • VIII. 1768 (ESTCID: T187173)
  • Volume I.
  • Q. HORATII FLACCI / EPISTOLAE / AD / PISONES, / ET / AUGUSTUM: / WITH AN ENGLISH / COMMENTARY AND NOTES: / TO WHICH ARE ADDED / CRITICAL DISSERTATIONS. / BY THE / REVEREND MR. HURD. / IN TWO VOLUMES. / THE FIFTH EDITION, / CORRECTED AND ENLARGED. / VOL. I. / DUBLIN: / PRINTED BY SARAH STRINGER, UNDER DICK'S / COFFEE-HOUSE IN SKINNER-ROW. / [rule] / M,DCC,LXVIII.
  • Collation: 12°: a4 A-I12 2a6 [between I11 and I12] K-N12 O1 = 167 leaves = 334 pages. 2a2 missigned a3.
  • Contents: Page i title, ii blank, iii Contents, iv blank, v-viii Dedication to Sir Edward Littleton, 2i-xiv Introduction, 1-32 text, 33 section title, 34 blank, 35-198 text, 199 section title, 200 blank, 3i-xi Dedication to William Warburton, xii blank, 201-229 text, 230 blank, 231 section title, 232 blank, 233-299 text, 300 blank.
  • Press figures: None.
  • Volume II.
  • [Title page same as Vol. I, except: . . . VOL. II. / DUBLIN : / . . .]
  • Collation: 12°: A1 B-L12 M8 = 129 leaves = 258 pages.
  • Contents: A1r title, A1v blank, pages 1-75 text, 76 blank, 77-240 text, 241-256 Index.
  • Press figures: None.

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  • Size of an uncut copy: None examined.
  • Number of copies printed: Unknown.
  • Illustrations: None.
  • Copies: * Bodleian Library Montagu 255, 256; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill PA 6393 .E75 1768 [I thank Dr. Charles McNamara for describing this copy for me]; *Yale Gnh6 b753e.
  • Note: The paper used has horizontal chain lines throughout the copies examined and has no visible watermarks.
  • IX. 1772 Translation into German by Johann Joachim Eschenburg, 1743-1820.
  • Volume I.
  • Horazens / Episteln an die Pisonen / und / an den Augustus / [rule] / mit / Kommentar und Anmerkungen / nebst / einigen kritischen Abhandlungen / von / R. Hurd. / [rule] / Aus dem Englishen uebersetzt / und / mit eigenen Anmerkungen begleitet / von / Johann Joachim Eschenburg. / [rule] / Erster Band. / [rule] / Leipzig / bey Engelhart Benjamin Schwickert 1772.
  • Collation: 8°: π1 (=2C8?) A-2B8 2C8 (-2C8) 2D2 = 210 leaves = 420 pages.
  • Contents: π1r title, π1v blank, pages 1-54 text, 55 section title, 56 blank, 57 58-246 text, 247 section title, 248 blank, 249 250-292 text, 293 section title, 294 blank, 295 296-418 text.
  • Volume II.
  • [Title identical with Vol. I, except for reading "Zweyter Band."]
  • Collation: π1(=U8?) A-T8 U8 (-U8) X2
  • Contents: π1r title, π1v blank, 1 section title, 2 blank, 3 4-24 text, 25 section title, 26 blank, 27 28-94 text, 95 section title, 96 blank, 97 98-214 text, 215 section title, 216 blank, 217 218-321 text, 322 list of errata.
  • Size of an uncut copy: 21.5 x 13.5 cm. (Princeton copy, top edge lightly trimmed and gilt, the other edges uncut).
  • Copies: *British Library 11385. c. 26; Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) 871 H5a .huG [I thank the Curator of Rare Books, N. Frederick Nash, for describing this copy for me]; Northwestern Horace H961 1772 [I thank the Curator of Special Collections, R. Russell Maylone, for describing this copy for me]; *Princeton PTT 2865 .311 .272.
  • Notes: 1. The entire book, both text and title pages, is set in Fraktur.

    2. Again I thank Fred Nash for locating in Illinois two more copies of this elusive translation: DePaul University Library and Bethany Northern Baptist Seminary Library.

  • X. 1776 (ESTC ID: To46144)
  • Volume I.
  • Q. HORATII FLACCI / EPISTOLAE / AD / PISONES, / ET / AUGUSTUM: / WITH AN ENGLISH / COMMENTARY AND NOTES: / TO WHICH ARE ADDED / CRITICAL DISSERTATIONS. / BY THE / REVEREND MR. HURD. / IN THREE VOLUMES. / THE FIFTH EDITION, / CORRECTED AND ENLARGED. / VOL. I. /

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    LONDON, / PRINTED BY W. BOWYER AND J. NICHOLS: / FOR T. CADELL, IN THE STRAND; AND / J. WOODYER, AT CAMBRIDGE. / MDCCLXXVI.
  • Collation: 8°: a1-5 A-S8 T1-3(=a6-8?) = 152 leaves = 304 pages.
  • Contents: Page i title page, ii blank, iii Contents, iv blank, v-ix Dedication to Sir Edward Lyttelton, x blank, 2i-xvi Introduction, 1-36 text, 37 section title, 38 blank, 39-277 text, 278 blank. In some copies, page 82 not numbered; in the Princeton copy, 82 and the NO of the headline NOTES are both lacking; in the Harvard and Northwestern copies, 82 and NOT are lacking.
  • Press figures: vi-1, viii-2 or none, 2ii-5, 6-7, 9-3, 26-4, 34-6, 56-5, 62-1, 79-7, 92-4, 94-1, 111-4, 126-2, 141-3, 143-2, 146-1, 168-2, 190-1, 205-7, 207-4, 221-1, 223-7, 239-2, 248-5, 264-5, 270-3.
  • Volume II.
  • [Title same as Vol. I, except for deleting "IN THREE VOLUMES" and reading "VOL. II." instead of "VOL. I."]
  • Collation: 8°: a8 b2 B-Q8 R4 = 134 leaves = 268 pages.
  • Contents: Page i title page, ii blank, iii-xix Dedication to Warburton, xx blank, 1-32 text, 33 section title, 34 blank, 35-131 text, 132 blank, 133 section title, 134 blank, 135-161 text, 162 blank, 163-247 text, 248 blank. In approximately half the copies examined, the inner forme of signature L is mis-impressed and misnumbered; see note 2, below.
  • Press figures: x-6, xiii-4, 14-4, 25-7, 48-6, 54-6, 61-2, 68-5, 75-1, 91-1, 107-5, 127-4, 143-7, 158-1, 172-3, 185-4, 187-3, 200-6, 223-1, 245-7.
  • Volume III.
  • [Title same as Vol. I, except for deleting "IN THREE VOLUMES" and reading "VOL. III." instead of "VOL. I."]
  • Collation: 8°: A1 B-R8 S4 T1 = 134 leaves = 268 pages.
  • Contents: A1r title page, A 1v blank, pages 1-240 text, 241-265 Index, 266 Advertisements for three works of Hurd published by T. Cadell. Page 176 misnumbered 76.
  • Press figures: 2-6, 27-5, 42-2, 50-5, 79-4, 89-5, 110-2, 121-4, 127-2, 134-1, 150-1, 170-2, 191-7, 194-1, 222-5, 236-2, 238-1, 254-6, 263-3.
  • Size of an uncut copy: None examined.
  • Number of copies printed: Unknown; see Bowyer Ledgers #5095.
  • Illustrations: None.
  • Copies: *Bodleian Library 29764 e. 7-9; *British Library 1002. h. 16-18; *Cambridge University Library Nn. 34. 36-38; *Cornell; Free Library of Philadelphia 1776 M744 [I thank the Reference Librarian, Karen Lightner, for describing this copy for me]; *Hartlebury Castle Bb 13-15; *Harvard (Widener) Lh8 .569; Northwestern Horace H961 1776 [I thank the Curator of Special Collections, R. Russell Maylone, for describing this copy for me]; *Princeton PTT 2865 .331 .276; *St. John's College, Cambridge H. 12. 8-10; *Trinity College, Cambridge Z. 14. 44-46; *D. D. Eddy 2 copies.
  • Notes: 1. The watermark is a fleur-de-lis in the paper used in all copies. There are no royal paper copies. 2. In Volume II, signature L (pages 145-160) exists in two states: in the first, the inner forme was mis-impressed and page 160 in the outer forme was misnumbered 164; thus the page numbers of the signature read 145, 150, 151, 148, 149, 146, 147, 152, 153, 158, 159, 156, 157, 154, 155, and 164. Copies of this first state are: Bodleian Library, British Library, Cornell, Free Library of Philadelphia, Northwestern, Princeton, St. John's College, Cambridge, and D. D. Eddy

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    copy 1. In the second state, all of the pages are correctly impressed and page 160 is correctly numbered; copies: Cambridge University Library, Hartlebury Castle, Harvard, Trinity College, Cambridge, and D. D. Eddy copy 2.

COMMENTS, SPECULATIONS, AND QUESTIONS

The Engravings

In the editions of 1749, 1753, and 1757, the first page of the Ars Poetica has an attractive engraving of two Muses, seated, with three satyrs playing and dancing in the background. The female figure on the viewer's left represents Thalia, the Muse of comedy and bucolic poetry. In her right hand she holds the smiling mask of comedy and in her left a flute. Next to her, holding a lyre, is Erato, the Muse who presided over lyric and amatory poetry (see Figure 1).

illustration

This plate was designed and drawn by Francis Hayman (?1708-76) and engraved by Charles Grignion (1721-1810). By the middle of the eighteenth century, these two men were perhaps the most popular artists producing copperplates for book illustrations in London. In the early 1740s Hayman relied upon Gravelot (1669-1773) as his engraver, but after Gravelot departed for


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France in 1745 Hayman turned increasingly to Grignion. In 1749 Hayman had a busy year, for it saw the publication of Thomas Newton's famous edition of Paradise Lost with all of Hayman's full-page illustrations as well as three different editions of Horace, including Hurd's; see, for example, Hanns Hammelmann, Book Illustrators in Eighteenth-century England (1975), 49-55.

Who was responsible for hiring these artists for a book by an almost unknown writer? Hurd's only previous work was a pamphlet issued by Mary Cooper in 1746, so this was to be the first book by the young Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. The imprint of this 1749 book is somewhat unusual, for it lists the names of the printer and booksellers but no publisher (see note 1). Fortunately, William Bowyer's ledger B487 shows that William Thurlbourne of Cambridge was responsible for ordering and paying for the entire work. It is logical that Hurd would have turned to Thurlbourne for advice, for by 1749 Thurlbourne had been a leading bookseller and publisher in Cambridge for twenty-five years. Why, then, did Thurlbourne not include his name on the imprint as publisher? Perhaps we may speculate that although Thurlbourne paid Bowyer the complete bill of £25:10: 3 (for paper, printing, binding the fine copies, advertising, and 3s. "for working the plate"), yet Thurlbourne may have been acting merely as an agent for Hurd, who was responsible for paying the bills. It was certainly not uncommon at that time for authors to have to pay for the production of their early books (see note 2). In this case Thurlbourne may have left his name off the imprint—and out of the newspaper advertisements—since, technically, he was not the publisher. Therefore, since William Bowyer was directly responsible for all aspects of producing the book, he may have hired Hayman and Grignion; or, as an old professional in the book trade, Thurlbourne may have requested those artists from Bowyer; or, since he may have been paying for it all, Hurd may have requested them on the advice of his good friend William Mason, whose Musaeus had been illustrated by Hayman and Grignion in 1747.

In the editions of 1751, 1753, and 1757, the first page of the Epistola ad Augustum contains a left-facing head of Augustus Caesar, surrounded by an inscription "DIVVS AVGVSTVS PATER" (see Figure 2). Under the plate are the initials "WS," but the identity of this engraver remains conjectural. Whoever he was, the center of his engraving—that is, everything inside the circle, including the lettering—is an extremely close copy of John Pine's engraving in his celebrated edition of Horace; see Quinti Horatii Flacci Opera (Londini: Aeneis Tabulis Incidit Johannes Pine, 1733), I, 21.

William Thurlbourne was clearly the publisher of the 1751 edition, yet some costs were still passed on to "Mr Hurd of Emanuel" according to William Bowyer's printing ledgers. On April 16 (and 20), 1751, there were charges of 3s. 6d. "for working at Rolling Press the Head of Horace [sic]" and 5s. "for advertising twice" (ledgers B487 and B544). From a financial point of view, the Ars Poetica of 1749 and the Epistola ad Augustum of 1751 are similar in many ways: both were printed by Bowyer for Thurlbourne, both have title pages printed in red and black, and both have only one copperplate engraving; yet the 1751 should have been the more expensive book to


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illustration
produce, for it has three more sheets of text than the 1749 and 26 more copies were printed. Thurlbourne was charged £25:10:3 for the 1749 (as noted above) and £17:17:2 for the 1751 edition, with the main differences being in the costs for paper: the bill for the 1749 included £7:13:0 for ten reams of Demy at 15s. each and 11s. 3d. for nine quires of Royal at 1s. 3d. per quire, while the bill for the 1751 edition does not mention any costs for paper. We may presume that Thurlbourne was billed for the paper used, either separately or by including the costs in other Thurlbourne accounts; but the amount does not seem to be identified in the Bowyer ledgers.

Perhaps a more meaningful comparison, however, is in the prices Bowyer charged per sheet of printing. Of the 500 copies of the 1749 edition, there were "10 sheets & 1/4 with Title red equal to 11 Sheets at 24s. per Sheet" (B487). Of the 526 copies of the 1751 edition, there were "13 Sheets & 1/4 and Title red equal to 14 Sheets . . . at 24s. per sheet" (B544). Of the 750 copies of the 1753 edition, Bowyer printed "vol. I. 19 sheets . . . at 22s. per sheet" (B544); for Vol. II of this same edition, Thurlbourne was charged 20s. 9d. per sheet at Cambridge University Press (Minute Book Min. VI. 1*, p. 88). There are no price records for the later editions of Hurd's Horace, but surely the 1000 copies of the 52 1/2 sheets Bowyer printed for Millar for the 1766 edition would have been priced at a much lower rate. Examining other entries in the Bowyer ledgers at this period amply confirms the general maxim


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of business: when comparing similar types of work, the larger the quantity ordered the lower the cost per unit.

There is no listing in these detailed ledgers of the expenses of buying the copperplates and having them engraved, so we will probably never learn the difference in cost between a plate done by Hayman and Grignion and one by the presumably less expensive WS. But regardless of the costs, who would normally have paid for the engravings in a book, and who owned them and controlled their use in later editions? In the case of Hurd's Horace, each plate was used in its first printing for 500 or so copies, a second printing in 1753 of 750 copies, and a third printing in 1757 of presumably 750 or more copies. Any copperplate may show signs of wear after 2000 or more impressions; and Thurlbourne, who presumably controlled all the editions through 1757, may well have scrapped the plates after the Cambridge edition of that year. In any case, when Andrew Millar had Bowyer print 1000 copies of the fourth edition in 1766, the plates were probably too worn to print that many more copies and Millar did not care to have new ones made, so no plates were used. When the fifth edition was published ten years later, Cadell also omitted any plates.

Notes: 1. In this context the term "publisher" means the person responsible for paying the costs of producing the book, and whose name in the imprint usually was preceded by "Printed for." One says "usually" because it was the normal practice among the major figures in the London book trade, but one excludes booksellers such as "the Coopers, who are recognized retailers with no likely financial share in many smaller works stated on the title-page to have been printed for them"; see Keith Maslen, An Early London Printing House at Work: Studies in the Bowyer Ledgers (New York: The Bibliographical Society of America, 1993), 101—hereafter cited as "Maslen." One can only agree when Maslen argues that "imprints were not meant to reveal the background of a commercial transaction, and therefore may seriously mislead the modern scholar who reads them too literally" (p. 101); but, to paraphrase Pope, what can we reason but from what we see on the printed pages before us?

2. Regardless of their imprints, books printed for the author were common. The Bowyer ledgers indicate that "from 1710 to 1773 at least 315 separately published works large and small are charged to 160 or so gentlemen" (Maslen, 98). In this group, the largest number were clergymen, and one of the most common types of books they produced was editions of the classics (Maslen, 104). The young Reverend Mr. Hurd, with his editions of Horace, was a good example. After all—a bookseller might wonder—how many editions, translations, and imitations of Horace could the London public be expected to buy in any year? Hurd was the exception to such gloomy predictions, for his editions received critical acclaim and sold relatively well.

The Royal Paper Copies

Today it is not unusual for popular authors to have their works published not only in hardcover and paperback trade editions but also in limited editions, numbered and signed by the author. This practice, as such, does not seem to have been normal—if it happened at all—in eighteenth-century England. In some instances all copies of an edition were numbered and signed by the author—e.g., John Angell's Stenography: or, Short-hand improved of 1758. In other cases all copies of an edition were signed by the author—e.g., John Payne's New Tables of Interest of 1758, or Christopher Smart's A Song to David of 1763. But what purchasers of books usually had to pay extra


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money for were those copies printed on large (or fine, or Royal) paper, whether these were normal trade or subscription editions. Pope's Iliad, of course, was issued simultaneously in two formats and four different grades and quality of paper, each at a considerably different price. At a time in the booktrade when the cost of paper normally represented two-thirds of the cost of producing a book, the public paid—and paid extra—for those fewer copies of an edition printed on higher quality paper. It was not uncommon, however, for an author to have a small number of Royal paper copies printed for his personal use.

Like many academics before and since his time, Richard Hurd tried to advance his career by having his writings published and then distributing copies to everyone who might be helpful to him. An excellent example of this practice is a small pamphlet which Hurd paid Bowyer to print for him in 1751 at exactly the same time Bowyer was printing Hurd's edition of the Epistola ad Augustum. Entitled The Opinion of an eminent Lawyer, concerning the Right of Appeal from the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, to the Senate . . ., its imprint states accurately that it was "London, Printed, and Sold by M. Cooper . . ." thus reflecting the lack of any named publisher. Astonishingly, Hurd paid for printing three editions of this little piece in the months of May, June, and July of 1751—£4:10:0 for each edition—but apparently it was worth his while to distribute the pamphlet widely. Of the 250 copies of the first edition, 100 copies, stitched, were sent to Thurlbourne in Cambridge; Cooper took 80 copies, "not stitched," for London; six copies were sent "to the Author"; and Hurd had the remaining 64 copies "Stitched in Marble paper" at the cost of 2d. each and sent "To the Judges & other presents" (see Bowyer Ledgers B487, B564, and P1074). All the copies of this pamphlet were printed on ordinary paper; but with his early editions of Horace, Hurd had 20 or 26 copies of each edition printed on Royal paper and distributed to friends and persons of potential influence.

Of the Ars Poetica of 1749, Hurd paid £1:11:6 to have the twenty Royal paper copies printed and another 2s. 6d. to have them "sew'd in Marble paper" (Bowyer Ledgers B487, P1067). Of the 1751 Epistola ad Augustum, Bowyer printed 26 copies on "Large [paper] with marg[ins] opened"—that is, the type was reimposed with wider margins in order to accomodate better the large paper—and of these, twelve copies were sent to Thurlbourne, presumably for Hurd's use. Of the remaining fourteen, three were "bound & gilt" at 2s. each and sent to the Bishop of Norwich, Mr. [Ralph] Allen, and to the Honble. Charles Yorke; the other eleven were "sewed in Marble" for the total cost of 3s. 8d. and sent to the "Ld. Bishop of London, Mr. Tho. Villers, Honble. George Littleton, Dr. Tunstal, Dr. Heberden, Mr. Warburton, Mr. Whitehead, Dr. Askew, Mr. Mason, Mr. Morris, and the Revd. Mr. Barnard" (Bowyer Ledgers B544, P1084).

Of the 1753 edition of Horace in two volumes, twenty copies were printed on Royal paper (Bowyer Ledgers B544, P1094). The ledgers do not record any distribution list for this edition, but we do know that Hurd presented one large paper copy in sheets to Henry Hubbard of Emmanuel College (see


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above). Of the 1757 edition we have no statistics of printing, since this was printed, at least in part, by Joseph Bentham in Cambridge instead of William Bowyer. We know, however, that Hurd continued his custom of having some copies printed on Royal paper; for he had one such copy handsomely bound and presented to the dedicatee, Sir Edward Littleton, and another (in marbled paper?) was sent to William Warburton (see above).

Thus, of the editions of 1749 through 1757, apparently all large paper copies were reserved for Hurd's personal use and none were offered for sale. All editions later than 1757 were printed uniformly without any large or fine paper copies.

Shared Printing

Shared printing—that is, simultaneous collaboration in producing a work by two or more printing houses—is one of the most puzzling and difficult problems facing any investigator. Many of these problems cannot be answered beyond speculation because of the lack of hard evidence and information. In recent decades, however, enough evidence has become available for us to realize that shared printing was quite common in English printing shops in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; and the printing ledgers indicate that the Bowyers, for instance, shared with various colleagues the printing of a total of 685 works between 1710 and 1777 (Maslen, 153). As one might suspect, it is much easier to share the printing of previously printed works rather than first printings which involve splitting up an author's manuscript, and the ledgers show that it is much more common. Nor is it always large or multi-volume works which get shared: Bowyer printed seven editions of John Brown's Estimate in 1757-58, printing all of the first, sixth, and seventh editions but no more than half of the fourteen sheets of the other four editions. Since such a practice obviously complicated the working life of printers, why did they do it? The reasons are varied and practical. Any well organized shop has its work scheduled as far ahead as possible, so depending upon the work load any new job order may be shared with other shops if it is to be finished in a reasonable time. Authors who are engaged in hot pamphlet warfare, for example, may demand that their pieces be printed immediately, and so the work is shared. Anyone paying the bills, author or publisher, can demand any printer or printers he chooses. Finally, many printers were members of the Company of Stationers and as such they regularly shared work with other members, especially in such jobs as printing almanacs.

With eighteenth-century books it is often difficult to see whether a work was produced by shared printing merely by examining the finished product. Therefore an investigator is always grateful for any external evidence which may prove relevant, and in the case of the second edition of Hurd's Horace in 1753 there is such evidence. Richard Hurd wrote a letter to William Bowyer dated Cambridge February 14, 1752, saying in part:

. . . Dr. Chapman, you see, has published an answer to the Opinion, of which I shall scarce think it worth my while to take any notice. But would it not be proper to take the opportunity of advertising again the Opinion, that you may try to get off

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the remainder of the third edition.——I have considered your proposal about Horace, and cannot bate a farthing of what I mentioned in my last. We Authors, you know, have always some excuse to comfort ourselves for our books not selling. One reason at least for the Epistle to Augustus not going off was, I think, Thurlbourn's neglect to advertise it properly when it was published. I happened to be abroad at that time, and he is apt to be very careless. I have lately met with some of my own friends who never observed it in the papers till the other day, when it was advertised more carefully. You say, if you purchased the edition, you should expect to have the right of the copy absolute. I suppose you only mean the right of the copy of 750; that is, of this edition. Pray let me have your final answer as soon as possible. What I propose is to have the new edition printed off directly, so as to be finished at the farthest this summer; though I would not publish it till the edition of the Epistle to Augustus be sold off. And, as I am sensible, as you say, of the difference betwixt a piece of dry criticism and a novel, I should not insist on the payment of the 40l. till a year after the time of publication, if that would make any difference. But, if I part with the copy for less than this sum, I think myself obliged in honour to let Mr. Thurlbourne have it, against whom I have no complaint, but that as he grows old he grows lazy. . . . I am, Sir, your humble servant, R. Hurd. (See note)

Clearly Bowyer did not intend to pay £40 for the right merely to print and sell one edition, so it is reasonable to suppose that Hurd finally sold his copyright to Thurlbourne for some smaller amount. When the new edition was printed and delivered late in March of 1753, William Bowyer— as noted above—was the printer of only the first volume, and Thurlbourne had the second volume printed at Cambridge University Press. As Bowyer wryly remarked on a later occasion, "Of two Volumes, the removing away one to another Printer is a crust I have been forced to devour all my life" (Literary Anecdotes, 2:388).

Besides our sympathizing with Bowyer in his dealings with an inexperienced and demanding young author, we are left bemused by the complexities of working out the shared printing of these two volumes. In the days before telephones and fax machines, who was responsible for coordinating the print-shops to use not merely paper of equivalent quality but the same paper for all small paper copies and the same paper for all large paper copies? Who determined the fonts of type, and who decided that no ornaments of any kind would be used? Who arranged such fine details of printing as the fact that all the Royal paper copies would be printed with vertical chain lines and the ordinary paper copies with horizontal chain lines? Why, we may ask, did not Thurlbourne merely turn over the entire project to Bowyer? We will probably not be able to answer these questions until we discover the correspondence between Thurlbourne and Bowyer, so we are left with the mere fact that at some time after February, 1752, it was considered necessary or desirable to share the printing of these volumes.

Note: John Nichols (1745-1826), Literary Anecdotes of the eighteenth-century . . ., 9 vols. (1812-16), 2:230-31—hereafter cited as "Literary Anecdotes." Hurd, of course, was overly optimistic about selling the remaining copies of the third edition of the Opinion; finally, in 1759 he ordered Bowyer to burn the remaining copies (Literary Anecdotes, 6:511 [misnumbered 611]). It was ungracious, to say the least, for Hurd to criticize Thurlbourne about the advertising for the Epistle to Augustus, since Hurd paid the bill for it and Bowyer's records show how many times it was advertised and in what newspapers. Perhaps he did not know that Bowyer kept such records.


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More than sixty years ago the Bodleian Library bought Bowyer's Paper Stock Ledger, and most of the remaining Bowyer ledgers were uncovered at the Grolier Club thirty years ago; but it was not until 1991 that the scholarly efforts of Keith Maslen and John Lancaster were finally published. Their work in letterpress and microfiche makes the Bowyer ledgers fully accessible for the first time; and when Professor Patricia Hernlund finishes her work on the ledgers of William Strahan, we will have available the records of the two major printers in eighteenth-century England. All scholars in the field are truly grateful for such work, for it enables us to base our interpretations and speculations on their solidly grounded facts.