Publications of Elizabeth Mallet

Note: The following printer, bookseller, or publisher lists are works in progress. They are generated from title page imprints and may reproduce false and misleading attributions or contain errors.

What does "printed by" mean? How to read the roles ascribed to people in the imprints.

In terms of the book trades, the lists below are sorted into up to four groups where: the person is designated in the imprint as having a single role:

  1. "printed by x"; or
  2. "sold by x"; or
  3. "printed for x" or "published by x";

or as having the seller and printer roles in combination, or an absence of the printer's name following "London: printed:" or "London: printed,":

  1. "printed and sold by x"; or "printed for and sold by x"; or "printed by and for x"; or "printed: and sold by x"; or "printed, and sold by x";  and so on.

On this last point, trade publishers may seem to have "printed" or "published" the work, though they did not own the copyright. The lists below reflect only the information on the imprint, except where ESTC provides extra information.

Printers (owners of the type and printing presses, and possibly owners of the copyright) may be identified by the words printed by, but printed by does not universally designate a person who is a printer by trade. Booksellers may be identified by the words sold by. Booksellers may also be identified by the words printed for, but nothing should be concluded in this regard without further evidence, especially since "printed for" could signify that the named person was a distributor (or what we might call a wholesaler) rather than a copyright holder. Copyright owners may also be identified by the words printed for. Trade publishers, who distributed books and pamphlets but did not own the copyright or employ a printer—and were not printers themselves—might be identified by the words printed and sold by. Furthermore, works from this period often display false imprints, whether to evade copyright restrictions, to conceal the name of the copyright holders, or to dupe unwitting customers. Ultimately, one must proceed with caution in using the following lists: designations in the imprints may not reliably reflect the actual trades or roles of the people named, and the formulas used in imprints do not consistently mean the same thing.

David Foxon discussed the "meaning of the imprint" in his Lyell Lecture delivered at Oxford in March 1976, with particular attention to "publishers" in the eighteenth-century context:

The fullest form of an imprint is one which names three people, or groups of people:
     London: printed by X (the printer), for Y (the bookseller who owned the copyright), and sold by Z.
In the eighteenth century the printer's name is rarely given, at least in works printed in London, and the form is more commonly:
     London: printed for Y, and sold by Z.
Very often in this period, and particularly for pamphlets, it is further abbreviated to:
     London: printed and sold by Z.
It is this last form which is my present concern. Z is usually what the eighteenth century called 'a publisher', or one who distributes books and pamphlets without having any other responsibility—he does not own the copyright or employ a printer, or even know the author.

He cautions, "The only way to avoid being misled is to regard any imprint which says a book is printed for a publisher as meaning it is sold by him" (5).

D. F. McKenzie coined the term "trade publisher" for these publishers in his Sandars Lectures, also in 1976, on the grounds that their principal role was to publish on behalf of other members of the book trade (Treadwell 100).

Michael Treadwell cautions that "In this period the imprint 'London: Printed and sold by A.B.' normally means 'Printed at London, and sold by A.B.' and must not be taken to mean that A.B. is a printer in the absence of other evidence." Further, "The imprint 'published by' occurs only rarely in Wing and is almost always associated with the name of a trade publisher" (104). While there are exceptions to the rule, it is "certain," he explains, "that anyone who made a speciality of distributing works for others will show a far higher proportion than normal of imprints in one of the 'sold by' forms" (116), which appear in the imprint as "sold by," "printed and sold by," or "published by" (104). Treadwell gives Walter Kettilby as an example of "a fairly typical copyright-owning bookseller" (106)—his role is almost always designated by the phrase "printed for" on imprints.

A final caution: publisher is a word that should be used with some deliberation. Samuel Johnson defines it simply as "One who puts out a book into the world," but "published by" rarely appears on the imprint until later in the eighteenth century, and then primarily associated with newspapers and pamphlets. Treadwell observes that John Dunton names only five publishers among the 200 binders and booksellers in his autobiographical Life and Errors (1705) wherein he undertakes "to draw the Character of the most Eminent [Stationers] in the Three Kingdoms" (100). Treadwell also remarks, however, that "in law, anyone who offered a work for sale 'published' it. In this sense every work had one or more 'publishers', and every bookseller, mercury, and hawker was a 'publisher'" (114).

See:

  • Terry Belanger, "From Bookseller to Publisher: Changes in the London Book Trade, 1750–1850," in Book Selling and Book Buying. Aspects of the Nineteenth-Century British and North American Book Trade, ed. Richard G. Landon (Chicago: American Library Association, 1978).
  • Bricker, Andrew Benjamin. "Who was 'A. Moore'? The Attribution of Eighteenth-Century Publications with False and Misleading Imprints," in The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 110.2 (2016).
  • John Dunton, The Life and Errors of John Dunton (London: Printed for S. Malthus, 1705).
  • John Feather, "The Commerce of Letters: The Study of the Eighteenth-Century Book Trade," Eighteenth-Century Studies 17 (1984).
  • David Foxon, Pope and the Early Eighteenth-Century Book Trade, ed. James McLaverty (Oxford University Press, 1991).
  • Samuel Johnson, Dictionary of the English Language, (printed for J. and P. Knapton; T. and T. Longman; C. Hitch and L. Hawes; A. Millar; and R. and J. Dodsley, 1755).
  • D.F. McKenzie, The London Book Trade in the Later Seventeenth Century (Sandars lectures in bibliography, 1977).
  • Michael Treadwell, "London Trade Publishers 1675–1750," The Library sixth series, vol. 4, no. 2 (1982).

Printed by Elizabeth Mallet

  • Whitebrook, A. A true copy of a letter from an English gentleman in the Emperour's army, to an English officer in Holland, concerning the total rout of the Turks, by the united forces of the Christians, commanded in person, by the Emperour, the King of Poland, and Duke of Lorain. London: printed by E Mallet, [1683?]. ESTC No. R20283. Grub Street ID 80016.
  • A full and true relation of a most barbarous and dreadful murder; committed on the body of Mrs. Kirk, wife of Edmund Kirk drawer at the Rose-Tavern in Pye-Corner, on Sunday May the 25th. 1684. Whose body was found in a pit near Tyburn, supposed to be murder'd by her aforesaid husband. London: printed by Elizabeth Mallet in Black-Horse Alley near Fleet-Bridge, 1684. ESTC No. R11370. Grub Street ID 59664.
  • Strange and bloody nevvs of a most horrible murder committed on the 26th of this instant October at Finchly near Browns Well in Middlesex:. London: printed by Eliz. Mallet in Black-Horse Alley, near Fleet-Bridge, 1684. ESTC No. R184667. Grub Street ID 74105.
  • An exact and true relation of the behaviour of Edmund Kirk, John Bennet, Morgan Keading [i.e. Reading] and Andrevv Hill during their imprisonment, and at the place of execution on Friday the 11th. of this instant July 1684. With their last dying words and speeches at Tyburn. London: Printed by Elizabeth Mallet, in Blackhorse-Alley, near Fleet-Briegd [sic],, [1684]. ESTC No. R12401. Grub Street ID 60587.
  • A true narrative, of the arraignment tryal and conviction, of Thomas Dangerfield for high-misdemeanors against His present Majesty James the Second, at the King's-Bench-Barr at Westminster, on Saturday, May the 30th. 1685. London: printed by E[lizabeth]. Mallet, in Black-horse-Alley near Fleet-Bridge, 1685. ESTC No. R12568. Grub Street ID 60733.
  • A further account, of the proceedings against the rebels in the west of England; who on the 10th. of September, 1685. to the number of two-hundred fifty one received sentence of death, at Dorchester for high-treason of which number 67. were ordered to be executed at Lyme, Bridport, Weymouth, Melcom Regis, Sherborn, Pool, and Wareham, and the remainder respited till farther order, September the 11th. 1685. London: printed by E. Mallet in Black Horse-Alley in Fleet-street, near Fleet-Bridge, [1685. ESTC No. R11423. Grub Street ID 59712.
  • A true narrative of the tryals of Titus Oats for perjury at the Kings-Bench-Barr at VVestminster. On Friday and Saturday the 8th and 9th days of this present May, 1685. London: printed by E[lizabeth]. Mallet in Black-Horse-Alley near Fleet-Bridge, 1685. ESTC No. R222399. Grub Street ID 96400.

Printed for Elizabeth Mallet

  • An exact account of the tryal of Algernoon Sidney Esq; who was tryed at the Kings-Bench-Bar at Westminster, this present Wednesday: being the twenty first of November for conspiring the death of the King, and his Royal Highness, of which he was convicted·. London: Printed for E Mallet, 1683. ESTC No. R31465. Grub Street ID 114258.
  • A true account of the apprehending of Sr. Thomas Armstrong, who was taken at Leyden in Holland and brought over into England, and this day conveyed to Nevvgate June the 11th, 1684. London: printed for E. M[allet]., 1684. ESTC No. R185463. Grub Street ID 74522.
  • England and Wales. Sovereign (1685-1688 : James II).. His Majesties most gracious pardon, to the poor prisoners in Nevvgate. On Friday the 26th. of February. 1685[/]6. London: printed by E. Mallet, for D. Mallet, at the sign of the Black-Ball near Bridewell-Bridge, [1686]. ESTC No. R43307. Grub Street ID 124333.
  • The tryal of Gerrard Dromelius, Michael Van Berg, and Catherine Van Berg, alias Trunet, for the murder of Mr. Oliver Norris, on the 13th of June last, who were try'd at Justice-Hall in the Old Baily, on Friday the fifth of July, 1700. London: printed for E. Mallet at the Hat and Hawk in Bride[sic] Lane, [1700]. ESTC No. R185497. Grub Street ID 74544.
  • The confessions, behaviour, and dying speeches of the criminals that were executed at Tyburn, on Saturday the 20th of July, 1700. London: printed for E. Mallet, at the Hat and Hawk in Bride-lane, [1700]. ESTC No. R174142. Grub Street ID 67426.
  • Tutchin, John. The apostates: or The Noble Cause of liberty deserted. A satyr. With the character of a late L-d Li-nt. And a Comparison between the Fate of Troy and that of Israel. London: printed for Eliz. Mallet next the Kings Arms Tavern by Fleet-bridg[e], 1702. ESTC No. T4594. Grub Street ID 274142.
  • The Secret mercury. Or the adventure of seven days. London [England]: printed for Eliz. Mall[et], near Fleet-B[r]idge, 1702. ESTC No. P3482. Grub Street ID 56812.
  • C------n.. An essay touching rebellion, in relation to the present case of the people of the Cevennes, and the elector of Bavaria. By a C------n. London: printed for Elizabeth Mallet, 1703. ESTC No. N45669. Grub Street ID 30545.

Printed by and for, or by/for and sold by Elizabeth Mallet

  • Dunton, John. The new Quevedo. Or, a vision of Charon's passengers: from the creation of the world, down to this present year 1702. London: printed, and are to be sold by E. Mallet, 1702. ESTC No. N41904. Grub Street ID 28258.