Publications of Thomas Wotton

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 for Thomas Wotton

  • Smith, Cook to King William. Robert. Court cookery: or, The compleat English cook. Containing the choicest and newest receipts for making soops, pottages, fricasseys, harshes, farces, ragoos, cullises, sauces, forc'd-meats and souses; with various ways of dressing most sorts of flesh, fish and fowl, wild and tame; with the best methods of potting and collaring. As likewise of pastes, pies, pastys, puddings, tansies, biskets, creams, cheesecakes, florendines, cakes, jellies, sillabubs and custards. Also of pickling, candying and preserving: with a bill of fare for every month in the year, and the latest improvements in cookery, &c. By R. Smith, Cook (under Mr. Lamb) to King William; as also to the Dukes of Buckingham, Ormond, D'Aumont (the French ambassador) and others of the nobility and gentry. London: printed for T. Wotton, at the Three Daggers in Fleet-Street, MDCCXXIII. [1723]. ESTC No. T91555. Grub Street ID 311387.
  • The church catechism explained by way of paraphrase. For the benefit of ordinary capacities. By P. B. Gent. London: Printed for Tho. Wotton, at the Three Daggers near the Temble-Gate in Fleet-street, M.DCC.XXIV. [1724]. ESTC No. N26739. Grub Street ID 16111.
  • Smith, Cook to King William. Robert. Court cookery: or, The compleat English cook. Containing the choicest and newest receipts for making making soops, pottages, fricasseys, harshes, farces, ragoo's, cullises, sauses, forc'd-meats, and souses: with various ways of dressing most sorts of flesh, fish, and fowl, wild, and tame; with the best methods of potting, collaring and pickling. As likewise of pastes, pies, pasties, patties, puddings, tansies, biskets, creams, cheesecakes, florendines, cakes, jellies, sillabubs and custards. Also of candying and preserving: with a bill fare for every month in the year, and the latest improvements in cookery, pastry, &c. By R. Smith, cook (under Mr. Lamb) to King William, as also to the Dukes of Buckingham, Ormond, D'Aumont (the French Ambassador) and others of the nobility and gentry. The second edition, with large additions.. London: Printed for T. Wotton, at the Three-Daggers in Fleet-Street, M.DCC.XXV. [1725]. ESTC No. N4772. Grub Street ID 32362.
  • Salmon, Thomas. Modern history: or, the present state of all nations. Describing their respective situations, persons, habits, ... animals and minerals. By Mr. Salmon. Vol.X. ... Illustrated with cuts and maps, ... by Herman Moll. London: printed for Tho. Wotton; J. Shuckburgh: and T. Osborne, jun., 1729. ESTC No. N35364. Grub Street ID 23635.
  • The laws of England delineated. London]: In the Savoy: printed by E. and R. Nutt, and R. Gosling, (assigns of Edw. Sayer, Esq;) for Thomas Wotton, 1729. ESTC No. N55263. Grub Street ID 38786.
  • State law: or, the Doctrine of Libels, Discussed and Examined. Shewing, I. Every species of defamatory-writing, what shall be deemed and taken for such; and how far the same are Punishable by the Laws of the Land. II. The Sense of both Civil and Canon Lawyers in this Points with great Variety of Precedents, and Adjudged Cases. Faithfully cited from all our Reports. III. Particular Instances of Printed Libels; with the Proceedings against, 1. H. Carr, for writing The Weekly Packet of Advices from Rome, 31 Car. II. 2. Of S. Johnson and R. Baxter for Libelling King James II. 3. Of Hurt, for printing The Flying Post, 12 Anne. 4. Of Curll, for printing Ker of Kersland's Memoirs, &c. 10 Geo. ... With two remarkable cases: 1. Temp. Hen. 70. of Several Persons executed for a Libel against his Ministry, which was deemed High-Treason. 2. The Case of Sir William Williams, (speaker of the House of Commons) fined 10000l. for a Libel. Also, the opinions of Lord Chief Justice Hale, Holt, and Parker, conce. The second edition, with a table.. London]: In the Savoy: printed by E. and R. Nutt, and R. Gosling, [assigns of Edward Sayer, Esq;] for T. Wotton, at the Three Daggers and Queen's Head, opposite St. Dunstan's-Church; and J. Shuckburgh, next door to the Rainbow Coffee-House, at the Inner Temple-Gate, Fleet-Street, [1730?. ESTC No. T58205. Grub Street ID 284345.
  • Wharton, Robert, writer of Tales. Historiae pueriles. By Robert Wharton. The second edition. With very large additions.. London: printed for T. Wotton, 1738. ESTC No. N17758. Grub Street ID 7219.

Author

  • Wotton, Thomas. The english baronetage: containing a genealogical and historical account of all the English baronets, now existing: their descents, marriages, and issues; Memorable Actions, both in War, and Peace; Religious and Charitable Donations; Deaths, Places of Burial, and Monumental Inscriptions; collected From Authentick Manuscripts, Records, Old Wills, our best Historians, and other Authorities. Illustrated with their coats of arms, Curiously Engraven, on copper-plates: with An Explanatory Index of the Terms in Heraldry, referring to the Arms. Also Correct Lists; I. Of the Present Baronets, in the Order of Precedence. II. Of those who are now Peers of Great-Britain, or Ireland. III. Of those Foreigners, who have had this Dignity conferr'd on them. IV. Of those, whose Titles are now Extinct. Likewise exact tables of precedence; Particularly with Respect to the Wives, Sons, and Daughters, of Baronets, and Knights. To whic are added, an account of such Nova-Scotia baronets as are of English Familie. London: printed for Tho. Wotton, at the Three Daggers and Queen's-Head, against St. Dunstan's-Church, in Fleet-Street, 1741. ESTC No. T142967. Grub Street ID 190108.