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65-512: Jacob Tonson , sometimes referred to as Jacob Tonson the Elder (12 November 1655– 17 March 1736), was an eighteenth-century English bookseller and publisher . Tonson published editions of John Dryden and John Milton , and is best known for having obtained a copyright on the plays of William Shakespeare by buying up the rights of the heirs of the publisher of the Fourth Folio after

130-728: A chair at the university in Florence. Although unsuccessful, the discussions between the two were instrumental in Boccaccio writing the Genealogia deorum gentilium ; the first edition was completed in 1360 and this remained one of the key reference works on classical mythology for over 400 years. It served as an extended defence for the studies of ancient literature and thought. Despite the Pagan beliefs at its core, Boccaccio believed that much could be learned from antiquity. Thus, he challenged

195-504: A conversion of Boccaccio by Petrarch from the open humanist of the Decameron to a more ascetic style, closer to the dominant fourteenth-century ethos. For example, he followed Petrarch (and Dante) in the unsuccessful championing of an archaic and deeply allusive form of Latin poetry. In 1359, following a meeting with Pope Innocent VI and further meetings with Petrarch, it is probable that Boccaccio took some kind of religious mantle. There

260-992: A counselor to Queen Joanna I of Naples and, eventually, her Grand Seneschal . It seems that Boccaccio enjoyed law no more than banking, but his studies allowed him the opportunity to study widely and make good contacts with fellow scholars. His early influences included Paolo da Perugia (a curator and author of a collection of myths called the Collectiones ), humanists Barbato da Sulmona and Giovanni Barrili, and theologian Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro . In Naples, Boccaccio began what he considered his true vocation of poetry. Works produced in this period include Il Filostrato and Teseida (the sources for Chaucer 's Troilus and Criseyde and The Knight's Tale , respectively), The Filocolo (a prose version of an existing French romance), and La caccia di Diana (a poem in terza rima listing Neapolitan women). The period featured considerable formal innovation, including possibly

325-576: A daughter by a daughter of Tonson's; if this is true, it must apparently have been a daughter of Richard Tonson, Jacob's brother. In the autumn of 1710 Tonson moved to the Shakespeare's Head, opposite Catherine Street in the Strand ; his former shop at Gray's Inn Gate was announced for sale in the Tatler for 14 October (No. 237); and it seems to have been taken by Thomas Osborne, stationer, the father of

390-497: A grant to himself and his nephew of the office of stationer, bookseller, and printer to some of the principal public offices; and on 12 October 1722 he assigned the whole benefit of the grant to his nephew. The grant was afterwards renewed by Robert Walpole , in 1733, for a second term of forty years. The elder Tonson seems to have given up business about 1720. He had bought the Hazells estate at Ledbury, Herefordshire , and in 1721 he

455-425: A mix of prose and poems, completing the fifty- canto allegorical poem Amorosa visione in 1342, and Fiammetta in 1343. The pastoral piece "Ninfale fiesolano" probably dates from this time, also. In 1343, Boccaccio's father remarried Bice del Bostichi. The other children by his first marriage had all died, but he had another son named Iacopo in 1344. In Florence, the overthrow of Walter of Brienne brought about

520-565: A phenomenon worth seeing, "old Jacob Tonson, who is the perfect image and likeness of Bayle's Dictionary ; so full of matter, secret history, and wit and spirit, at almost fourscore." On 19 March Lord Oxford, Lord Bathurst , Pope, and Gay dined with old Tonson at Barnes and drank Swift's health. In 1734 Samuel Gibbons was appointed stationer to the Prince of Wales in place of Jacob Tonson. Jacob Tonson junior predeceased his uncle, dying on 25 November 1735, worth £100,000. His will, of great length,

585-407: A small number. Samuel Johnson spoke of him as "the late amiable Mr. Tonson." In 1750 he was High Sheriff of Surrey , and in 1759 he paid the fine for being excused serving the same office for the city of London and county of Middlesex. There is a story of his having twice helped Henry Fielding when that writer was unable to pay his taxes. Tonson died on 31 March 1767, without issue, in a house on

650-470: A versatile writer who amalgamated different literary trends and genres, making them converge in original works, thanks to a creative activity exercised under the banner of experimentalism. His most notable works are The Decameron , a collection of short stories, and On Famous Women . The Decameron became a determining element for the Italian literary tradition, especially after Pietro Bembo elevated

715-448: Is a persistent (but unsupported) tale that he repudiated his earlier works as profane in 1362, including The Decameron . In 1360, Boccaccio began work on De mulieribus claris ("On famous women") , a book offering biographies of 106 famous women, that he completed in 1374. A number of Boccaccio's close friends and other acquaintances were executed or exiled in the purge following the failed coup of 1361; although not directly linked to

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780-404: Is nobody more competently qualified to give their opinion of another, so there is none who does it with a more severe exactness or with less partiality; for, to do Mr. Tonson justice, he speaks his mind upon all occasions, and will flatter nobody." No doubt this roughness of manner wore off as Tonson grew in prosperity. Jacob Tonson (died 1767) ( Jacob Tonson the younger ) was the great-nephew of

845-407: Is not certain whether he was present in plague-ravaged Florence. His stepmother died during the epidemic and his father was closely associated with the government efforts as minister of supply in the city. His father died in 1349 and Boccaccio was forced into a more active role as head of the family. Boccaccio began work on The Decameron around 1349. It is probable that the structures of many of

910-926: The Guardians , and by desisting two days, and altering the title of the paper to that of the Englishman , was quit of the obligation, those papers being printed by Buckley." There are various reasons why this story is improbable; the truth seems to be that Steele was anxious to write on politics with a freer hand than was practicable in the Guardian . In the summer of 1714 we hear of Steele writing political pamphlets at Tonson's, where there were three bottles of wine of Steele's, and in October Tonson printed Steele's Ladies' Library . Tonson appears in Rowe's Dialogue between Tonson and Congreve, in imitation of Horace : In

975-753: The Studium (the present-day University of Naples ), where he studied canon law for the next six years. He also pursued his interest in scientific and literary studies. His father introduced him to the Neapolitan nobility and the French-influenced court of Robert the Wise (the king of Naples) in the 1330s. Boccaccio became a friend of fellow Florentine Niccolò Acciaioli , and benefited from Acciaioli's influence with Catherine of Valois-Courtenay , widow of Philip I of Taranto . Acciaioli later became

1040-905: The Commonwealth , apart from Canada ) may be either part of a chain , or local independent bookstores . Stores can range in size, offering several hundred to several hundred thousand titles. They may be brick and mortar stores, internet-only stores, or a combination of both. Sizes for the larger bookstores exceed half a million titles. Bookstores often sell other printed matter besides books, such as newspapers , magazines , and maps ; additional product lines may vary enormously, particularly among independent bookstores. Colleges and universities often have bookstores on campus that focus on providing course textbooks and scholarly books and also sell other supplies and logo merchandise. Many on-campus bookstores are owned or operated by large commercial chains such as WHSmith , Blackwell's or Waterstone's in

1105-499: The Compagnia dei Bardi and, in the 1320s, married Margherita dei Mardoli, who was of a well-to-do family. Boccaccio may have been tutored by Giovanni Mazzuoli and received from him an early introduction to the works of Dante . In 1326, his father was appointed head of a bank and moved with his family to Naples . Boccaccio was an apprentice at the bank but disliked the banking profession. He persuaded his father to let him study law at

1170-564: The Duke of Somerset . In 1705 Tonson published Addison's Remarks on several Parts of Italy . Verses by young Alexander Pope were circulating among the critics in 1705, and in April 1706 Tonson wrote to Pope proposing to publish a pastoral poem of his. Pope's pastorals ultimately appeared in Tonson's sixth Miscellany (May 1709). William Wycherley wrote that Tonson had long been gentleman-usher to

1235-521: The Statute of Anne went into effect. He was also the founder of the famous Kit-Cat Club . His nephew, Jacob Tonson the Younger (1682–1735), was his business partner. The business was continued by the younger Tonson's son, Jacob Tonson (1714–1767). Scholars have not always been sure of Tonson's birthdate, and it has in the past been listed as occurring in 1655 or 1656. But the register of christenings in

1300-564: The Boccaccian style to a model of Italian prose in the sixteenth century . Bocaccio wrote his imaginative literature mostly in Tuscan vernacular , as well as other works in Latin, and is particularly noted for his realistic dialogue which differed from that of his contemporaries, medieval writers who usually followed formulaic models for character and plot. The influence of Boccaccio's works

1365-507: The Jacob Tonson the elder and son of Jacob Tonson junior. He carried on the publishing business in the Strand. In 1747 he paid Warburton £500 for editing Shakespeare, and he was eulogised by Steevens [sic] in the advertisement prefixed to his edition of Shakespeare 1778: "he never learned to consider the author as an under-agent to the bookseller . . . His manners were soft and his conversation delicate," but he reserved his acquaintance for

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1430-565: The Judge's Head to a shop in Gray's Inn Gate, probably the one previously occupied by his brother Richard. It is not unlikely that Richard was dead, and that Jacob, who had no children, and seemingly never married, now took into partnership his nephew Jacob, whose son was afterwards to be his heir. It is not always easy to distinguish the uncle from the nephew in later years; the latter is sometimes referred to as Tonson Junior. By 1700 Tonson's position

1495-669: The Muses treat. Tonson was satirised in several skits, and it was falsely alleged that he had been expelled by the club, or had withdrawn from the society in scorn of being their jest any longer. In 1703 Tonson went to the Dutch Republic to obtain paper and engravings for the fine edition of Caesar's Commentaries , which was ultimately published under Samuel Clarke 's care in 1712. At Amsterdam and Rotterdam he met Addison, and assisted in some abortive negotiations for Addison's employment as travelling companion to Lord Hertford , son of

1560-464: The Muses: "you will make Jacob's ladder raise you to immortality." Nicholas Rowe 's edition of Shakespeare , in six volumes, was published early in 1709 by Tonson, who had previously advertised for materials. Richard Steele dined at Tonson's in 1708–1709, sometimes to get a bill discounted, sometimes to hear manuscripts read and advise upon them. There is a tradition that in earlier days Steele had had

1625-683: The United Kingdom, or Barnes & Noble College Booksellers in the United States. Another common type of bookstore is the used bookstore or second-hand bookshop which buys and sells used and out-of-print books in a variety of conditions . A range of titles are available in used bookstores, including in print and out-of-print books. Book collectors tend to frequent used bookstores. Large online bookstores offer used books for sale, too. Individuals wishing to sell their used books using online bookstores agree to terms outlined by

1690-461: The afterwards well-known publisher, Thomas Osborne (died 1767). On 26 July 1711, after a long interval, Swift met Addison and Steele "at young Jacob Tonson's". "The two Jacobs", says Jonathan Swift to Esther Johnson , "think it I who have made the secretary take from them the printing of the Gazette, which they are going to lose.... Jacob came to me t'other day to make his court; but I told him it

1755-719: The ambient air. Subsequently the letters became more friendly, and on the publication of Alexander's Feast , in late 1697, Dryden wrote to Tonson, "I hope it has done you service, and will do more." Dryden's collection of translations from Boccaccio , Chaucer , and others, known as The Fables , was published by Tonson in November 1699; a second edition did not appear until 1713. There is an undated letter from Mrs. Aphra Behn to Tonson at Bayfordbury , thanking him warmly for what he had said on her behalf to Dryden. She begged hard for five pounds more than Tonson offered for some of her verses. In connection with Jeremy Collier 's attack on

1820-460: The arguments of clerical intellectuals who wanted to limit access to classical sources to prevent any moral harm to Christian readers. The revival of classical antiquity became a foundation of the Renaissance, and his defence of the importance of ancient literature was an essential requirement for its development. The discussions also formalized Boccaccio's poetic ideas. Certain sources also see

1885-414: The assurances he received. In writing to the elder Tonson on this subject, Pope asked for any available information respecting the "Man of Ross," and, in thanking him for the particulars received, explained his intention in singling out this man as the centre of a poem. Earlier in the year the elder Tonson was in town, and Pope, writing to Lord Oxford , said that if he would come to see him he would show him

1950-504: The author's rights in the printing of the tragedy of Cleomenes . Joseph Addison 's Poem to his Majesty was published by Tonson in 1695, and there was some correspondence respecting a proposed joint translation of Herodotus by Boyle , Richard Blackmore , Addison, and others. Dryden's translation of Virgil , executed between 1693 and 1696, was published by Tonson in July 1697 by subscription . Serious financial differences arose between

2015-915: The bookstore(s): paying the online bookstore(s) a predetermined commission once the books have sold. In Paris , the Bouquinistes are antiquarian and used booksellers who have had outdoor stalls and boxes along both sides of the Seine for hundreds of years, regulated by law since the 1850s and contributing to the scenic ambiance of the city. Unit sales of print books in the United States were down 2.6 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, but print sales in 2023 were up 10 percent compared to 2019. Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio ( UK : / b ə ˈ k æ tʃ i oʊ / bə- KATCH -ee-oh , US : / b oʊ ˈ k ɑː tʃ ( i ) oʊ , b ə ˈ -/ boh- KAH -ch(ee)oh, bə- ; Italian: [dʒoˈvanni bokˈkattʃo] ; 16 June 1313  – 21 December 1375)

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2080-610: The conspiracy, in that year Boccaccio left Florence to reside in Certaldo , where he became less involved in government affairs. He did not undertake further missions for Florence until 1365, and travelled to Naples and then on to Padua and Venice , where he met up with Petrarch in grand style at Palazzo Molina , Petrarch's residence as well as the location of Petrarch's library . Boccaccio later returned to Certaldo; he met Petrarch only one more time, in 1368, again in Padua. Upon hearing of

2145-523: The court of chancery for an injunction to stop Robert Tooke and others printing a pirated edition of the play; the sum paid for the copyright was £40. In the same year Tonson published the Duke of Buckingham 's Works , and in 1725 Pope's edition of Shakespeare. Proposals were issued by Tonson in January 1729 for completing the subscription to the new edition of Rymer's Fœdera , in seventeen folio volumes (of which fifteen were then printed), at fifty guineas

2210-537: The death of Petrarch (19 July 1374), he wrote a commemorative poem, including it in his collection of lyric poems, the Rime . He returned to work for the Florentine government in 1365, undertaking a mission to Pope Urban V . The papacy returned to Rome from Avignon in 1367, and Boccaccio was again sent to Urban, offering congratulations. He also undertook diplomatic missions to Venice and Naples. Of his later works,

2275-517: The detailed Esposizioni sopra la Commedia di Dante . Boccaccio and Petrarch were also two of the most educated people in early Renaissance in the field of archaeology . Petrarch even offered to purchase Boccaccio's library, so that it would become part of Petrarch's library . However, upon Boccaccio's death, his entire collection was given to the monastery of Santo Spirito, in Florence , where it still resides. Bocaccio's final years were troubled by illnesses, some relating to obesity and what often

2340-512: The earlier part of his life Tonson was much associated with Dryden. A step which did much to establish his position was the publication in 1684 of a volume of Miscellany Poems , under Dryden's editorship. Other volumes followed in 1685, 1693, 1694, 1703, and 1708, and the collection, which was several times reprinted, is known as both as Dryden's Miscellany and Tonson's Miscellany . During the ensuing year Tonson continued to bring out pieces by Dryden, and on 6 October 1691 paid thirty guineas for all

2405-551: The energies of the Athenian booksellers. In Rome , toward the end of the republic , it became the fashion to have a library, and Roman booksellers carried on a flourishing trade. The spread of Christianity naturally created a great demand for copies of the Gospels , other sacred books, and later on for missals and other devotional volumes for both church and private use. The modern system of bookselling dates from soon after

2470-560: The government of popolo minuto ("small people", workers). It diminished the influence of the nobility and the wealthier merchant classes and contributed to the relative decline of Florence. The city was hurt further in 1348 by the Black Death , later represented in the Decameron , which killed some three-quarters of the city's population. From 1347, Boccaccio spent much time in Ravenna, seeking new patronage and, despite his claims, it

2535-628: The introduction of printing . During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Low Countries, for a time, became the chief centre of the bookselling world. Modern book selling has changed dramatically with the advent of the Internet. Major websites such as Amazon , eBay , and other big book distributors offer affiliate programs and dominate book sales. Bookstores (called bookshops in the United Kingdom , Ireland , Australia and most of

2600-683: The introduction of the Sicilian octave , where it influenced Petrarch . Boccaccio returned to Florence in early 1341, avoiding the plague of 1340 in that city, but also missing the visit of Petrarch to Naples in 1341. He had left Naples due to tensions between the Angevin king and Florence. His father had returned to Florence in 1338, where he had gone bankrupt. His mother possibly died shortly afterwards. Boccaccio continued to work, although dissatisfied with his return to Florence, producing Comedia delle ninfe fiorentine in 1341 (also known as Ameto ),

2665-518: The moralistic biographies gathered as De casibus virorum illustrium (1355–74) and De mulieribus claris (1361–1375) were the most significant. Other works include a dictionary of geographical allusions in classical literature, De montibus, silvis, fontibus, lacubus, fluminibus, stagnis seu paludibus, et de nominibus maris liber . He gave a series of lectures on Dante at the Santo Stefano church in 1373 and these resulted in his final major work,

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2730-437: The north side of the Strand, near Catherine Street, whither he had removed the business some years earlier. His will was made in 1763. In 1775 letters of administration of the goods of Jacob Tonson, left unadministered by Richard Tonson, were granted to William Baker, esq. (M.P. for Hertfordshire), and in 1823, Baker having failed to administer, letters of administration were granted to Joseph Rogers. Richard Tonson (died 1772),

2795-482: The papers at Bayfordbury, there is a considerable collection of Tonson papers in the British Museum, some relating to business and some to private matters; but many of them are damaged or fragmentary. Attribution: Bookseller People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers , bookdealers , bookpeople , bookmen , or bookwomen . The founding of libraries in c.  300 BC stimulated

2860-561: The parish of St Andrew Holborn demonstrates that Tonson was born on 12 November 1655 and baptised on 18 November 1655. The register lists Tonson as the "sonne of Jacob Tonson Shoemaker and of Elizabeth his wife neare Grayes Inn Lane." He is believed to have been related to Major Richard Tonson, who obtained a grant of land in county Cork from Charles II , and whose descendants became Barons Riversdale. His father's will left him and his elder brother Richard, as well as three sisters, each £100, to be paid when they came of age. On 5 June 1670 Jacob

2925-705: The poet and his publisher, and Dryden's letters to Tonson (1695–1697) are full of complaints of meanness and sharp practice and of refusals to accept clipped or bad money. Tonson would pay nothing for notes; Dryden retorted, "The notes and prefaces shall be short, because you shall get the more by saving paper." He added that all the trade were sharpers, Tonson not more than others. Dryden described Tonson thus, in lines written under his portrait, and afterwards printed in Faction Displayed (1705): With leering looks, bull-faced, and freckled fair; With two left legs, and Judas-coloured hair, And frowzy pores, that taint

2990-556: The precursors of humanism , of which he helped lay the foundations in the city of Florence , in conjunction with the activity of his friend and teacher Petrarch. He was the one who initiated Dante's criticism and philology: Boccaccio devoted himself to copying codices of the Divine Comedy and was a promoter of Dante's work and figure. In the twentieth century, Boccaccio was the subject of critical-philological studies by Vittore Branca and Giuseppe Billanovich, and his Decameron

3055-537: The present day. From 1350, Boccaccio became closely involved with Italian humanism (although less of a scholar) and also with the Florentine government. His first official mission was to Romagna in late 1350. He revisited that city-state twice and also was sent to Brandenburg , Milan and Avignon . He also pushed for the study of Greek, housing Barlaam of Calabria , and encouraging his tentative translations of works by Homer , Euripides , and Aristotle . In these years, he also took minor orders . In October 1350, he

3120-554: The purchase of plays during eighteen months following that date. In one of several amusing letters from Vanbrugh, now at Bayfordbury, Tonson, who was then in Paris, was congratulated upon his luck in South Sea stock , and there is other evidence that he made a large sum in connection with Law's Mississippi scheme . "He has got £40,000" wrote Robert Arbuthnot ; "riches will make people forget their trade." In January 1720 Tonson obtained

3185-460: The same year Tonson, with Barnaby Bernard Lintot and William Taylor , was appointed one of the printers of the parliamentary votes. Next year he paid fifty guineas for the copyright of Addison's comedy, The Drummer , and published Thomas Tickell 's translation of the first book of the Iliad , which gave offence to Pope. On 6 February 1718 Lintot entered into a partnership agreement with Tonson for

3250-399: The set. The work was finished in 1735. Tonson published a quarto edition of Waller's works, edited by Fenton , in 1729, and an edition of Lord Lansdowne 's works in 1732. Pope was annoyed to find in 1731 that Tonson was to be one of the publishers of Lewis Theobald 's proposed edition of Shakespeare, in which he feared an attack on his own editorial work, but he professed to be satisfied with

3315-593: The stage, the Middlesex justices presented the playhouses in May 1698, and also William Congreve for writing the Double Dealer , Thomas d'Urfey for Don Quixote , and Tonson and Brisco, booksellers, for printing them. Tonson published Congreve's reply to Collier, and at a later date The Faithful Friend and The Confederacy by his friend, Sir John Vanbrugh . Before the end of the century Tonson had moved from

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3380-523: The tales date from earlier in his career, but the choice of a hundred tales and the frame-story lieta brigata of three men and seven women dates from this time. The work was largely complete by 1352. It was Boccaccio's final effort in literature and one of his last works in Tuscan vernacular; the only other substantial work was Corbaccio (dated to either 1355 or 1365). Boccaccio revised and rewrote The Decameron in 1370–1371. This manuscript has survived to

3445-664: The third Jacob Tonson's brother, who took little part in the concerns of the business, lived at Water Oakley, near Windsor, where he built a room for the Kit-Cat portraits. His benevolence and hospitality made him popular, and in 1747 he was elected MP for Wallingford , and in 1768 MP for New Windsor. In some correspondence with the Duke of Newcastle in 1767, the duke spoke of his old friendship with Richard Tonson, "the heir of one I honoured and loved, and have passed many most agreeable hours with." Richard Tonson died on 9 October 1772. Besides

3510-581: The younger, for £575, and all rights in the other half for a similar sum to Buckley. Buckley in October 1714 reassigned his half-share in the Spectator to Tonson junior for £500. Tonson published Addison's tragedy, Cato , in April 1713; and, according to a concocted letter of Pope's, the true reason why Steele brought the Guardian to an end in October was a quarrel with Tonson, its publisher; "he stood engaged to his bookseller in articles of penalty for all

3575-511: Was transposed to the big screen by the director and writer Pier Paolo Pasolini . The details of Boccaccio's birth are uncertain. He was born in Florence or in a village near Certaldo where his family was from. He was the son of Florentine merchant Boccaccino di Chellino and an unknown woman; he was likely born out of wedlock. Boccaccio's stepmother was called Margherita de' Mardoli. Boccaccio grew up in Florence. His father worked for

3640-547: Was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch , and an important Renaissance humanist . Born in the town of Certaldo , he became so well known as a writer that he was sometimes simply known as " the Certaldese " and one of the most important figures in the European literary panorama of the fourteenth century . Some scholars (including Vittore Branca ) define him as the greatest European prose writer of his time,

3705-455: Was apprenticed to Thomas Basset, a stationer, for eight years. Having been admitted a freeman of the Company of Stationers on 20 December 1677, he began business on his own account, following his brother Richard, who had commenced in 1676, and had published, among other things, Thomas Otway 's Don Carlos, Prince of Spain . Richard Tonson had a shop within Gray's Inn Gate; Jacob Tonson's shop

3770-517: Was delegated to greet Francesco Petrarch as he entered Florence and also to have Petrarch as a guest at Boccaccio's home, during his stay. The meeting between the two was extremely fruitful and they were friends from then on, Boccaccio calling Petrarch his teacher and magister . Petrarch at that time encouraged Boccaccio to study classical Greek and Latin literature. They met again in Padua in 1351, Boccaccio on an official mission to invite Petrarch to take

3835-471: Was for many years at the Judge's Head in Chancery Lane , near Fleet Street . It has been said that when Tonson bought the rights to Troilus and Cressida (1679), the first play of John Dryden 's that he published, he was obliged to borrow the purchase money (£20) from Abel Swalle, another bookseller. The names of both booksellers appear on the title-page, as was often the case at that time. Tonson

3900-530: Was not limited to the Italian cultural scene but extended to the rest of Europe, exerting influence on authors such as Geoffrey Chaucer , a key figure in English literature , and the later writers Miguel de Cervantes , Lope de Vega and classical theatre in Spain. Boccaccio is considered one of the "Three Crowns" of Italian literature along with Dante Alighieri and Petrarch . He is remembered for being one of

3965-535: Was sending presents of cider to the Dukes of Grafton and Newcastle , the latter of whom called Tonson "my dear old friend," and asked him to give him his company in Sussex. Henceforth we may suppose, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that "Tonson" in contemporary allusions means the nephew. Steele's Conscious Lovers appeared in 1722, and Tonson assigned to Lintot half the copyright for £70. He had to apply to

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4030-515: Was sufficiently well off to purchase plays by Otway and Nahum Tate . In 1681 the brothers Richard and Jacob joined in publishing Dryden's Spanish Friar , and in 1683 Jacob obtained a valuable property by purchasing from Barbazon Ailmer, the assignee of Samuel Simmons, one half of his right in Paradise Lost . The other half was purchased at an advance in 1690. Tonson afterwards said he had made more by Paradise Lost than by any other poem. In

4095-422: Was too late, and that it was not my doing." Accounts furnished to Steele by Tonson of the sale of the collective editions of the Tatler and Spectator have been preserved; from October 1712 Tonson's name was joined with Samuel Buckley's as publisher of the Spectator . In November 1712 Addison and Steele sold all their right and title in one half of the copies of the first seven volumes of the Spectator to Tonson

4160-612: Was well established, and about that time the Kit-Cat Club was founded, with Tonson as secretary. The meetings were first held at a mutton-pie shop in Shire Lane, kept by Christopher Cat, and may have begun with suppers given by Tonson to his literary friends. About 1703 Tonson purchased a house at Barn Elms, and built a room there for the club. In a poem on the club, attributed to Sir Richard Blackmore, we find: One night in seven at this convenient seat Indulgent Bocaj [Jacob] did

4225-821: Was written on 16 August and proved on 6 December 1735. The elder Tonson's death at Ledbury followed that of his nephew on 17 March 1735/6. The elder Tonson's will was made on 2 December 1735 and proven in probate on 2 April 1736, when he was described as worth £40,000. A painting of the elder Tonson by Godfrey Kneller is among the Kit-Cat portraits; it is best known through Faber's engraving. Pope says that Tonson obtained portraits from Kneller without payment by flattering him and sending him presents of venison and wine. Dryden's satirical account of his appearance has been quoted; Pope, in The Dunciad calls him "left-legged Jacob" and "genial Jacob". John Dunton describes Tonson as "a very good judge of persons and authors; and as there

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