Prosperity and success in the eighteenth century English provincial book trade: the firm of William Chase & Co.
David
Stoker
An important feature of the economic history of eighteenth century England, was the rise in prosperity and importance of the middle classes, whether as small farmers in the countryside or else as shopkeepers and tradesmen in the towns.1 For the first time, a sizeable group within society had disposable wealth, which began to be used in seeking to emulate the habits and manners of the gentry. The rapid growth in publishing and bookselling, activity that took place was just one of many results of this shift in economic power. However it was perhaps the one which had the most far-reaching effect on the cultural life of the country. The growth in book trade activity was not only apparent within the metropolis, traditionally the centre of this trade, but was even more noticeable in the English provinces. Hitherto bookselling outside London, Oxford and Cambridge, had usually been little more than a sideline practised by other non-specialist tradesmen.
The growth in provincial printing and publishing was enabled by the lapse of the licensing acts in 1695. That of bookselling seems to have coincided with the development of provincial newspapers, after 1701. However, the extent of the changes were undoubtedly more the result of the complex economic factors involved in the succeeding decades. It was during the second and third quarters of the eighteenth century, in particular, that the provincial book trades first began to achieve a level of stability and maturity. The growing provincial markets for books, and the various distribution networks that were set up to serve these markets then became an important factor in the growth of the book trade as a whole.
Yet although there were many more business opportunities, setting up as a bookseller or printer in the provinces was an extremely uncertain business, beset by the risks of either bankruptcy or else prosecution for sedition and libel. Many early provincial businesses lasted only a year or so. Others managed merely to sustain their founders and immediate families with a reasonable standard of living. There were however few truly profitable businesses established in the early eighteenth century which were able to survive for many years after the death of their founders.
One such was the printing, bookselling and publishing business built up by William Chase of Norwich between about 1714 and 1744. This was continued thereafter by his widow until their son came of age in 1750. By the time of the son's death in 1781, the family business was so large and successful that he could express the wish to be carried to his grave by six of his journeymen printers.2 The business was also continued for a while by William's grandson, but without the same drive and ambition as before. However, descendants of the family through a female line continued to play an important role in the book trades of both Norwich and Bury St Edmunds until well into the nineteenth century. Furthermore, the weekly newspaper that was established by the family during the period 1714-7 continues in existence albeit in an emasculated form as a free-sheet.3
The Chase family's considerable success, whilst many of their contemporaries either failed or else merely subsisted, depended upon a number of factors. These included the undoubted capacity for hard work, together with an element of good luck. However, of equal importance was the diversity of the enterprises in which they became involved, the ability to forge and maintain useful commercial and political alliances. Above all the success was dependent upon an absence of any sense of business ethics or propriety.
William Chase was born in 1692, the eldest son of a hosier from East Dereham in Norfolk, with the same name.4 His two younger brothers were to become a hosier and woolcomber respectively, whereas William was apprenticed to the enterprising Norwich bookseller Thomas Goddard, probably about 1705.5 In November 1706, Francis Burges the only printer in the city and the successful proprietor of the Norwich Post newspaper, died. Goddard saw this as the ideal opportunity to establish his own press and newspaper. He sent for a journeyman printer from London named Sherard Sheffield. The young William Chase was therefore soon set to work as his assistant and the Norwich Postman was established in January 1707.6
Goddard had not calculated upon a local distiller named Samuel Hasbart having exactly the same idea as his own, and so almost simultaneously another newspaper, the Norwich Gazette, was established, printed by the young journeyman Henry Crossgrove, also from London. Likewise, Goddard had not foreseen that Burges's widow, Elizabeth would decide to continue with her own newspaper. As a result early in 1707 there were three struggling newspapers in the city, whereas the previous year there had been one fairly successful title.7 Sherard Sheffield, did not therefore remain for long, for by the spring of 1708 he had gone, either dismissed by Goddard, or else disillusioned by the lack of success of the enterprise. In his place, the bookseller could only afford to entrust his fledgling newspaper to his fifteen or sixteen year old apprentice with only one year's experience of the printing trade.8
The young man learnt quickly and was clearly able to cope with the production of a weekly newspaper, for by 1710 he was also permitted to use his own imprint on publications.9 At the same time he was probably equally responsible for the production of various other titles published during the period 1708-13 with imprints indicating that they were either "printed for" or "printed by" Thomas Goddard.
Surprisingly, William Chase was not the only teenage apprentice responsible for the production of a Norwich newspaper at this time. In August 1708 Elizabeth Burges died, and her business came in to the hands of the established London printer Freeman Collins (who had been her husband's master and was also perhaps her father). Between 1708 and his own death in 1713 Collins sent his most trusted employees to manage the Norwich business and publish the Norwich Post, under the imprint of "The Administrator of E. Burges". One of these was his apprentice Edward Cave, a contemporary of William Chase, who managed the press for two years or more beginning in 1711.10
Chase set up in business as a bookseller on his own account in 1714 when he took over premises in Dove Lane, and started to advertise in Goddard's newspaper (by then called the Transactions of the Universe).11 However he continued to be connected with his former master in respect of the printing business, which remained at Goddard's premises next to the Guildhall in the Market Place for a further three years, and continued to print Goddard's newspaper. However in February 1716 Chase took up his right of becoming a freeman bookseller, by service. Sometime during the following year he moved both his businesses to larger premises in the Cockey Lane (now London Street) and took over full responsibility for all the printing activities.12
During the next twenty-seven years William Chase began to undertake a wide range of bookselling, printing, publishing, and related activities and he became a comparatively rich and influential man within the city. He died after a short illness on 31 May 1744 "well respected by Gentlemen of both parties".13 In spite of his father's precocity, Chase's eldest son, William, was judged not to be old enough, at sixteen, to take over responsibility for the substantial family business. The widow, Margaret Chase therefore continued to operate for a further six years and bring up at least four other children.14 Initially she used the imprint "the widow of W. Chase", until the situation was sufficiently well known throughout the book trade and among their customers, before operating under her own name from about 1746.15
William Chase the younger became a freeman bookseller, by patrimony, in January 1749, but it was not until March 1750, at the age of twenty-two, that he was allowed to take responsibility for the family business.16 Like his father before him, he continued to prosper and climb the social ladder, devoting more time to auctioneering, local politics, and other activities, whilst leaving his day-to-day business interests to the care of trusted employees. Luke Hansard in his memoirs as an apprentice printer in Norwich during the mid-1760s, described the Chase printing business as "one of the two superior offices",17 although in all probability it was then easily the largest in the city. By 1770 it had so far outgrown the Cockey Lane premises that the print shop was moved to other accommodation at the Back of the Inns.18
As mentioned above, William Chase II died in 1781, a rich man, but once again his eldest son was only in his mid-teens, and seemed to have little appetite for his father's business. For two or three years therefore the business was managed jointly by his children, as the firm of William Chase & Co. These were William Chase III the eldest son, the widowed elder daughter Catherine Matchett, and Thomas Holl the husband of a second daughter Margaret. (At about the same time William Chase II's nephew Peter Gedge became one of three founders of the Bury & Norwich Post, and subsequently went on to have a successful career in the former town.)
The firm of William Chase and Co. continued to be fairly active during the early 1780s, and amongst other things, they published the first Norwich directory.19 However, in 1783 the partnership began to break down. Catherine married William Stevenson, who shortly afterwards went into partnership with her father's former apprentice John Crouse, (who was the other major printer and newspaper proprietor in the city). Then, in September 1785, soon after taking over the business, William Chase III entered into a new partnership with two other gentlemen printers William Yarington and Richard Bacon. "A short time after this compact had taken place, Mr Chase was pressingly desirous, under certain stipulations, to relinquish the trade wholly to them; although contrary to their wish, and in direct opposition to their earnest advice".20 The newspaper continued to have Chase's name on its imprint however for a further two years after withdrawing from the partnership.
The success of the Chase family business appears to have been based upon the three pillars of bookselling, publishing and printing, although probably in the early days the sale of books was the most important of these. William Chase's first advertisements from the shop in Dove Lane are typical of those of most small provincial booksellers of the period. Each week he would advertise a number of books recently received from London together with a wide range of other products. These would include stamped paper and stationery ware of all kinds, patent medicines and groceries such as tea, coffee, chocolate and possibly specific to Norwich, "Canary seed for birds, as good and as cheap as any".21
In later years, the basic stock of new and second hand books was increased, and the family also began to buy in, and exchange second hand books, either for their stock or for inclusion in separate sales. Unsaleable or otherwise unwanted books were also advertised for sale "at 14s or 16s a hundredweight for waste paper".22 Also, in 1740, books were being advertised for loan to customers "at 6d. a week each", although it does not appear that this idea developed into the establishment of a subscription library.23 At the same time there appears to have been little change to the range of products stocked in the bookshops, other than a gradual diminution in grocery commodities and the sale of additional stationery products such as music, prints, and lottery tickets.
Book auctions were introduced to Norwich in 1689 when the recently widowed Elizabeth Oliver employed Edward Millington to come to the city and try and sell her surplus stock.24 She held another sale in 1693, and the idea was then copied by another bookseller George Rose (the master of Thomas Goddard) in 1700.25 However it was during the first two decades of the eighteenth century that auctions of all kinds began to be a regular feature of Norwich life. This was particularly as a result of the enterprise of Chase's master Thomas Goddard, from his "book warehouse" in the basement of the Guildhall.26
During 1721 both William Chase and Thomas Goddard held separate book auctions,27 but at the same time a London tradesman named Henry Wilson sent a large collection to the city. These were auctioned from the premises of a hatter in the Cathedral Close.28 Similarly in 1724 James Carlos, a barber recently turned bookseller in the city invited Edmund Curll to come to Norwich and hold an auction for their mutual benefit. The two established booksellers responded to the competition by joining forces and holding the first of a number of large joint auctions in about 1725, from Goddard's book warehouse in the basement of the Guildhall.29
In April 1730 the London bookseller John Oswald, and the auctioneer John Dansken, rented the Norwich Guildhall for a fortnight to hold a massive book auction.30 This was too much for Chase and Goddard, who as soon as they heard of the plans inserted the following advertisement in Chase's newspaper.
Whereas we have received information of a foreigner designing to sell books by auction in this City. This is to acquaint our fellow citizens & friends, (who we hope will discourage all Foreign interlopers) That we will, at the same time he begins, open our Auction & Oratory at the Guildhall Warehouse in the Market, with a .... good collection of valuable books: of which, from time to time notice shall be given in this paper.
T. Goddard W. Chase.31
The prospect of two large book auctions, simultaneously, and in close proximity to one another must have provided something of a spectacle for the bemused book buyers of Norwich. However the plan does seem to have achieved its object. The following week Oswald and Dansken were advertising that "if better incouragement be not given the sale will end on Tuesday night" and a week later the sale was advertised as having moved to Bungay.32 This event seems to have put a stop to any further such incursions by the London trade.
Chase continued to hold auctions jointly with Goddard at irregular intervals until his death, although from the 1730s they became a less important part of his bookselling activities as he gradually took more interest in catalogue sales. However from the mid-1750s onwards there appears to have been a sudden revival of interest by William Chase II. He began to arrange auctions of property, and of other goods such as china and livestock, as well as book auctions in neighbouring market towns such as Diss.33 By 1769, the firm even opened its own auction rooms in Norwich.34 These auctions appear to have been organised in direct competition to another bookseller/auctioneer in the city named Jonathan Gleed. Gleed was eventually forced into bankruptcy in December 1762, but either he (or perhaps his son with the same name) was later to enter into temporary partnership with their erstwhile competitor in the organisation of further auctions in January 1770.35
In the late 1720s Chase, in particular, began to expand his secondhand bookselling activities by seeking out and purchasing the complete libraries from the families of deceased collectors. Some of these books were added to his stock whilst many others found their way into auctions. However in 1730 he appears decided to try another means of disposing of them. He organised the first of many catalogue sales for books, which rapidly became a regular feature of the local book trade.36 These were different from auctions since there was a fixed price for each book either marked inside the cover or else printed in the catalogue. On this first occasion only about 600 books were put up for sale, but the practice soon caught on. Within five years it had become the most popular method of selling second hand books, particularly in sales arranged to coincide with the "Assize Weeks". During the mid 1740s Chase and Goddard were organising at least three such sales each year, the size of which rapidly grew to encompass thousands rather than hundreds of titles.37
The Chase family became
involved in a wide range of publishing activities, including ephemera of all
kinds, books, and maps. However their principal, and probably most profitable,
publication was always the weekly newspaper the Norwich Mercury. It
appears that Chase printed a newspaper continuously from 1707; beginning with
the Norwich Postman, which subsequently became the Transactions of
the Universe in 1713 or 1714, then the Weekly Mercury, and
ultimately the Norwich Mercury in the early 1720s. However the exact
dates of these changes in title are not known. Furthermore it is also not
certain at what point the young Chase took over from Thomas Goddard the former
proprietor, and under what circumstances this was done, although this appears
to have coincided with the adoption of the name Weekly Mercury.
The earliest surviving record of Chase as the newspaper proprietor dates from a comment by Henry Crossgrove in August 1718, but Chase's obituary in 1744 states that he had printed the Mercury for about thirty years implying a somewhat earlier date.38 The most likely date however is when Chase moved his printing business to Cockey Lane sometime during 1717. Thereafter it continued without interruption until the family eventually gave up their control to others, not even pausing when, in 1755, they ran out of stamped paper due to the non-arrival of a ship from London, and so had to swear to the number of copies printed.39
It is difficult to gauge the true extent of the Chase family's other letterpress printing and publishing activities, both because they undertook a great deal of ephemeral printing, the bulk of which has not survived, and also because they were frequently careless, misleading, and at times downright dishonest in the use of their imprint. There are many surviving publications with one of the Chase's Norwich imprints, although in the case of the elder William Chase, this is comparatively seldom in conjunction with other booksellers. However these works do not represent the total number of survivals from the press, as other items appear with either no imprint at all, the imprints of other booksellers, or else a false London imprint.
Most of the items with Chase's imprint were innocuous and unremarkable pieces of work, such as sermons, books of devotions, items published for officialdom (such as polls, visitation articles etc.) or else works published at the expense of their authors. However, in the opinion of at least one man, the elder William Chase was not above reproach even in this limited market. The Cambridge scholar Dr Philip Williams was so enraged by one of Chase's sermons that he wrote a long diatribe against the work and its publisher entitled Some reasons to prove that Dr. Brome cannot be the author of an Assize-Sermon, published under his name by Wm Chase, 1737.40
"It is a known practice of some mercenary booksellers to clap the names of great men to spurious compositions; among which number Curle appears in the forefront, as Will Chase presently in the rear... & therefore to do justice to his [Dr Brome's] reputation, ... chastise the insolence of a covetous publisher"
Henry Crossgrove often used his newspaper to complain of his rival's publications "clandestinely printed, & seditiously hawkt ... printed without being stampt and without the known name of the printer" or else "printed copies of a seditious & treasonable paper intitled a petition from the City of Norwich to His Majesty King George has this night been privately scatter'd about in the streets", although it is not clear whether these came from Chase's press, or the other then operating in the city.41 After 1718, when he became elected to the Common Council, Chase appears to have attempted to steer clear of any possible sedition, and was in trouble with authority far less frequently than his rivals. When no imprint was given it was usually either for commercial reasons or else to preserve some degree of respectability for the business when producing slightly disreputable publications.
Gallows literature, was one such example, in which Chase seems to have cornered the market. However Henry Crossgrove usually forced his rival to acknowledge responsibility for the publication. The following comment from Crossgrove's newspaper, and response from Chase is typical of many during the 1720s and 1730s.
On Wednesday last William Morris was Executed here, for the Robbery committed above a Year ago just without Magdalen-Gates: He behaved very modestly, and was seemingly penitent; and just before he was turned off, he declared to the numerous Spectators, That he had left no confession or Dying Speech behind him; and that if any Paper should be published as such after his Death, he assured them on the words of a Dying Man that it would be intirely false and Lies. Notwithstanding which a false and scandalous Paper was immediately after published as such, on a single Sheet of Paper, without either Stamp or Printer's Name, in direct Violation of an Act of Parliament."42
Chase's own account of the execution clearly anticipated Crossgrove's criticism.
Last Wednesday, about 12 a'clock, William Morris was carry'd in a Cart from the City Jail to the Place of Execution, where he behav'd very decently, and appear'd devout in his last Moments: He join'd with the Minister officiating in all the Prayers, and in singing a Psalm; and having put off his Shoes and Cloaths, he ascended the Ladder in his Shroud, and there read several Prayers with a suitable and becoming Gesture, beg'd Pardon of God for all his Offences, and told the Spectators he had made no Confession, tho' he knew he had done that before several of the Magistrates of this City, upon Oath, giving an Account of the many Robberies he had been concern'd in, and the Persons Names that assisted him, when he endeavoured to make himself an Evidence, and was sent up to London. Which Confession was publish'd last Wednesday,at Three Half-pence each: The Original Paper of which Confession are now in my Hands, and shall be shewn to any Person that desire it.43
The following week Chase came back to the attack his rival once again, whilst also explaining why it was he had published a further account of Morris's life and crimes.
Last Saturday night I receiv'd several Papers written with William Morris's own Hand, from his Father and Brother, wherein are contain'd a further Account of his Life and Actions, and also his Letters of Advice to his Brother: which Writings I added to the former Account, and publish'd them last Wednesday at One Penny each. Crossgrove last Week speaking of Morris's Execution, amongst other Things acquaints his Readers, 'That just before he was turn'd off, he declar'd to the numerous Spectators, That he had left no confession or Dying Speech behind him; and that if any Paper should be published as such after his Death, he assured them on the words of a Dying Man that it would be intirely false and Lies'. He then proceeds with his own Remarks as follows, 'Notwithstanding which a false and scandalous Paper was immediately after published as such, on a single Sheet of Paper, without either Stamp or Printer's Name, in direct Violation of an Act of Parliament'. In these remarks, every line contains a Falshood. First, It was not a Single sheet, but a Sheet and a Half: whereby it become a Pamphlet, and consequently want no Stamp, it was no violation of an Act of Parliament to be without it. Second-lye, My name was to it as Printer, on the title-page. Third-Lye, The Account publish'd was not false, for it was taken by the MAGISTRATES of this City upon Oath, and since confirm'd by his own Father and Brother. Now by this plain Narration of a Matter of Fact, which no one cane dispute, we are enabled to Judge of Mr Crossgrove's veracity.44
In addition to the execution broadsides, the Chase family also produced scores of 'Assize Calendars' listing prisoners' to be tried at either the Norfolk, Norwich, or Thetford Assizes, together with the crimes for which they stood trial.45 These were produced "by order of the Gaoler" ostensibly for the use of court officials. However they were also advertised in the Norwich Mercury, as programmes for the benefit of the gentry and others attending these spectacles.
Mention should also be made of at least two surviving works printed by the younger Chase which did not have his name as the printer. The first of these was a tract entitled The wolf in sheep's cloathing, which appeared without any form of imprint, and the other The fawning sycophant display'd, where the author of both tracts was named as the distributor. They can both be dated to 1754 on internal evidence and make use of woodcut ornaments which appear in many other of Chase's publications. Both are part of an attempt to impugn the reputation of the first Methodist preacher in Norwich, a man named James Wheatley, and can be seen as part of a wider campaign against the new "enthusiasts".
Chase used his presses quite openly at this time, to criticise Wheatley and his followers, through letters and articles in his newspapers, and later by publishing a series of anti-Methodist sermons by local Church of England clergy.46 However by the autumn of 1753 these attacks had made little impact on the growing popularity of the new religion. It was then that rumours began to circulate about Wheatley's conduct with a young lady member of his congregation Miss Mary Towler (subsequently Mrs Mary Mason). Allegations against Wheatley were published in graphic and sordid detail in the two pamphlets, mentioned above, and were refuted in other anonymous pamphlets (printed by Robert Davy, Crossgrove's son-in-law). Clearly, whilst the then prosperous and respectable printer was prepared to print these scurrilous tracts, he nevertheless preferred not to have his name associated with them.47
However some of the most interesting of Chase's publishing activities rather had deliberately misleading "London" imprints. Sometimes this was in addition to his "Norwich" issues of the same titles and sometimes it was apparently instead of them. Thus the surviving output from his press is likely to be somewhat larger than is known although ultimately it will be impossible to determine the full extent of this deception.
The earliest known work in this category is A compleat history of the famous city of Norwich which was issued twice, once with the imprint "Norwich: printed and sold by William Chase, 1728" and once with "London: printed for John and James Knapton, 1728."48 A few years later there was another similar example of a false imprint, this time with an official commemoration sermon preached by the Dean of Salisbury, the publication of which was financed by the Corporation. Thus John Clarke's, The character of a good magistrate49 was issued both as "Norwich: printed by W. Chase, 1732", and also "London: printed for James and John Knapton, and sold by W. Chase in Norwich, 1732". On this occasion the "London" imprint did at least list Chase as the distributor in Norwich.
Chase's son also appears to have adopted a similar practice in 1751 with William Smith's The absurdity of an unworking faith, also a sermon preached at the Cathedral church of Norwich, with the imprint "London: printed for J. Whiston and B. White, and J. Carlos Norwich, 1751". Here there is no surviving "Norwich" issue, nor any mention of Chase on the imprint, merely the name of the Norwich bookseller James Carlos. Whilst there is no absolute proof of the younger Chase's involvement it is nevertheless most likely as there are three stylistically similar publications by William Smith printed in the succeeding years, each of which has Chase's Norwich imprint, and the above title is advertised in one of them as being sold by him.
This practice was by no means unique to the Chase family, and indeed seems to have been a fairly common practice among larger provincial printers.50 There seems to be no obvious reason why it should have been thought necessary to disguise the origins of these particular works, rather than other similar works from the press, for they were all unexceptionable in content. It is possible that a provincial imprint was taken as a sign of poor quality by some members of the trade or book buyers, and large scale publishers such as the Knapton's might request a spurious London imprint to make the work more marketable?
The existence of these three titles must give rise to a suspicion that there may be several other such works with obvious Norwich connections, but "London" imprints, and no printers' name, which may in fact have been printed by one of the Chase family. There are at least twenty such books surviving from the period 1720 to 1760, virtually all of which have the names of Norwich booksellers as copyright holders or distributors. Whilst it is most unlikely that all these works have false imprints, it is quite possible that there may be several other items printed by the Chases among them. Assuming that this practice was fairly widespread in the provinces, it would mean that a fair proportion of the output of provincial printers lies hidden among such anonymous "London" imprints.
In addition to the publication of works printed in Norwich, the elder Chase also from time to time took part in the publication process of works printed elsewhere, usually in the capacity of one out of several local distributors. One typical example was Benjamin Mackerell's, The history and antiquities of the flourishing Corporation of King's-Lynn printed in London by his erstwhile rival Edward Cave, and "sold by S. Birt, D. Samuel, Lynn, and W. Chase and J. Carlos, Norwich, 1738".51 In this instance the role of any individual distributor named on them would have been small. On other occasions the bookseller might play a similar small but often undocumented part in a publication, such as when he subscribed for twenty copy of Mary Masters' privately published Poems on several occasions, in 1733.52
Margaret Chase however took a somewhat more active part in publishing works printed elsewhere than her husband had done. Her name appears on the imprints of several sermons printed by Joseph Bentham in Cambridge, both as a local distributor, and also on a number of occasions as joint copyright-holder.53 This was of course in addition to her own publications, printed in Norwich.
During the late 1740s and early 1750s recognised distribution networks began to be established involving the principal booksellers in the major provincial towns and cities throughout Britain. Not unnaturally, as a major newspaper publisher with his own distribution arrangements throughout East Anglia, the younger William Chase quickly became involved in these networks. He used them both as a means of distributing his own publications more effectively, and also in assisting with the distribution of others. Thus from about 1756 onwards Chase's imprints begin to include the names of distributing booksellers from Cambridge, Lynn, Yarmouth, Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Colchester, whereas the bookseller's name also begins to appear far more often on publications originating in these towns and in London.54
One other form of publishing in which the elder William Chase became involved, together with his friend and former master Thomas Goddard, was of engraved maps. Until the 1720s all attempts at mapping the county of Norfolk had been inaccurate and derived one from another. However in February 1728 a surveyor named James Corbridge advertised proposals for a new survey of the county, which resulted in his publication of a splendid new map in the Autumn of 1730.55 Engravings were not however subject to the same copyright protection as other printed works, and Chase and Goddard therefore resolved to issue a cheaper piracy, which appeared in 1731.56 If this were not sufficient injury to Corbridge however, whilst waiting for the production of their copy, Chase used letters in his newspaper to cast doubt upon the accuracy of the original.57
Goddard and Chase's piracy was reprinted in 1740, although on this occasion published by Goddard and Robert Goodman another Norwich bookseller. It was also reprinted again in 1745 with the original booksellers names included, although by this time William Chase was dead.58 The aggrieved Corbridge went on to produce an equally fine map of Norfolk and Suffolk in 1735, upon which he inscribed the following insult aimed at William Chase, who appears to have been the prime mover behind the piracy.
"To Mr Chase & his map (if they doubt my scale of miles which contain 1760 yards) for if I mistake not he has given three scales to his map which he calls great middle and small, things uncommon in surveys of countys and as useless as the 3 heads imploy'd in copying my late map of Norfolk."59
As a printer, the elder William Chase's standards were at best mediocre, and frequently poor, although in this respect he was probably typical of many provincial printers of his time. Soon after setting up on his own, the quality of his work dropped to its lowest point, with Thomas Page's The art of painting, printed by him in 1720, providing an example of how low standards could fall. The ink and the paper were of poor quality, the book abounds in literals, and was printed in several different sizes of type. There was also a loss of register between the printed matter on either side of the leaf. Even Chase felt shamed by this work, and although he did not consider withdrawing it, he did offer the following apology.
"By reason of the extream hast of the press, the Authors absence from it, and the copyes being not fairly written, occasioned the ensuing faults. Which (courteous reader) I humbly desire you to excuse."60
By 1726 however Chase was able to afford "a beautiful Elziver letter" for his newspaper,61 and relative prosperity in later years enabled him and his family to use better materials and also employ skilled labour, and so inevitably standards tended to rise. In 1733 the Reverend Francis Blomefield approached Chase as a possible printer for his planned history of Norfolk, but in a letter of 1st July 1733 he decided not to employ him.
"Sir,
I have endeavoured to procure a set of Saxon types, but find I can't do it, and upon looking over my book find a good number of Greek inscriptions, some Hebrew words, and some Gothic, so that I find I must print it in London, it being impossible to have those types any where in the country... I wish heartily I could have done it with you for I liked your terms & could have been glad to have corrected the press myself, which then I could easily have done."62
By way of consolation, Blomefield employed Chase to print his Proposals,63 and later to act as an agent for the distribution of his part publication, which he ultimately chose to print at his home. However he later had cause to regret his choice, when in October 1737 Chase submitted an account which attempted to profit by the historian's muddled and amateurish bookkeeping methods. According to Blomefield, Chase had charged his commission on fourteen parts which had been returned unsold, over-charged for the advertisements appearing in his newspaper, deducted commission at a higher rate than agreed, and had taken the precaution of deducting commission for the sale of other parts which had been delivered but for which payment had not been supplied.
This resulted in a furious letter from Blomefield, the draft of which is barely intelligible due to the writer's rage.64 Chase apparently later replied and agreed to drop some of the more contentious items from the bill and so he managed to placate the author to some degree,65 although Blomefield's private verdict was "he is very conning".66 This incident coincided with problems with other distribution agents, and together they caused him to set up his own distribution arrangements for the work thereafter.67
Between 1718 and 1727, and from 1730 until his death William Chase served as a Common Councillor for Wymer Ward, in the Whig interest. In addition he held the civic office of Clavor for the years 1731-4 and 1737-44. Likewise William Chase II also sought to serve as a Common Councillor as soon as he was able, beginning in 1752 and remaining in office until his death in 1781, and also served as a Guardian of the Poor for periods in the 1760s and 1770s.68 However in the changed political climate of the 1760s Chase's newspaper was described as supporting the "Court and Corporation interest" as opposed to the Whigs.69
In fact the family's only brief brush with the city authorities took place in 1729 during the period in which the elder Chase was out of office. He made sarcastic reference in his newspaper to the scrutiny of an election, and he was briefly committed to gaol.70 Naturally his rival Henry Crossgrove, a dedicated Tory who had a suffered a number of similar incidents during his career, took great pleasure in reporting the event.71
The Chase's political activities were not related to any ideals or wish to serve the community, but rather in order to benefit from the considerable patronage that the Corporation could offer to certain tradesmen. In particular both men achieved places on the influential City Committee, which by the 1730s had taken over much of the Corporation's executive business. This patronage included the supply of books and stationery wares, to the officers of the Corporation, and also for regular official printing and the advertising within the local newspapers. Throughout the 1730s and 1740s the Chase family was receiving an average of about £25 per year in business from the Corporation, although the figures might vary considerably.72 In addition there survives a detailed account tendered by William Chase II to the Court of Mayoralty for stationery ware supplied for the years 1757-59. This lists the supply of over one hundred and fifty different items or orders totalling £58-4-10, but it is not clear whether or not this constituted the whole of the business with the Corporation for those years.73 In addition there were occasional larger printing jobs such as poll books, or the catalogue of the City Library.74
The Corporation could also grant patronage in several other less obvious areas. For example, throughout the eighteenth century, the Mayor, Sheriffs and Aldermen would regularly commission local clergymen to preach commemoration sermons in the Cathedral, on set days during the year. It was equally the traditional practice for the Mayor and Sheriffs afterwards to wait upon the clergyman concerned, and request that the sermon be published, at the expense of the Corporation. Many such commemoration sermons survive, virtually all of which after 1718 were printed by the Chase.75 Similarly, the Corporation also maintained a fund for lodging and entertaining such visiting clergymen, and this too regularly brought profit to the Chase family.76
However this quest for patronage did not end with the Norwich Corporation, the Chases also cultivated the Cathedral authorities, and were therefore employed to print a host of official diocesan documents, such as visitation articles, circular letters to the clergy of the diocese, official receipts, register books etc.77 The elder Chase was also appointed General and Principal Apparitor for the diocese, and also found employment as the appraiser of probate inventories.78 Similarly in 1718 he managed to obtain the profitable appointment of Sub-Collector of Stamp Duties, after Thomas Goddard was removed for trying to displace the Collector.79 Equally, as trustees of the local charity school, members of the family would not only supply any school books required, but also print the annual accounts.80
The undoubted financial and social success of the Chase family during the middle years of the eighteenth century was therefore dependent upon a combination of diversification and opportunism. This included their grasping every possible commercial opportunity, or chance of gaining patronage, that presented itself within their field of interest, without troubling their consciences overmuch. The business did however rely on single-minded individuals in charge, and therefore the edifice quickly fell once the grandson decided that he did not wish to continue in the same mould.
The Chase family were however good examples of what many provincial tradesmen might aspire to - Blackstone's 'Polite and commercial people' who took full advantage of a period of extraordinary economic growth which laid the foundations of Britain's success in the nineteenth century.
David Stoker
August 1990
1757-1759
The Court of Mayoralty
W.W.
Chase Dr
1757
Jan: 6. Book for small accounts -- 5 --
13. Ream best fools Cap -- 16 --
22. Adjournment of Sessions adv. 2 wks -- 4 6
29. ½ 100 Quills -- 1 3
Feb: 19. 100 Quills -- 3 --
26. assize of Bread advertise 2 weeks -- 4 6
3
Doz. Press warrants printing & paper -- 3 --
2 oz.
Wafers -- -- 6
Mar. 1. Almanack bound -- -- 9
assize
of Bread Advertis'd March 12
19.
26. April 2. 9. 16. 23. 30. } 1 4 --
May
7. 14. 21. & 28 in all 12 Wks }
14. ½ 100 Quills -- 1 6
24. 2 oz. Wafers -- -- 6
26. 5 qw. best paper -- 5 --
Binding
Do. in Calve & Letterd -- 3 6
30. 100 pens -- 3 --
3 qw.
Medium paper @ 2/6 -- 7 6
ruling
Do. 6 Lines in a page and Head
Line
& making into a Dozen pole books) -- 4 6
6 Ink
stands -- 6 --
April 18. ½ 100 Quills -- 1 6
23. Young woman from Edinburgh Advd. omnce -- 3 --
Order
of Court about Stallions Advd -- 2 6
26. 100 Quills -- 3 6
27. 10 poles Books at 2/6 each 1 5 --
10
qw. Freeman's Oaths printing & paper 1 0 --
May 14. ½ 100 Quills -- 1 3
21. 2 oz. Wafers -- -- 6
½ 100
Quills -- 1 3
28. 1 Ream best paper -- 16 --
June 2. ½ 100 Quills 2 3
14. ½ 100 Quills 1 --
25. Order of Court relating to disorderly}
Houses
adv. 3wks 45 lines } -- 18 --
July 2. Assize of Bread Adv. once -- 2 6
Do.
July 9. 16. & 23d. (Additional Duty)-- 10 6
14. 4 Doz. Surveyors Non: Warrants -- 1 --
Aug. 2. ½ 100 Quills -- 1 9
13. Set of Acts for the Hall 1 2 --
Do.
for Mayors office 1 2 --
15. ½ 100 Quills -- 1 --
16. Ream of Copy paper Double -- 12 --
19. 2 Quarto Com: Prayers for Cathedral -- 15 --
_________
£13 17 6
____________
1757 Brought
over 13 17 6
Aug. 20. Day of appeals for windows advd 3 Wee s -- 19 6
Assize
of Bread Adv. 2 Weeks -- 7 --
Sept. 6. ½ 100 Quils -- 1 --
10. 1 Ream best paper -- 16 --
27. ½ 100 Quills 1 6
Oct. 6. ¼ 100 Quills -- -- 9
14. 100 best Quils -- 4 6
22. Advertisement to prevent Carts standing}
in
the public streets 4 Wks }-- 14 --
10
Qw: soldiers Billets printing Paper}
&
Cutting } 1 -- --
3 qw:
Norfolk Combinations -- 6 --
27. ¼ lb large wafers -- 1 --
2 oz.
small wafers -- -- 8
29. 1 paper Book long 4to. -- -- 6
Nov: 5. 10 qw: Freeman's Oaths printing &
paper 1 -- --
12. 2 qw: press warrants printing -- 5 --
100
Quills -- 3 --
6
small Testaments -- 6 --
Dec: 5. ½ 100 Quills -- 1 6
10. Thomas Read, Ind Gatherer Advd -- 3 6
17. Do. 20 Lines -- 4 --
Ladies
Diary -- -- 9
shalanders -- -- 6
1758
Jan: 9. ½ 100 Quills 1 3
21. 1 Reame of Land Tax Summons 1 10 --
Feb: 4. Advertisement against firing of Guns}
in
public streets Adv. 3 Wks. } -- 10 6
7. Ream best paper -- 16 --
½ 100
Quills -- 1 6
18. 1 Ream of fine writing Demy 1 16 --
printing
Do. parish names & ruling 1 10 --
Mar. 1. ½ 100 Quills -- 1 6
April 6. ½ 100 Quills -- 1 6
¼lb
wafers -- -- 9
15. Adjournment of Sessions Adv. once -- 3 6
19. ½ 100 Quills -- 2 3
3 qw:
Suffolk Combinations -- 6 --
29. 10 qw Soldiers Billets & Cutting 1 -- --
May 5. 100 Quills -- 3 --
27. Meeting of the Commission of the Land}
Tax
Adv. 2 weeks } -- 7 --
June 8. Ream best paper -- 16 --
100
pens -- 5 --
10. 2 qw Summons & Cutting -- 5 --
3 qw
Norfolk Combinations -- 6 --
13. 7 qw best paper -- 7 --
Binding
Do. in Calve & Letterd -- 4 6
__________
£30 19 5
____________
1758 Brought
over 30 19 5
June 17. Mundham Tithes adv. 5 wks -- 17 6
24. Order of Court against Gaming adv. 2 -- 19 6
weeks
42 line
28. Pint of ink -- 1 --
½ lb
of Wafers -- 1 6
July 7. 3 Acts to explain Militia -- 2 6
3
Acts for defraying Charges of Do. -- 1 6
8. Binding Freemans Book in Cf -- 3 6
Ream
best paper -- 16 --
Aug. 5. Farm at Trowse adv. 2 wks -- 10 6
Set
of Acts for the Hall 1 4 --
Do.
for Mayors office 1 4 --
22. ½ 100 best Quills 2 3
4
window acts of each sort -- 15 --
Sept. Day of
appeals advd -- 13 6
30. Order of Court abt Lamps 41 lines -- 6 --
½ 10
(sic) Quills 1-6 - 1 paper Book 1s -- 2 6
Oct. 7. 500 Abstract from Gaming Act printing}
on
Demy paper } -- 7 6
Adjournment
of Sessions adv. once -- 3 6
21. 200 Assize of Bread printing 4to on}
Demy
paper } -- 5 --
28. 1000 Assize of Bread 4to. Demy pap 1 -- --
Nov. 6. 6 qw best paper -- 6 --
ruling
& binding Do. -- 4 6
19. Book for years Account -- 10 6
Book
for small Accts -- 5 --
24. Pint of Ink -- 1 --
25. ½ 100 Quills -- 1 6
__________
£41 14 8
____________
1759
Jan. 7. 1 Doz Surveyors presentments -- -- 3
2 Oz.
small Wafers -- -- 8
13. ½ 100 Quills -- 1 6
500
Summonses and cutting -- 8 6
20. 6 qr pott paper & binding -- 5 6
½ 100
pens -- 2 6
24. Order against throwing at Cocks Adver}
2
Weeks } -- 7 --
March 10. 5qr parish names printing on writing}
Demy
} -- 15 --
17. 1 Rm. best Foolscap -- 16 --
Apr. 8 ¼lb of small Wafers -- 1 --
12. Pint of Ink -- 1 --
May 16. ½ 100 Quills -- 1 6
10
qr. Soldiers Billets & cutting 1 -- --
21. Large Ink Chest -- 5 6
June 9. 5qr Summonses -- 10 --
23. Order of Court Adv. 3W. 43L. -- 19 6
30. Binding 3 Vols. of Acts -- 13 6
Putting
on City Arms -- 3 --
July 7. 5 qr Summonses for Bridewell -- 10 --
14. 3 qr Hospital Receipts -- 4 6
16. 6 qr pott paper -- 4 --
Binding
do. -- 1 6
____________
£49 6 7
____________
Brought
up 49 6 7
1759
July 18. ½ 100 Quills -- 1 9
Set
of Acts -- 18 --
Do.
for Mayors Office -- 18 --
¼lb
of Wafers -- -- 9
pint
of Ink -- 1 --
21. 5 qr. Committee Summonses -- 10 --
Aug. 4. Order about Certs Adv. 3W. -- 10 6
6. ½ 100 Quills -- 1 6
Sept. 6. ½ 100 best Quills -- 2 3
22. 10 qr Soldiers Billets & Cutting 1 -- --
25. 1 Rm. of best Foolscap -- 16 --
Oct. 16. Order relating to ye Watch 2W. 32L. -- 10 --
½ qr
paper stitch'd in two Books -- 1 --
15. Order relating to Lamps 1W. 41L. -- 6 --
14. ½ 100 Quills -- 1 6
23. ½ 100 Quills -- 2 6
Nov. 10. 10 qr Militia & Soldiers Billets 1 -- --
17. Book for Years Account -- 10 6
Book
for small Account -- 5 --
½ 100
Quills -- 2 --
Decr. 1. 1000 Bills against squibs -- 10 --
Pd
for distributing do. -- 3 --
10. ½ 100 Quills -- 2 --
29. 2 qr. Summonses printing & paper -- 5 --
__________
£58 4 10
____________
Mr Chase's Bill
City Bill
Norfolk Record Office Miscellaneous Chamberlain's Vouchers. 2lb (3).
Genealogy of the Chase family of Norwich
William Chase
(d.1716) Woolcomber, East Dereham
m. Alice
|
|___ William Chase (1692-1744) Bookseller
& Printer Norwich, printer of
| Norwich Postman, and Transactions
of the Universe, propietor of
| the Weekly Mercury and Norwich
Mercury.
| m. Margaret
| |
| |___ William
Chase (1728-1781) Bookseller & Printer, Norwich.
| | propietor
of Norwich Mercury.
| | |
| | |___ Daughter
| | | m. John Maidstone
| | | |
| | | |___ John
Maidstone
| | |
| | |___ Catherine
| | | m.1. ? Matchett, Surgeon, Norwich
| | | |
| | | |___ Jonathan
Matchett (c1771-1844)
| | | |
| | | m.2. William Stevenson,
Newspaper Printer, Norwich
| | | |
| | | |___ Seth William Stevenson
(1784-1821)
| | | |
| | | |___ Son
| | | |
| | | |___ Henry Stevenson (1833-1888)
| | | m.1. Eliza Dangerfield
| | | m.2. Ann
Amelia Self
| | |
| | |___ Margaret
| | | M. Augustine Thomas Holl, Printer
Norwich (fl 1774-85)
| | | |
| | | |___ Thomas
Holl
| | |
| | |___ William Chase (b. 1763?)
| | In
partnership with Richard Bacon 1784-8
| |
| |___ Richard
Chase (d1785)
| | Rector
of Ilketshall St John
| |
| |___ Daughter
- Christmas
| |
| |___ Alice
| | m.
Peter Gedge Worsted Weaver, Norwich
| | |
| | |___ Peter Gedge (c1750-1818)
| | Proprietor
Bury & Norwich Post
| | m.
Ann
| | |
| | |___ Son
| |
| |___ Daughter
- Green
|
|
|__ Robert Chase Woolcomber East Dereham
(d.1721)
|
|__ John Chase Hosier East Dereham
|
|__ Mary Chase Spinster East Dereham
Genealogy of
Master/Apprentice relationships
George Rose,
bookseller, freeman by Purchase 1671, d.1707
|
|__ Thomas Goddard, bookseller and printer
freeman by Service,
1698, d. 1751
|
|__ William
Chase freeman by Service 1715, d.1744
| |
| |__ Margaret Chase widow fl. 1744-49.
| |
| |__
William Chase II freeman by
patrimony 1750, d 1781.
| | _
| | William Chase III and
| |__ | Catherine
Matchett and
| | |_Thomas Holl partnership 1781-84
| | |
_
| | | | William
Chase III (until 1788)
| | |__| William Yarrington (until 1794)
| |
|_Richard Bacon (until 1804)
| | |
| | |__ Richard Mackenzie Bacon
| | (1804-44)
| |
| |__ John Crouse, bookseller and newspaper
printer
| | freeman 1763, d. 1796
|
|__ Jonathan
Gleed, bookseller (1740-1765)
|
|__ Christopher
Berry, bookseller (1747-1770)
|
|__ John Dixon, bookseller (1751-57)
Notes
|
See Paul Langord, A polite and commercial people: England
1727-1783, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989, Chap.3. |
|
|
Norwich Consistory Court Wills, 50 Poynter 1781. |
|
|
Originally as the Weekly Mercury, but as the Norwich
Mercury from about 1722. Now published as the Norwich Mercury and
Advertiser. |
|
|
Rex Stedman, Vox populi: the Norfolk newspaper press
1760-1900, unpublished F.L.A. thesis, Library Association, 1971. 318. The
wills of Chase's father (1716) and brother John (1721) are preserved in the
Norfolk Record Office. |
|
|
There is no surviving indenture, but the record of Chase's enrollment
as freeman indicates that he had been Goddard's apprentice - Percy Millican, The
freemen of Norwich 1714-1752, Norwich: Norfolk Record Society, Volume 23.
1952. |
|
|
A file, hitherto unknown, of the first 15 numbers of
the Norwich Post-man, has recently been sold to McMaster University in
Canada. |
|
|
For a more detailed account of the events following the death of
Francis Burges, see David Stoker, 'The establishment of printing in Norwich:
causes and effects 1660-1760, Transactions of the Cambridge
Bibliographical Society, VII, 1977. 94-111. |
|
|
The earliest specific reference to Chase's printing
in Norwich is the following item from the pen of Henry Crossgrove in the Norwich Gazette of 8 May 1708. It demonstrates that he was
then unaware of the identity of his rival. |
|
|
For example John Fransham, The criterion: or touchstone, Norwich:
W.Chase, 1710 (not in ESTC), or Josiah Chorley, A metrical index to the
Bible, Norwich: W. Chase for T.Goddard (ESTC t115972). |
|
|
Most sources suggest that Cave either worked on the
short-lived Norwich Courant or else on the Norwich Gazette. The
latter suggestion is extremely unlikely, and the surviving evidence however
indicates that Cave made his reputation in Norwich prior to the establishment
of the Norwich Courant in 1714, see David Stoker, 'Edward Cave and the
Norwich Post' University of East Anglia Bulletin, VII, 1975. 1-5. |
|
|
[i]. Transactions of the
Universe, 7 July 1714. This shop may have previously been the business of
the bookseller Edward Giles and his son-in-law Robert Tompson. |
|
|
The last known item from the printing press in the
Market Place was An account of the Charity Schools in Norwich, Norwich, 1717
(not in ESTC). Chase paid Church rates on his new shop from Easter 1718. |
|
|
Norwich Mercury 2 June 1744. |
|
|
These included a younger son Richard, who
subsequently became a clergyman, and three sisters, all of whom are named in
the will of William Chase II (see footnote 2). |
|
|
For example, compare the imprints of Thomas Bullock, Remarks upon
A letter to the Archbishop of York, (ESTC n012750) and Charles
Kerrich, A sermon preached, (ESTC t101417) both Norwich: 1746. |
|
|
Millican (1952) and the Norwich Mercury 24 March
1750. |
|
|
J.C. Trewin & E.M. King Printer to the house, London:
1952. 21. |
|
|
Norwich Mercury 28 April 1770. |
|
|
The Norwich directory, or gentlemen and tradesmen's assistant, Norwich: W. Chase &
Co., 1783 - not in ESTC). |
|
|
Norwich Mercury 29 March 1788. Rex, Stedman
(1971) 83 et seq. covers the withdrawal of William Chase III from the
partnership, and the subsequent history of the newspaper. |
|
|
Transactions of the Universe Vol.2 29. 17 July 1714. |
|
|
Norwich Mercury 11 January 1755. |
|
|
Norwich Mercury 20 September 1740. |
|
|
A catalogue of valuable books ... 1689. Wing O274. |
|
|
A catalogue of ancient and modern books ...1693, (Wing C1273) and A
catalogue of ancient and modern books ...1700, (Wing C1275). |
|
|
Very few auction catalogues from this period have
survived, but Goddard is referred to in Henry Crossgrove's satirical poem The
auctioneer, Norwich, 1708 (not in ESTC). He also advertised a Catalogue of an
auction of cloths etc, to be had at Mr Tho. Goddard's booksellers gratis in
the Norwich Gazette 19 January 1717. |
|
|
Bibliotheca miscellanea: or a catalogue of choice books, Norwich: W. Chase, 1721
(ESTC t186862), and A catalogue of books... July 1721 Norwich: 1721
(not in ESTC). Goddard also held a second auction in November 1721 (Norwich
Gazette 4 November 1721). |
|
|
Norwich Gazette 787 4 November 1721. |
|
|
A catalogue of books both antient and modern (Norwich:W. Chase, 1725)
ESTC t190373. Both men also however continued to hold independent auctions
(e.g. A catalogue of a very valuable and choice collection of books..
1730, (Norwich: W. Chase, 1730) not in ESTC). |
|
|
Norwich Gazette 4 April 1730. |
|
|
Norwich Mercury 28 March 1730. |
|
|
Norwich Gazette 11 and 18 April 1730. |
|
|
A few of the many such examples are advertised in the Norwich
Mercury 18 October 1754, 5 July 1755, and 15 November 1755. |
|
|
Norwich Mercury 15 July 1769. |
|
|
London Magazine December 1762, and the Norwich Mercury issues for January
1770. |
|
|
A catalogue of a very valuable and choice collection
of books, Norwich: W. Chase, 1730 (not in ESTC). |
|
|
Relatively few such catalogues survive (two from 1752 and one from
1766) but very large numbers of them are advertised in the Norwich Mercury
after 1730. By the end of the century the bookseller Christopher Berry issued
a catalogue containing thirty-thousand volumes (Trevor Fawcett, [i]. 'Eighteenth century
Norfolk booksellers' Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical
Society, VI. 1972. 1-18 |
|
|
Norwich Gazette 620 23 August 1718, and Norwich Mercury 2 June 1744. |
|
|
Norwich Mercury 31 May 1755. |
|
|
British Library Addl. Ms. 5822 fo. 113. |
|
|
Norwich Gazette 25 January 1718 and 23
August 1718. |
|
|
Norwich Gazette 1456 31 August 1734. |
|
|
Norwich Mercury 31 August 1734. |
|
|
Norwich Mercury 7 September
1734. |
|
|
A collection of nearly one hundred such calendars between 1748 and
the 1790s is preserved in the N.R.O. (MF/RO 36). Until 1778 they have the
Chase imprint, thereafter no imprint. |
|
|
For example Robert Potter, On the pretended
inspiration of the Methodists, Norwich: W. Chase, 1758 (ESTC t014571). |
|
|
See Daniel O'Sullivan 'The case of James Wheatley, Methodist,' Norfolk
Archaeology, 197? 166-175. |
|
|
The Norwich issue is ESTC t110709, the other is not
in ESTC. |
|
|
ESTC t000346. "...a sermon preached at the cathedral church of
Norwich, on the 20th of June, 1732, being the Guild-Day, on which the
new-elected Mayor is sworn into his office". |
|
|
For a similar example from York see Kenneth Monkman,
'A bibliography of the early editions of Tristram Shandy', The Library, XXV.
1970. 11-39. Likewise, according to Boswell, Johnson's translation of Lobo's
Voyage to Abyssina, of 1735 had a London imprint although it was printed in
Birmingham, "a device too-common with provincial printers" James
Boswell, Life of Johnson, (Oxford, 1953), 62. |
|
|
ESTC t058805. |
|
|
Mary Masters Poems on several occasions, London:
1733. |
|
|
For example Robert Masters The mischiefs of faction and rebellion,
(Cambridge, 1745) ESTC t039492, Samuel Kerrich, A sermon preached in the
parish churches of Dersingham and Woolferton, (Cambridge, 1746) ESTC
t101417, or Henry Goodall, The duties attending a proper discharge of the
ministry, (Cambridge, 1748) ESTC t035051. |
|
|
Two examples out of several dozen similar will
illustrate this point. Charles Robotham, Zarah, Norwich: printed and
sold by W. Chase. Sold also by Mrs Cooper London; Mr Gleed; Mr Thurlbourn and
Mr Merrill, at Cambridge, Mr Craighton at Ipswich, Mr Green at Bury, Mr
Hollingworth at Lynn, and Powell and Carr in Yarmouth, 1756 (ESTC t100168),
and Peter Stephen Goddard, A sermon preached November 29, 1759, Bury
St Edmund's: printed and sold by W. Green, sold also by Messrs. Crowder and
Co. London; Mr Chase in Norwich; Mr Shave, in Ipswich; Mr Merrill in
Cambridge; Mr Skeymer in Colchester and Hollingworth in Lynn, 1760 (ESTC
t004677). |
|
|
Norwich Mercury, 3 February 1728. The map is described in some detail in Thomas
Chubb, A. descriptive list of printed maps of Norfolk 1574-1916 Norwich:
Jarrold, 1928. 50. |
|
|
Thomas Chubb (1928). 39. |
|
|
See Norwich Mercury 17
October 1730, and Norwich Gazette 14 November 1730. The
circumstances surrounding this incident are covered by David Stoker, 'An
eighteenth-century map piracy' Norfolk Archaeology, XXVIII, 1978.
123-6. |
|
|
Thomas Chubb (1928), 41, 45. |
|
|
Thomas Chubb, (1928), 59. |
|
|
Thomas Page The art of painting, (Norwich: W. Chase,
for the author, 1720). ESTC t093530. |
|
|
Norwich Mercury, 12 February 1726. |
|
|
Blomefield's Journal and letter book, Norfolk Record
Office Rye Ms. 32 fo.9. |
|
|
Proposals for printing by subscription, An essay towards a
topographical history of the county of Norfolk, [Norwich: W. Chase, 1733]
(ESTC t178674). |
|
|
Letter to Chase, 5 November, 1737. Blomefield's
second letter book N.R.O. NNAS c3/2/4 fo.8-9. |
|
|
Letter to Chase, 16 December 1737, Ibid. fo.26. |
|
|
Letter to Robert Smith 15 December 1737, Ibid. fo.25 |
|
|
David Stoker 'Blomefield's history of Norfolk' Factotum, 26.
1988. 17-22. |
|
|
Timothy Hawes An index to Norwich City Office
Holders 1453-1835. Norfolk Genealogy, 1989. |
|
|
J.C. Trewin and E.M. King 21. |
|
|
Norwich Mercury 19 April and 2
August 1729, and the Quarter Sessions Minutes for the same dates. |
|
|
Norwich Gazette 1177. 26 April 1729. |
|
|
The payments are recorded in the City Chamberlain's
Accounts (N.R.O.). |
|
|
.N.R.O. Miscellaneous Chamberlain's Vouchers 21b (3) Transcribed in
Appendix IV. |
|
|
An alphabetical draught of the polls, Norwich: W.
Chase, 1735 (Not in ESTC), and A new catalogue of the books in the library of
the city of Norwich, Norwich: W. Chase, 1733 (ESTC t058804). |
|
|
Prior to 1718 the payments for such publications were sometimes
recorded in the Assembly or Mayor's Court books. |
|
|
These payments are also recorded in the annual
Chamberlain's Accounts. |
|
|
For example Articles to be enquired of.. Norwich: W. Chase,
1723 (Not in ESTC), A register book for all marriages, Norwich: W.
Chase (four editions 1754 and 1755 not in ESTC). |
|
|
Norwich Gazette 9 June 1744. William Chase
was one of the appraisers of the inventory of David Samuel bookseller of Lynn
in 1739 (David Stoker, 'The early booksellers of Kings Lynn' Studies of
the provincial book trade of England, Scotland and Wales before 1900,
Aberystwyth, 1990. 105. |
|
|
Norwich Gazette 596 8 March 1718. |
|
|
Only the printed accounts for 1717 survive (N.R.O.
NRS 453) although both men served in this capacity throughout their careers. |