Thomas Hookham (c.1739–1819)[1] was a bookseller and publisher in London in the 18th-19th centuries. He issued works by Charlotte de Bournon, John Hassell, Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Nougaret, Ann Radcliffe,[1] Clara Reeve, and others. As part of his business he ran a circulating library,[2][3] established in 1764 and by the 1800s one of "the two largest in London."[4][nb 1] The library continued on Bond Street until it was acquired by Mudie's ca.1871.[7][8] In addition, about 1794 he opened the Literary Assembly subscription reading rooms stocked with periodicals and reference books.[1]

His sons, Thomas Hookham, Jr. (1787–1867) and Edward T. Hookham also worked as publishers and booksellers in London.[9] A third generation, Thomas Hookham and Henry Hookham, continued in the business into the mid 19th century.[10]

Notes

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  1. ^ Competitors included circulating libraries of John Bell,[2] John Boosey,[2] John Booth,[5] Carpenter,[5] Cawthorn,[5] Cheesewright,[5] Creighton,[5] Thomas Dangerfield,[5] Dutton,[5] William Earle,[5] William Lane,[5] John Noble, David Ogilvy,[5] Parson,[5] Tegg,[5] and Thomas Vernor.[2][6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Roger Ingpen, ed. (1912). "Shelley's Correspondents: Thomas Hookham, Junr.". Letters of Percy Bysshe Shelley. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ a b c d John Trusler (1790), "Conveniences in London", London Adviser and Guide (2nd ed.), Printed for the author at the Literary-Press, OCLC 15076772
  3. ^ Paul Kaufman (1967). "The Community Library: A Chapter in English Social History". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. 57 (7): 1–67. doi:10.2307/1006043. JSTOR 1006043.
  4. ^ Peter Garside (1991). "Popular Fiction and National Tale: Hidden Origins of Scott's Waverley". Nineteenth-Century Literature. 46 (1): 30–53. doi:10.2307/3044962. JSTOR 3044962.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l John Feltham (1807). "Circulating Libraries". Picture of London, for 1807 (8th ed.). London: Richard Phillips.
  6. ^ Ian Maxted (2007), "Thomas Hookham", The London Book Trades 1775-1800: a preliminary checklist of members, Exeter Working Papers in British Book Trade History
  7. ^ Alden, Henry (October 1866), "English and Foreign Library Company, Limited. Late Hookham's Library, established 1764 (advert)", Alden's Illustrated Family Miscellany, Oxford, Cheap reading for the million
  8. ^ Guinevere L. Griest (1965). "A Victorian Leviathan: Mudie's Select Library". Nineteenth-Century Fiction. 20 (2): 103–126. doi:10.2307/2932540. JSTOR 2932540.
  9. ^ Lord Byron (1973), "Famous in My Time": 1810-1812, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, ISBN 0674089413
  10. ^ William Tinsley (1900), Random recollections of an old publisher, London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., OCLC 1655793, OL 6902927M

Further reading

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