David Alphonso Talboys (c. 1790–1840) was an English bookseller, known as a publisher, translator, and local politician.

Life

Born about 1790, Talboys established himself as a bookseller in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

. He subsequently moved his business to

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he became known for his knowledge of the book trade. In 1823 he went into partnership with James Luff Wheeler, the university bookseller, who married his daughter Anne Ophelia. Talboys & Wheeler then began to publish the "Oxford English Classics" series, with William Pickering of

Chancery Lane Chancery Lane is a one-way street situated in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. It has formed the western boundary of the City since 1994, having previously been divided between the City of Westminster and the London Boroug ...

, London. On 1 December 1827 Talboys was admitted to the privileges of a member of Oxford University. He took a leading part in the affairs of the city of Oxford, was a councillor of the east ward, and served the office of sheriff. After the election of 1835, Talboys was seen as the leader of the radical reformers in Oxford municipal affairs; together with Charles Sadler, a moderate reformer, he was able to make some changes in charity organisation. He was then attacked by the ''Oxford Herald'', controlled by

Philip Bliss Philip Paul Bliss (9 July 1838 – 29 December 1876) was an American composer, conductor, writer of hymns and a bass-baritone Gospel singer. He wrote many well-known hymns, including "Hold the Fort" (1870), "Almost Persuaded" (1871); "Hallelujah, ...

, who attempted to have his business boycotted. Talboys died at Oxford on 23 May 1840, leaving a widow and seven children. His son-in-law was the gymnast and fencing master

Archibald MacLaren Archibald MacLaren (29 January 1820 – 19 February 1884) or Maclaren was a Scottish fencing master, gymnast, educator and author who in 1858 opened a well-equipped gymnasium at the University of Oxford where from 1860 to 1861 he trained 12 ...

Works

Talboys was the author of ''Oxford Chronological Tables of Universal History'', 1835 and 1840. He referenced James Bell's ''Compendious view of universal history and literature, in a series of tables'' (1820) and adopted some of the typographical conventions of Bell. Together Bell and Talboys are considered to have innovated influentially, in the use of

bold type In typography, emphasis is the strengthening of words in a text with a font in a different style from the rest of the text, to highlight them. It is the equivalent of prosody stress in speech. Methods and use The most common methods in W ...

for cueing, in a way that carried over into textbook design. Talboys made translations of

Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren (25 October 1760, Arbergen6 March 1842, Göttingen) was a German historian. He was a member of the Göttingen School of History. Biography Heeren was born on 25 October 1760 in Arbergen near Bremen, a small village i ...

's ''Researches into the Politics, Intercourse, and Trade of the Carthaginians, Ethiopians, and Egyptians'' (1832) (from the ''Ideen'' of Heeren) and ''Manual of the Political System of Europe'' (1834). He translated also

Friedrich von Adelung Friedrich von Adelung (February 25, 1768 – January 30, 1843) was a German-Russian linguist, historian and bibliographer. His best known works are in the fields of bibliography of Sanskrit language and the European accounts of the Time of Troubles ...

's ''Historical Sketch of Sanscrit Literature'' (Oxford, 1832), making additions and corrections.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Talboys, David Alphonso 1790s births 1840 deaths English publishers (people) English translators 19th-century British translators 19th-century English businesspeople