Henry George Bohn (4 January 179622 August 1884) was a

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publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

. He is principally remembered for the ''Bohn's Libraries'' which he inaugurated. These were begun in 1846, targeted the mass market, and comprised editions of standard works and translations, dealing with

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

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and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

Biography

Bohn was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He was the son of a

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bookbinder who had settled in

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. In 1831 he began his career as a dealer in rare books and remainders. In 1841 he issued his ''"Guinea" Catalogue'' of books, a monumental work containing 23,208 items. Bohn was noted for his book auction sales: one held in 1848 lasted four days, the catalogue comprising twenty folio pages. Printed on this catalogue was the information: "Dinner at 2 o'clock, dessert at 4, tea at 5, and supper at 10." In 1846, he also started publishing ''The British florist : or lady's journal of horticulture'', which had 6 volumes with illustrations and plates (coloured). The name of Bohn is principally remembered by the important ''Bohn's Libraries'' which he inaugurated: these were begun in 1846 and comprised editions of standard works and translations, dealing with

and

, consisting in all of 766 volumes. His authors included

Julia Corner Julia Corner (1798–1875), also known as Miss Corner, was a British children's educational writer who created ''Miss Corner's Historical Library''. Life Corner was born in London in 1798. Her father, John Corner, was an engraver. She initiall ...

who created educational books about India and China for him in the 1850s. The reasons for the success of ''Bohn's Libraries'' may have included their marketing to a general mass readership with volumes selling at low prices, their "lack of literary pretensions", and their "policy of a widespread, but restrained expurgation". One of Bohn's most useful and laborious undertakings was his revision (6 vols. 1864) of ''The Bibliographer's Manual of English Literature'' (1834) of W. T. Lowndes. The plan includes bibliographical and critical notices, particulars of prices, etc., and a considerable addition to the original work. It had been one of Bohn's ambitions to found a great publishing house, but, finding that his sons had no taste for the trade, he sold his ''Bohn's Libraries'' in 1864 to Messrs. Bell and Daldy, afterwards G. Bell & Sons. At that time the ''Bohn's Libraries'' included more than 600 titles. In subsequent years, he disposed of all his copyrights and business properties, finally realizing £73,000 overall.David B. Mock, "H. G. Bohn (London: 1831–1864)", in: Patricia Anderson and Jonathan Rose, eds., ''British Literary Publishing Houses 1820-1880'' (''Dictionary of Literary Biography'', vol. 106). Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1991, p. 60. Bohn was a man of wide culture and many interests. He himself made considerable contributions to his ''Libraries'', he collected pictures, china and ivories, and was a famous rose-grower. He died at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

and was buried at

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of L ...

Works

Among his own works were: * ''The Origin and Progress of Printing'' (1857) * ''Biography and Bibliography of Shakespeare'' (1863) * ''Dictionary of Quotations'' (1867) * ''Handbook of Proverbs'' * ''Handbook of Games'' * ''Guide to the Knowledge of Pottery and Porcelain'' Besides his edition of Lowndes' ''Bibliographer's Manual'', he developed an edition of Addison's works.

References

Sources

* *This article incorporates text from a publication now in the

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External links

* * * * * Derek Jones. . Retrieved on 7 September 2011.
Bohn's Libraries
Full list of publications as at September 1879. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bohn, Henry George 1796 births 1884 deaths Burials at West Norwood Cemetery English bibliographers Publishers (people) from London English male writers 19th-century English businesspeople

Biography

Works

References

Sources

Further reading

External links