__NOTOC__ John Dabney (1752–1819) was a postmaster, publisher, and bookseller in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1752 to Charles Dabney and Elizabeth Gardner. With Thomas C. Cushing, John Dabney published the '' Salem Mercury'' newspaper, 1787-1789. In 1790 he married Abigail Mason Peale (1767-1834). Beginning around 1790 he ran the "Salem Book-Store" which offered books for sale or short-term rental; customers included

William Bentley William Bentley (June 22, 1759, Boston, Massachusetts – December 29, 1819, Salem, Massachusetts) was an American Unitarian minister, scholar, columnist, and diarist. He was a polymath who possessed the second best library in the United States ...

. Dabney also served as Salem postmaster ca.1792-1815. He belonged to the North Church in Salem and the Essex Lodge of the Freemasons. Dabney sold the contents of his shop at auction in 1818. He died in 1819.

Selected titles in Dabney's bookstore & library

In 1813, Dabney's stock included: * Aikin's ''Annual Review and History of Literature'' * Bygge's ''Travels in the French Republic'' * Mrs. Chapone's ''Works'' * M.C. Dallas' ''Morelando'' * Charles Didbin's ''Song Smith; or, Rigmarole Repository'' *

Sarah Fielding Sarah Fielding (8 November 1710 – 9 April 1768) was an English author and sister of the novelist Henry Fielding. She wrote ''The Governess, or The Little Female Academy'' (1749), thought to be the first novel in English aimed expressly at chil ...

's '' Cry, a new dramatick fable'' *

William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous for ...

's ''

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

'' * T. Harral's ''Scenes from Life'' *

Henry Home Henry Home, Lord Kames (169627 December 1782) was a Scottish writer, philosopher, advocate, judge, and agricultural improver. A central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, a founding member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, and act ...

's ''Art of Thinking'' * William Jay's ''Sermons'' * ''Lives of Illustrious Seamen'' *

Richard Parkinson Richard Parkinson may refer to: * Richard Parkinson (agriculturist) (1748–1815), English, consultant for George Washington *Richard Parkinson (explorer) (1844–1909), Danish, also anthropologist * Richard Parkinson (neurosurgeon), Australian * R ...

's ''Tour in America'' *

Susanna Rowson Susanna Rowson, née Haswell (1762 – 2 March 1824) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, religious writer, stage actress, and educator, considered the first woman geographer and supporter of female education. She also wrote against s ...

's ''

Charlotte Temple ''Charlotte Temple'' is a novel by British-American author Susanna Rowson, originally published in England in 1791 under the title ''Charlotte, A Tale of Truth''. It tells the story of a schoolgirl, Charlotte Temple, who is seduced by a British ...

'' *

Anna Seward Anna Seward (12 December 1742 ld style: 1 December 1742./ref>Often wrongly given as 1747.25 March 1809) was an English Romantic poet, often called the Swan of Lichfield. She benefited from her father's progressive views on female education. Li ...

's ''Life of Dr. Darwin'' * Tabitha Tenney's ''Female Quixotism, or History of Dorcasina Sheldon'' * Maria Tharmott's ''Sans Souci Park'' * Mrs. Thicknesse's ''School for Fashion'' * Richard Twiss's ''Miscellanies'' *

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

's ''Ballads and Lyrical Pieces''

Selected titles in Dabney's bookstore & library

See also

References

Further reading

Issued by Dabney