John Weale (1791 – December 18, 1862 in
Maida Vale
Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is p ...
) was an English publisher of popular scientific, architectural, engineering and educational works.
Life
He went into the trade first with George Priestley in
St Giles, London
St Giles is an area in the West End of London in the London Borough of Camden. It gets its name from the parish church of St Giles in the Fields. The combined parishes of St Giles in the Fields and St George Bloomsbury (which was carved out o ...
who died around 1812, and worked then with Priestley's widow.
He took a particular interest in the study of architecture. In 1823 he issued a bibliographical ''Catalogue of Works on Architecture and the Fine Arts'', of which a new edition appeared in 1854. He bought the architectural publishing business at 59
High Holborn
High Holborn ( ) is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard. It starts in the west at the eastern end of St Giles High Street and runs past the Kingsway and Sou ...
built up by
Isaac Taylor
Isaac Taylor (17 August 1787 – 28 June 1865) was an English philosophical and historical writer, artist, and inventor.
Life
He was the eldest surviving son of Isaac Taylor of Ongar. He was born at Lavenham, Suffolk, on 17 August 1787, and m ...
and his son Josiah Taylor as The Architectural Library, after Josiah's death in 1834.
He followed the ''Catalogue'' in 1849–50 with a ''Rudimentary Dictionary of Terms used in Architecture, Building, and Engineering'', a work which reached a fifth edition in 1876.
Weale died in London on 18 December 1862.
Works
Weale published also:
* ''Steam Navigation, Tredgold on the Steam Engine, Appendix A,'' edited and published by John Weale, London, 1839
* ''A Series of Examples in Architectural Engineering and Mechanical Drawing'', London, 1841; supplemental ''Description'', London, 1842.
* ''Designs of ornamental Gates, Lodges, Palisading, and Ironwork of the Royal Parks adjoining the Metropolis, edited by John Weale''’ London, 1841.
* ''The Theory, Practice, and Architecture of Bridges of Stone, Iron, Timber, and Wire, edited by John Weale'', London, 1843, 2 vols.; a supplemental volume, edited by
George Rowdon Burnell and
William Tierney Clark
William Tierney Clark Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, FRAS (23 August 1783 – 22 September 1852) was an English civil engineer particularly associated with the design and construction of bridges. ...
, appeared in 1853.
* ''Divers Works of early Masters in Christian Decoration'', London, 1846, 2 vols.
* ''The Great Britain Atlantic Steam Ship'', London, 1847.
* ''Letter to Lord John Russell on the defence of the Country'', London, 1847.
* ''London exhibited in 1851'', London, 1851; 2nd edit. 1852.
* ''Designs and Examples of Cottages, Villas, and Country Houses'', London, 1857.
* ''Examples for Builders, Carpenters, and Joiners'', London, 1857.
* ''Old English and French Ornaments, comprising 244 Designs. Collected by John Weale'', London, 1858
He edited ''Weale's Quarterly Papers on Engineering'', London, 1843–6, 6 vols., and ''Weale's Quarterly Papers on Architecture'', London, 1843–5, 4 vols.
Weale's ''Rudimentary Series''
Weale was on good terms with many men of science, and published cheap literature for technical education. His ''Rudimentary Series'' (over 130 works, usually selling at one shilling)
and other educational series comprised standard works, both in classics and science. They were suggested initially by
William Reid, and were continued after his death, first by
James Sprent Virtue
James Sprent Virtue (18 May 1829 – 29 March 1892) was a British publisher.
Early years
Born at 26 Ivy Lane, Paternoster Row, in the City of London, EC, J. S. Virtue was the second son of George Virtue, the founder in London of a publishin ...
. The ''Rudimentary Series'' was later followed by the ''Weale's Scientific & Technical Series'' (1881-1923), published first by John Weale and then by Crosby, Lockwood and Son.
Source: Lists at end of the publications. The series was later taken on by the publisher Crosby Lockwood, who added volumes while retaining the system of reference numbers (across editions).
One of John Weale's earliest books published was ''Steam Navigation, Tredgold on the Steam Engine Appendix A'' which was edited and published under direction from Thomas Tredgold himself. ''Steam Navigation, Tredgold on the Steam Engine, Appendix A'' was printed by W. Hughes, King’s Head Court, Gough Square.
Its value in August 1839 was twelve shillings.
*
John George Swindell, ''Well-digging, Boring, and Pump-work''
*
Edmund Beckett Denison, ''Clock and watch making''
*
Joseph Glynn, ''On the construction of cranes, and machinery for raising heavy bodies''
*Joseph Glynn, ''On the power of water, as applied to drive flour mills, and to give motion to turbines and other hydrostatic engines''
*
Alan Stevenson
Alan Stevenson FRSE LLD MInstCE (28 April 1807 – 23 December 1865) was a Scottish civil engineer, known for designing and building lighthouses in and around Scotland.
Life
Alan Stevenson was born in Edinburgh on 28 April 1807, the eldest ...
, ''On the history, construction, and illumination of lighthouses''
*
William Snow Harris
Sir William Snow Harris (1 April 1791 – 22 January 1867) was a British physician and electrical researcher, nicknamed Thunder-and-Lightning Harris, and noted for his invention of a successful system of lightning conductors for ships. It took ...
, ''On Galvanism''
*
Thomas Roger Smith
Thomas Roger Smith (1830–1903) was an English architect and academic. He is now best known for his views and writings on public buildings, in terms of their style and acoustics, and their influence on other architects, particularly in relation ...
(1861) ''Acoustics''
['']Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Smith, Thomas Roger (1830–1903), architect, by Paul Waterhouse. Published 1912.
References
*
Notes
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weale, John
1791 births
1862 deaths
Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery
Publishers (people) from London
19th-century English businesspeople