Thomas Payne (c. 1718 – 1799) was an important bookseller and publisher in 18th-century London.

Life

Payne was born in Brackley,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. From 1750 he ran a shop at Mews Gate in Castle Street near Leicester Fields (the site is now occupied by the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

). The premises were notoriously small, but popular with the literati of that period. Referred to as the "Literary Coffee House", the shop became a sort of club during the day for discussions on all subjects. Patrons included

George Steevens George Steevens (10 May 1736 – 22 January 1800) was an English Shakespearean commentator. Biography Early life He was born at Poplar, the son of a captain and later director of the East India Company. He was educated at Eton College and at ...

Thomas Crofts The Reverend and Learned Thomas Crofts FRS FSA (1722 – 8 November 1781) was a British bibliophile, Anglican priest, Fellow of the Royal Society and European traveller. Early life Crofts was born in Monmouth, Wales and was the son of John Cro ...

, John Hoole and

Thomas Tyrwhitt Thomas Tyrwhitt (; 27 March 173015 August 1786) was an English classical scholar and critic. Life He was born in London, where he also died. He was educated at Eton College and Queen's College, Oxford. He was elected a fellow of Merton College ...

. Payne issued sale catalogues on a regular basis, as did many of his contemporaries, and these are now good sources of information about prices, popular books, bookbinding, and other aspects of 18th-century book history. Payne's daughter Sarah married James Burney, a naval officer and brother of novelist

Frances Burney Frances Burney (13 June 1752 – 6 January 1840), also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. In 1786–1790 she held the post as "Keeper of the Robes" to Charlotte of Mecklen ...

, some of whose work Payne had published. He retired to

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

in 1790 leaving the business in the hands of his son, also Thomas Payne (1752–1831). He is buried at St. Mary’s church in

, north London.

References

*Stoker, David. ‘Payne, Thomas (1716x18 –1799)’, ''

Oxford 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 ...

'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. *

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of En ...

Middlesex Vol VI Finchley 1710s births 1799 deaths 18th-century English businesspeople Bookshops in London English booksellers People from Brackley {{England-bio-stub