John Dunton (4 May 1659 – 1733) was an English bookseller and author. In 1691 he founded The Athenian Society to publish '' The Athenian Mercury'', the first major popular

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also example ...

and first miscellaneous periodical in England. In 1693, for four weeks, the Athenian Society also published '' The Ladies' Mercury'', the first periodical published that was specifically designed just for women.

Early life

His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all clergymen. He was born at Graffham, Huntingdonshire, where his father John was rector. The family shortly moved to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, when John Dunton senior became chaplain to Sir Henry Ingoldsby. At the age of fifteen John the son was apprenticed to Thomas Parkhurst, bookseller, at the sign of the Bible and Three Crowns, Cheapside,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

. Dunton ran away at once, but was soon brought back, and began to love books. During the struggle which led to the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Dunton was the treasurer of the Whig apprentices. He became a bookseller at the sign of the Raven, near the Royal Exchange, and married Elizabeth Annesley, daughter of Samuel Annesley, whose sister married

Samuel Wesley Samuel Wesley (24 February 1766 – 11 October 1837) was an English organist and composer in the late Georgian period. Wesley was a contemporary of Mozart (1756–1791) and was called by some "the English Mozart".Kassler, Michael & Olleson, Ph ...

. His wife managed his business so that he was left free in a great measure to follow his own eccentric devices. He had early success with

Thomas Doolittle Thomas Doolittle (1632?–1707) was an English nonconformist minister, tutor and author. Early life Doolittle was the third son of Anthony Doolittle, a glover, and was born at Kidderminster in 1632 or the latter half of 1631. While at the gramma ...

's ''The Lord's last-sufferings'', the topical Stephen Jay's ''Daniel in the Den'', and a sermon by John Shower.

In New England

In 1686, probably because he was concerned in the Monmouth Rebellion, he visited

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

, where he stayed eight months selling books and observing with interest the new country and its inhabitants. He sailed from Gravesend in October 1685, and reached

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 ...

after a four months' voyage. He sold his books, and visited Cambridge. In Roxbury he saw the missionary John Eliot and learnt something of Native American customs. He stayed for a time at Salem and Wenham, and returned to England in the autumn of 1686. Dunton had become security for his brother's debts, and to escape the creditors he made a short excursion to Holland.

Later life

On his return to England, he opened a new shop in London in the Poultry, in the hope of better times. Here, he founded in 1691 a new kind of journal, ''The Athenian Gazette''/''The Athenian Mercury'', with anonymous questions-and-answers, powered by his Athenian Society. His wife died in 1697, and he married a second time; but a quarrel about property led to a separation; and being incapable of managing his own affairs, he spent the last years of his life in great poverty.

In literature

Dunton received a rather backhanded compliment from

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...

in the latter's ''

A Tale of A Tub ''A Tale of a Tub'' was the first major work written by Jonathan Swift, composed between 1694 and 1697 and published in 1704. It is arguably his most difficult satire, and perhaps his best. The ''Tale'' is a prose parody divided into sections o ...

'' (see p. 38 of text in 1st ed. of 1704).

Works

He gave an account of his travels around Ireland in '' Teague Land: or A Merry Ramble to the Wild Irish (1698)''. He gave an interesting view of the workings of the Irish Courts and brief sketches of the Irish judges, whom he praised in general as "men of whom no one complains". He was impressed by their learning: in particular, he thought that Sir Henry Echlin was one of the great book lovers of his time, owning a "very large and curious library". He had an equally high opinion of Echlin's colleague Thomas Coote, another noted

bibliophile Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. A bibliophile or bookworm is an individual who loves and frequently reads and/or collects books. Profile The classic bibliophile is one who loves to read, admire and collect books, often ama ...

. He wrote several books whose titles are today among specialists better known than their contents ranging from ''The informer's doom, or, An unseasonable letter from Utopia directed to the man in the moon giving a full and pleasant account of the arraignment, tryal, and condemnation of all those grand and bitter enemies that disturb and molest all kingdoms and states throughout the Christian world'' (1689) to his ''Bumography: or, A touch at the lady's tails, being a lampoon (privately) dispers'd at Tunbridge-Wells, in the year 1707. By a water-drinker. With the names and characters of the most noted water-drinkers. Also, a merry elegy upon Mother Jefferies, the antient water-dipper'' (1707). 19th and 20th-century criticism neglected Dunton because of his tendency to use the public for his private businesses. Both his quarrels as a publisher and as a husband were more than reflected in his publications. He would thus offer ''Reflections on Mr. Dunton's leaving his wife. In a letter to himself.'' (1700?) followed by the public proclamation of his reunion with his wife. While at the same moment he would portray himself as a lover of privacy with his ''The art of living incognito being a thousand letters on as many uncommon subjects, written by John Dunton during his retreat from the world, and sent to that honourable lady to whom he address'd his conversation in Ireland'' (1700). His accounts of quarrels he had as a book trader and publisher offer information to book historians dealing with the period. Important titles are here his ''Religio bibliopolae in imitation of Dr. Browns Religio medici'' (1691), his ''The Dublin scuffle being a challenge sent by John Dunton, citizen of London'' (1699) and his ''Life and Errors of John Dunton'' (1705). His letters from New England were published in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1867. He also wrote the first periodical and the first dictionary designed specifically for women: '' The Ladies' Mercury'' - an imitation of his wider Athenian project - and acting here as the publisher more than the author: ''The ladies dictionary, being a general entertainment of the fair-sex, a work never attempted before in English'' (1694). * ''The informer's doom, or, An unseasonable letter from Utopia directed to the man in the moon: giving a full and pleasant account of the arraignment, tryal, and condemnation of all those grand and bitter enemies that disturb and molest all kingdoms and states throughout the Christian world''. London: Printed for John Dunton, 1683. * ''The amazement of future ages, or, This swaggering world turn'd up-side down'' London: printed for John Dunton, 1684. Partly reprinted in 106 copies in 1926. * ''Religio bibliopolæ: in imitation of Dr. Browns Religio medici, with a supplement to it'' London: Printed for P. Smart ..., and are to be sold at the Raven, 1691. * N. H.
The ladies dictionary, being a general entertainment of the fair-sex: a work never attempted before in English
' London: Printed for John Dunton, 1694. * ''The Dublin scuffle : being a challenge sent by John Dunton, citizen of London, to Patrick Campbel, bookseller in Dublin''. London: (Printed for the author) and are to be sold by A. Baldwin ... and by the booksellers in Dublin, 1699. * ''The art of living incognito : being a thousand letters on as many uncommon subjects'' London: Printed (for the author), and are to be sold by A. Baldwin, 1700. * ''The Post-Angel, or Universal Entertainment.'' A monthly journal edited by John Dunton, 1701-1702. * ''The life and errors of John Dunton : late citizen of London; written by himself in solitude. With an idea of a new life; wherein is shewn how he'd think, speak, and act, might he live over his days again'' London: printed for S. Malthus, 1705
vol. 1 1818 reprintvol.2 1818 reprint
* ''Bumography : or, a touch at the lady's tails, being a lampoon (privately) dispers'd at Tunbridge-Wells, in the year 1707. By a water-drinker. With the names and characters of the most noted water-drinkers. Also, a merry elegy upon Mother Jefferies, the antient water-dipper'' London : .n. rinted_in_the_year_MDCCVII._[1707*_''The_Athenian_Oracle''_abridged_at_Google_Books.html" ;"title="707.html" ;"title="rinted in the year MDCCVII. [1707">rinted in the year MDCCVII. [1707* ''The Athenian Oracle'' abridged at Google Books">707.html" ;"title="rinted in the year MDCCVII. [1707">rinted in the year MDCCVII. [1707* ''The Athenian Oracle'' abridged at Google Books :* vol. I: 1st ed. (1703), 2nd ed. (17??), 3rd ed. (1728) :* vol. II
1st ed.
(1703)
2nd ed. corr.
(1704)
3rd ed.
(1728) :* vol. III
1st ed.
(1704)
2nd ed.
(1706)
3rd ed.
(1728) :* vol. IV: 1st ed. (1710), 2nd ed. (17??)
3rd ed.
(1728)

Notes

References

* * Berry, Helen M. (2003). ''Gender, Society, and Print Culture in Late Stuart England: the Cultural World of the Athenian Mercury''. Ashgate Pub. (); esp. p
18
130 at

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

* Berry, Helen M. (2004)
"Dunton, John (1659–1732)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online ed., Jan 2008, Retrieved 7 Sept 2008 * Dunton, John (1818

705 __NOTOC__ Year 705 ( DCCV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 705 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

. ''The Life and Errors of John Dunton, Citizen of London'' (2 vol.)
Annotated 1818 reprint
(2 vol. in 1) at

(esp. vol. 1, p
187
197 for the Society's main history) * Tyerman, Luke (1866). ''The Life and Times of the Rev. Samuel Wesley, M.A.'', esp. chap. VII "The Athenian Gazette", p
128
149, and VIII, p
150
166, at

External links

Works by John Dunton
from Hathi Trust * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunton, John English non-fiction writers English satirists English booksellers 1659 births 1733 deaths Bookshops in London 17th century in London English male non-fiction writers People from Huntingdonshire