Henry George Bohn
Henry George Bohn(4 January 1796 – 22 August 1884) was aBritishpublisher.He is principally remembered for theBohn's Librarieswhich he inaugurated. These were begun in 1846, targeted the mass market, and comprised editions of standard works and translations, dealing withhistory,science,classics,theologyandarchaeology.
Biography[edit]
Bohn was born inLondon.He was the son of aGermanbookbinder who had settled inEngland.In 1831 he began his career as a dealer in rare books andremainders.In 1841 he issued his"Guinea" Catalogueof 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 twentyfolio 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 publishingThe British florist: or lady's journal of horticulture,which had 6 volumes with illustrations and plates (coloured).[1]
The name of Bohn is principally remembered by the importantBohn's Librarieswhich he inaugurated: these were begun in 1846 and comprised editions of standard works and translations, dealing withhistory,science,classics,theologyandarchaeology,consisting in all of 766 volumes. His authors includedJulia Cornerwho created educational books about India and China for him in the 1850s.[2]
The reasons for the success ofBohn's Librariesmay have included their marketing to a general mass readership with volumes selling at low prices,[3]their "lack of literary pretensions", and their "policy of a widespread, but restrained expurgation".[4]
One of Bohn's most useful and laborious undertakings was his revision (6 vols. 1864) ofThe Bibliographer's Manual of English Literature(1834) ofW. 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 hisBohn's Librariesin 1864 to Messrs. Bell and Daldy, afterwardsG. Bell & Sons.At that time theBohn's Librariesincluded more than 600 titles.[5][6]In subsequent years, he disposed of all his copyrights and business properties, finally realizing £73,000 overall.[7]
Bohn was a man of wide culture and many interests. He himself made considerable contributions to hisLibraries,he collected pictures, china and ivories, and was a famous rose-grower.
He died atTwickenhamand was buried atWest Norwood Cemetery.
Works[edit]
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 ofLowndes'Bibliographer's Manual,he developed an edition ofAddison'sworks.
References[edit]
- ^The British florist: or lady's journal of horticulture.worldcat.org. 1840.OCLC2445471.Retrieved6 August2021.
- ^Rosemary Mitchell, ‘Corner, Julia (1798–1875)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004accessed 4 Oct 2014
- ^O'Sullivan, Carol, "Translation within the margin: The Libraries of Henry Bohn," in Milton, John, Bandia, Paul (eds.)Agents of Translation (Benjamins Translation Library).p. 107. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2009.
- ^O'Sullivan, Carol, "Translation within the margin: The Libraries of Henry Bohn," in Milton, John, Bandia, Paul (eds.)Agents of Translation (Benjamins Translation Library).p.126. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2009.
- ^Feather, John.A History of British Publishing.p. 106. London: Routledge, 2005.
- ^Bohn’s Popular Library,seriesofseries.com. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- ^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.
Sources[edit]
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Bohn, Henry George".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 137.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920)..Encyclopedia Americana.
Further reading[edit]
- Anderson, Patricia, Rose, Jonathan (eds.) (1991)British Literary Publishing Houses 1820-1880(Dictionary of Literary Biography:vol. 106). Detroit, MI: Gale Research.
- Cordasco, Francesco (1951).The Bohn Libraries. A History and a Checklist.New York: Burt Franklin.
- Feather, John (2005).A History of British Publishing.London: Routledge.
- O'Sullivan, Carol, "Translation within the margin: The Libraries of Henry Bohn," in Milton, John, Bandia, Paul (eds.) (2009).Agents of Translation.Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
External links[edit]
- Works by Henry George BohnatProject Gutenberg
- Works by or about Henry George BohnatInternet Archive
- .The Nuttall Encyclopædia.1907.
- Henderson, Thomas Finlayson(1885–1900)..Dictionary of National Biography.
- Derek Jones.Henry George Bohnat theWayback Machine(archived December 29, 2007). Retrieved on 7 September 2011.
- Bohn's Libraries.Full list of publications as at September 1879.
- Hooker, Sir William Jackson;G. A. Walker Arnott, Esq.(1841).The Botany of Captain Beechey's voyage.Henry George Bohn.
