Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
Encyclopedia
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, often simply called Bartlett's, is an American reference work
that is the longest-lived and most widely distributed collection of quotation
s. The book was first issued in 1855 and is currently in its seventeenth edition, published in 2003.
The book arranges its entries by author, rather than by subject, as many other quotation collections, and enters the authors chronologically by date of birth rather than alphabetically. Within years, authors are arranged alphabetically and quotations are arranged chronologically within each author's entry, followed by "attributed" remarks whose source in the author's writings has not been confirmed. The book contains a thorough keyword index and details the source of each quotation.
, who ran the University Book Store in Cambridge
, Massachusetts
, was frequently asked for information on quotations and he began a commonplace book of them for reference. In 1855, he privately printed his compilation as A Collection of Familiar Quotations. This first edition contained 258 pages of quotations by 169 authors, chiefly the Bible
, William Shakespeare
, and the great English poets
. Bartlett wrote in the fourth edition that "it is not easy to determine in all cases the degree of familiarity that may belong to phrases and sentences which present themselves for admission; for what is familiar to one class of readers may be quite new to another."
The book was a great success, and Bartlett issued three more editions before joining the Boston
publishing firm of Little, Brown, and Company. Bartlett rose to be the senior partner of the firm and supervised nine editions of the work before his death in 1905, the work selling over 300,000 copies. The seventh edition had appeared in 1875, the eighth edition in 1882, and the ninth in 1891. The tenth edition, however, would not appear for more than twenty years.
Edited by Nathan Haskell Dole
, the tenth edition (1914) was much like its predecessors. The book began with quotations originally in English, arranging them chronologically by author (Geoffrey Chaucer
was the first entry, Mary Frances Butts the last). These quotes were chiefly from literary sources. A "miscellaneous" section follows of quotations in English from politicians and scientists (such as "fifty-four forty or fight!"). A section of "translation
s" follows, consisting mainly of lines from the ancient Greeks
and Romans
. The last section was devoted to the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer
. Quotations were arranged in a single column.
The eleventh edition (1937), edited by Christopher Morley
(1890–1957) and Louella D. Everett
, expanded the page size and created a two-column format, making it the first edition that is recognizable to users of the modern work. A twelfth edition (1948) was also edited by Morley and Everett.
The thirteenth edition (1955) was billed by the publisher as the "Centennial Edition." While the work was credited to the editors of Little, Brown, the preface gives special thanks to Morley and Everett as well as Emily Morison Beck (1915–2004). The volume continued to add more recent material, the two youngest authors being cartoonist Bill Mauldin
and Queen Elizabeth II
. Beck also edited the fourteenth edition (1968) and the fifteenth (1980). Aram Bakshian
said Beck's work on the fifteenth edition was the start of the work's downfall: "Donning the intellectual bell-bottoms and platform shoes of its era, Bartlett's began sprouting third-rate Third World
, youth-culture, and feminist quotes," part of "a middle-aged obsession with staying trendy."
Following Beck's retirement, Little, Brown entrusted the editorship to Justin Kaplan
, whose life of Mark Twain
Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain had won the Pulitzer Prize
in 1967. Kaplan brought out the sixteenth edition in 1993 to a firestorm of controversy, thanks to his public comments that "I'm not going to disguise the fact that I despise Ronald Reagan
" and had deliberately shortchanged him. Reagan's entry contained only three quotations, all intended to make Mr. Reagan look ridiculous, according to critics.
Kaplan also failed to include the most famous Reagan line ("Mr. Gorbachev
, tear down this wall
"). Democratic presidents fared much better under Kaplan than Republicans, Franklin D. Roosevelt having 35 entries and John F. Kennedy
having 28. Jonathan Siegel, who edited the Macmillian Book of Political Quotations, said Kaplan was "an insult to the memory of John Bartlett and the ideologically inclusive spirit of the first fifteen editions."
Kaplan was also criticized for including material that some considered neither "familiar" nor quotable, including pop culture quotes that some thought were not worthy of inclusion. The same criticisms would be leveled against the seventeenth edition (2003), which included entries for the first time from J.K. Rowling, Jerry Seinfeld
, and Larry David
. The seventeenth edition did include more Reagan material, and Kaplan told USA Today
after its publication "I admit I was carried away by prejudice. Mischievously I did him dirty."
Reference work
A reference work is a compendium of information, usually of a specific type, compiled in a book for ease of reference. That is, the information is intended to be quickly found when needed. Reference works are usually referred to for particular pieces of information, rather than read beginning to end...
that is the longest-lived and most widely distributed collection of quotation
Quotation
A quotation or quote is the repetition of one expression as part of another one, particularly when the quoted expression is well-known or explicitly attributed by citation to its original source, and it is indicated by quotation marks.A quotation can also refer to the repeated use of units of any...
s. The book was first issued in 1855 and is currently in its seventeenth edition, published in 2003.
The book arranges its entries by author, rather than by subject, as many other quotation collections, and enters the authors chronologically by date of birth rather than alphabetically. Within years, authors are arranged alphabetically and quotations are arranged chronologically within each author's entry, followed by "attributed" remarks whose source in the author's writings has not been confirmed. The book contains a thorough keyword index and details the source of each quotation.
History
John BartlettJohn Bartlett (publisher)
John Bartlett was an American writer and publisher whose best known work, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, has been continually revised and reissued for a century after his death.-Biography:...
, who ran the University Book Store in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, was frequently asked for information on quotations and he began a commonplace book of them for reference. In 1855, he privately printed his compilation as A Collection of Familiar Quotations. This first edition contained 258 pages of quotations by 169 authors, chiefly the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, and the great English poets
English poetry
The history of English poetry stretches from the middle of the 7th century to the present day. Over this period, English poets have written some of the most enduring poems in Western culture, and the language and its poetry have spread around the globe. Consequently, the term English poetry is...
. Bartlett wrote in the fourth edition that "it is not easy to determine in all cases the degree of familiarity that may belong to phrases and sentences which present themselves for admission; for what is familiar to one class of readers may be quite new to another."
The book was a great success, and Bartlett issued three more editions before joining the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
publishing firm of Little, Brown, and Company. Bartlett rose to be the senior partner of the firm and supervised nine editions of the work before his death in 1905, the work selling over 300,000 copies. The seventh edition had appeared in 1875, the eighth edition in 1882, and the ninth in 1891. The tenth edition, however, would not appear for more than twenty years.
Edited by Nathan Haskell Dole
Nathan Haskell Dole
Nathan Haskell Dole was an American editor, translator, and author. He attended Phillips Academy, Andover, and graduated from Harvard University in 1874. He was a writer and journalist in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston...
, the tenth edition (1914) was much like its predecessors. The book began with quotations originally in English, arranging them chronologically by author (Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
was the first entry, Mary Frances Butts the last). These quotes were chiefly from literary sources. A "miscellaneous" section follows of quotations in English from politicians and scientists (such as "fifty-four forty or fight!"). A section of "translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
s" follows, consisting mainly of lines from the ancient Greeks
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
and Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
. The last section was devoted to the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
. Quotations were arranged in a single column.
The eleventh edition (1937), edited by Christopher Morley
Christopher Morley
Christopher Morley was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet. He also produced stage productions for a few years and gave college lectures.-Biography:Christopher Morley was born in Haverford, Pennsylvania...
(1890–1957) and Louella D. Everett
Louella D. Everett
Louella D. Everett, 1883-1967. Poetry anthologist and Associate Editor of the 11thand 12theditions of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. Also published two poetry anthologies: The Cat in Verseand Home and Holiday Verse...
, expanded the page size and created a two-column format, making it the first edition that is recognizable to users of the modern work. A twelfth edition (1948) was also edited by Morley and Everett.
The thirteenth edition (1955) was billed by the publisher as the "Centennial Edition." While the work was credited to the editors of Little, Brown, the preface gives special thanks to Morley and Everett as well as Emily Morison Beck (1915–2004). The volume continued to add more recent material, the two youngest authors being cartoonist Bill Mauldin
Bill Mauldin
William Henry "Bill" Mauldin was a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist from the United States...
and Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
. Beck also edited the fourteenth edition (1968) and the fifteenth (1980). Aram Bakshian
Aram Bakshian
Aram Bakshian, Jr is a native Washingtonian and a former Editor in Chief of the American Speaker. He started his career as a speech writer for Chattanooga Congressman Bill Brock during the 1960s. He later wrote speeches for then Republican National Committee Chairman Senator Bob Dole. Bakshian then...
said Beck's work on the fifteenth edition was the start of the work's downfall: "Donning the intellectual bell-bottoms and platform shoes of its era, Bartlett's began sprouting third-rate Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
, youth-culture, and feminist quotes," part of "a middle-aged obsession with staying trendy."
Following Beck's retirement, Little, Brown entrusted the editorship to Justin Kaplan
Justin Kaplan
Justin Kaplan is an American writer and editor.Kaplan received his bachelor of science degree from Harvard University in 1945...
, whose life of Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain had won the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
The Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished biography or autobiography by an American author.-1910s:* 1917: Julia Ward Howe by Laura E...
in 1967. Kaplan brought out the sixteenth edition in 1993 to a firestorm of controversy, thanks to his public comments that "I'm not going to disguise the fact that I despise Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
" and had deliberately shortchanged him. Reagan's entry contained only three quotations, all intended to make Mr. Reagan look ridiculous, according to critics.
Kaplan also failed to include the most famous Reagan line ("Mr. Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
, tear down this wall
Tear down this wall
"Tear down this wall!" was the challenge from United States President Ronald Reagan to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to destroy the Berlin Wall....
"). Democratic presidents fared much better under Kaplan than Republicans, Franklin D. Roosevelt having 35 entries and John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
having 28. Jonathan Siegel, who edited the Macmillian Book of Political Quotations, said Kaplan was "an insult to the memory of John Bartlett and the ideologically inclusive spirit of the first fifteen editions."
Kaplan was also criticized for including material that some considered neither "familiar" nor quotable, including pop culture quotes that some thought were not worthy of inclusion. The same criticisms would be leveled against the seventeenth edition (2003), which included entries for the first time from J.K. Rowling, Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
, and Larry David
Larry David
Lawrence Gene "Larry" David is an American actor, writer, comedian and producer. He is best known as the co-creator , head writer, and executive producer of the television series Seinfeld from 1989 to 1996, and for creating the 1999 HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partially improvised sitcom in...
. The seventeenth edition did include more Reagan material, and Kaplan told USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
after its publication "I admit I was carried away by prejudice. Mischievously I did him dirty."
External links
- Online copy of the 10th edition (1914) at Bartleby.comBartleby.comBartleby.com is an electronic text archive, headquartered in New York and named after Herman Melville's story "Bartleby the Scrivener". It was founded under the name "Project Bartleby" in January 1993 by Steven H. van Leeuwen as a personal, non-profit collection of classic literature on the website...
(text pages, searchable) - Online copy of the 12th edition (1951) at Archive.org
- Online copy of the 14th edition (1968) at Archive.org (PDF, OCR text, TIFF)