Benjamin Guild
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Guild was a bookseller in Boston
, Massachusetts
, in the late 18th century. He ran the "Boston Book Store" and a circulating subscription library
in the 1780s and 1790s at no.59 Cornhill, "first door south of the Old-Brick Meeting-House
."
(class of 1769); classmates included Theophilus Parsons
, Alexander Scammel, Peter Thacher, William Tudor
, and Peleg Wadsworth
. He later tutored at Harvard, 1776-1780, and travelled abroad. In 1784 he married Betsey Quincey (1757-1825). He served as a charter member and an officer of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
, and on the editorial committee of the Boston Magazine.
Guild sold books from his shop at no.8 State Street
from ca.1785 until 1786, when he moved to Cornhill (1786-1792). In addition to the bookshop, he ran a circulating library, one of the first in post-war
Boston. The library contained "several thousands" of volumes, which, according to its 1787 newspaper advertising "will furnish such a fund of amusement and information as cannot fail to entertain every class of readers ... whether solitary or social -- political or professional -- serious or gay." Subscribers paid eight dollars per year, or "two dollars per quarter -- to have the liberty of taking out two books at a time and no more -- to change them as often as the subscriber pleases -- and no book to be retained longer than one month." Guild stipulated that "any book lost, abused, leaves folded down, writ upon or torn, must be paid for." After his death in 1792, Guild's bookshop and library were taken over by William P. Blake.
Among the titles in Guild's circulating library in 1789:
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...
, 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...
, in the late 18th century. He ran the "Boston Book Store" and a circulating subscription library
Subscription library
A subscription library is a library that is financed by private funds either from membership fees or endowments...
in the 1780s and 1790s at no.59 Cornhill, "first door south of the Old-Brick Meeting-House
First Church in Boston
First Church in Boston is a Unitarian Universalist Church founded in 1630 by John Winthrop's original Puritan settlement in Boston, Massachusetts. The current building is on 66 Marlborough Street in Boston.-History:...
."
Biography
Born in 1749 to Benjamin Guild and Abigail Graves, Benjamin attended Harvard CollegeHarvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
(class of 1769); classmates included Theophilus Parsons
Theophilus Parsons
Theophilus Parsons was an American jurist.Born in Newbury, Massachusetts, and the son of a clergyman, Parsons was one of the early students at the Dummer Academy before matriculating to Harvard College from which he graduated in 1769, was a schoolmaster in Falmouth from 1770–1773; he studied law,...
, Alexander Scammel, Peter Thacher, William Tudor
William Tudor
William Tudor was a wealthy lawyer and leading citizen of Boston. His eldest son William Tudor became a leading literary figure in Boston...
, and Peleg Wadsworth
Peleg Wadsworth
Peleg Wadsworth was an American officer during the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts representing the District of Maine. He was also grandfather of noted American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.Wadsworth was born in Duxbury, Massachusetts, to Peleg and Susanna ...
. He later tutored at Harvard, 1776-1780, and travelled abroad. In 1784 he married Betsey Quincey (1757-1825). He served as a charter member and an officer of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, and on the editorial committee of the Boston Magazine.
Guild sold books from his shop at no.8 State Street
State Street (Boston)
State Street is a major street in the financial district in Boston, Massachusetts and is one of the oldest streets in the city. The street is the site of some historic landmarks. The Faneuil Hall Marketplace can also be found nearby...
from ca.1785 until 1786, when he moved to Cornhill (1786-1792). In addition to the bookshop, he ran a circulating library, one of the first in post-war
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
Boston. The library contained "several thousands" of volumes, which, according to its 1787 newspaper advertising "will furnish such a fund of amusement and information as cannot fail to entertain every class of readers ... whether solitary or social -- political or professional -- serious or gay." Subscribers paid eight dollars per year, or "two dollars per quarter -- to have the liberty of taking out two books at a time and no more -- to change them as often as the subscriber pleases -- and no book to be retained longer than one month." Guild stipulated that "any book lost, abused, leaves folded down, writ upon or torn, must be paid for." After his death in 1792, Guild's bookshop and library were taken over by William P. Blake.
Among the titles in Guild's circulating library in 1789:
- AddisonJoseph AddisonJoseph Addison was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. He was a man of letters, eldest son of Lancelot Addison...
's Works - Algerine Spy in Pennsylvania
- Robert BageRobert BageRobert Bage may refer to:* Robert Bage , English novelist* Edward Frederick Robert Bage , Australian explorer and soldier...
's Barham Downs, a novel - Countess de Genlis' Adelaide and Theodore
- Madame de Lafayette's Zayde, a Spanish History
- Abbe RaynalGuillaume Thomas François RaynalGuillaume Thomas Raynal was a French writer and man of letters during the Age of Enlightenment.He was born at Lapanouse in Rouergue...
's Revolution in America - John Rice's Art of Reading
- Abbe Robin's New Travels in America
- Baron de TottFrançois Baron de TottFrançois Baron de Tott was an aristocrat and a French military officer of Hungarian origin...
's memoirs of the Turkish Empire - Nathaniel WanleyNathaniel WanleyNathaniel Wanley was an English clergyman and writer, known for The Wonders of the Little World.-Life:He was born at Leicester in 1634, and baptised on 27 March. His father was a mercer. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and graduated B.A. in 1653, M.A. in 1657. His first preferment...
's Wonders
- Wraxall's Tour
- Wyld's Practical Surveyor
- Wynne's History of America
- YorrickLaurence SterneLaurence Sterne was an Irish novelist and an Anglican clergyman. He is best known for his novels The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, and A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy; but he also published many sermons, wrote memoirs, and was involved in local politics...
's Sentimental JourneyA Sentimental Journey Through France and ItalyA Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy is a novel by the Irish-born English author Laurence Sterne, written and first published in 1768, as Sterne was facing death. In 1765, Sterne travelled through France and Italy as far south as Naples, and after returning determined to describe his... - ZimmermanEberhard August Wilhelm von ZimmermannEberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann was a German geographer and zoologist.Zimmermann was Professor of Natural Science at Brunswick. He wrote Specimen Zoologiae Geographicae Quadrupedum , one of the first works on the geographical distribution of mammals....
's Political Survey of Europe
Further reading
- Charles Burleigh. Genealogy and history of the Guild, Guile, and Gile family. Portland, Maine: Brown Thurston, 1887; p.85.
- Charles K. Bolton. Circulating libraries in Boston, 1765-1865. Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, Volume 11. Feb. 1907; p. 196+
- Shera. Foundations of the public library: the origins of the public library movement in New England, 1629-1855. University of Chicago studies in library science, 1949; p.137+