William Hilliard
Encyclopedia
William Hilliard was a publisher and bookseller in Boston
and Cambridge, Massachusetts
, in the early 19th-century. He worked with several business partners through the years, including Jacob Abbot Cummings
, James Brown
, and Charles C. Little
. President Thomas Jefferson
selected his firm to supply approximately 7,000 volumes on numerous topics in 1825-1826, to create the University of Virginia
Library.
with books for his new library at the University of Virginia
.
A few weeks after Jefferson's death in July 1826, William Hilliard "... with whom there had been much correspondence but whom Jefferson had never met, journeyed to Charlottesville
and unpacked and checked the books which had been temporarily stored in the pavilion on West Lawn." The volumes were shelved in the Rotunda
, "the general library of the University of Virginia from 1826 to 1938."
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...
and Cambridge, 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 early 19th-century. He worked with several business partners through the years, including Jacob Abbot Cummings
Jacob Abbot Cummings
Jacob Abbot Cummings was a bookseller, publisher, schoolteacher and author in Boston, Massachusetts, in the early 19th-century.-Biography:...
, James Brown
James Brown (publisher)
James Brown was an American publisher and co-founder of Little, Brown and Company.-Biography:Brown was born in Acton, Massachusetts. He started his working life was as a servant in the family of Prof. Hedge, of Cambridge, by whom he was instructed in the classics and in mathematics. Around 1832,...
, and Charles C. Little
Charles Coffin Little
Charles Coffin Little was a U.S. publisher. He is best known for co-founding Little, Brown and Company with James Brown.-Biography:Little arrived in Boston early in life...
. President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
selected his firm to supply approximately 7,000 volumes on numerous topics in 1825-1826, to create the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
Library.
Biography
Hilliard married, and he and his wife had the following children: Foster (1814-1817), James Winthrop (1816-1817), and Francis Hilliard (ca.1808-1878)Bookselling and publishing
Hilliard's several bookselling and publishing firms in Boston and Cambridge included:- Cummings & Hilliard (1812-1820), Boston; with Jacob Abbot Cummings
- Hilliard and Metcalf (ca.1817-1824), Cambridge; with Eliab Wight Metcalf
- Cummings, Hilliard & Co. (ca.1820-1825), Boston; with Timothy H. Carter
- Hilliard, Gray & Co. (1827), with Harrison Gray
- Hilliard, Gray, Little and Wilkins (ca.1826-1827), with Harrison Gray, Charles C. Little, John H. Wilkins
- Hilliard & Brown, Cambridge (ca.1828), with Charles Brown
- Hilliard, Gray & Co. (ca.1832), Washington St., Boston; with Harrison Gray, J.H. Wilkins, James Brown
Jefferson & University of Virginia Library
In 1825-1826, Cummings, Hilliard & Co. supplied Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
with books for his new library at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
.
"Jefferson felt the need for an American agent, one who would not only supply books for the Library but who would also set up near the University a bookstore for handling texts to be used by the students. The Boston firm of Cummings, Hilliard and Company was selected, the sum of $18,000 was placed to its credit, and Jefferson undertook to supply a complete list of desirable volumes covering all fields of learning. By June 1825 this list, of nearly 7,000 volumes, had been laboriously completed. ... The purchases made through Cummings, Hilliard and Company began to arrive during the winter of 1825–1826."
A few weeks after Jefferson's death in July 1826, William Hilliard "... with whom there had been much correspondence but whom Jefferson had never met, journeyed to Charlottesville
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
and unpacked and checked the books which had been temporarily stored in the pavilion on West Lawn." The volumes were shelved in the Rotunda
The Rotunda (University of Virginia)
The Rotunda is a building located on The Lawn in the original grounds of the University of Virginia. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson to represent the "authority of nature and power of reason" and was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Construction began in 1822 and was completed in 1826, after...
, "the general library of the University of Virginia from 1826 to 1938."
Works by Hilliard
- An address delivered before the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic AssociationMassachusetts Charitable Mechanic AssociationThe Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association of Boston, Massachusetts, was "formed for the sole purposes of promoting the mechanic arts and extending the practice of benevolence." Founding members included Paul Revere, Benjamin Russell, and others...
, October 4, 1827 : being the anniversary for the choice of officers, and the seventh triennial celebration of their public festival. Cambridge [Mass.] : Printed by Hilliard, Metcalf, and Co., 1827. - Address delivered at the annual visitation of Amicable Lodge, in Cambridge, Mass. : November 16, 1829. Cambridge [Mass.] : E.W. Metcalf and Co., 1829.
Other works
- Thomas Jefferson; Elizabeth Cometti, editor. Jefferson’s ideas on a university library : letters from the founder of the University of Virginia to a Boston bookseller. Charlottesville : Tracy W. McGregor Library, University of Virginia, 1950. (Letters from Jefferson to William Hilliard and to Cummings, Hilliard and Co., Boston, ca.1825-1826).