William Pelham (bookseller)
Encyclopedia
William Pelham was a bookseller and publisher in Boston
, Massachusetts
, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He kept a shop and circulating subscription library
at no.59 Cornhill
, 1796-1810.
in 1759, to Peter Pelham, Jr. and Ann Creese. William's grandfather was Peter Pelham
, the Boston artist.
William Pelham was working in the book trade in Boston by the 1790s. "In the Independent Chronicle
for July 7, 1796, Pelham offered for sale new books and 'an uncommonly fine proof of Mr. Copley'
s celebrated plate of the Death of Chatham.'"
In his bookshop Pelham also operated a circulating library. The 1801 catalog of Pelham's Circulating Library included several hundred titles, including, for example:
Pelham's nephew William Blagrove
took over the library in 1804, moving it to School Street
, and continuing to oversee the enterprise until 1811.
In 1805 Pelham published The Elements of Chess, "one of the earliest works upon chess published in the United States, and the first of its kind printed at Boston. The editor of this volume — (that the book was edited by some chessplayer at the time of its publication is apparent from an exceedingly interesting appendix, containing much new and original matter) — was undoubtedly a nephew of Mr. Pelham's, named William Blagrove, who is known to have been an enthusiast of chess, and a player of merit."
In 1808 he wrote and published A System of Notation, a pronunciation
manual for English language. It incorporated "a new edition of a popular English novel, for the purpose of introducing A New System Of Notation; by which the variable sounds of the vowels and consonants in the English alphabet may be accurately distinguished. The irregularity of sound to which many of our alphabetical characters are subject, has been frequently noticed and complained of: more especially by foreigners engaged in learning the language. ... The marks denoting sounds will be on the left hand page; the right hand page will contain the same matter, word for word, the marks of sound being omitted, and the accent distinguished."
From his aunt Sarah Creese, Pelham inherited "the estate, no.59 Cornhill, [in Boston], which her uncle, Rev. Wm. Price had given King's Chapel
. ... In 1813 the wardens of King's Chapel sued Pelham and recovered the estate from him."
Some time after 1810 he moved to Zanesville, Ohio
. He died in New Harmony, Indiana
, in 1827.
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 and early 19th centuries. He kept a shop and circulating subscription library
Subscription library
A subscription library is a library that is financed by private funds either from membership fees or endowments...
at no.59 Cornhill
Washington Street (Boston)
Washington Street is a street originating in downtown Boston, Massachusetts that extends southwestward to the Massachusetts-Rhode Island state line. The majority of it was built as the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike in the early nineteenth century...
, 1796-1810.
Biography
Pelham was born in Williamsburg, VirginiaWilliamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
in 1759, to Peter Pelham, Jr. and Ann Creese. William's grandfather was Peter Pelham
Peter Pelham
Peter Pelham , American limner and engraver, was born in England, a son of a man named "gentleman" in his will. His father, who died in Chichester, Sussex, in 1756, is revealed in letters to his son in America as a man of some property.-London:Pelham was one of several London artists who learned...
, the Boston artist.
William Pelham was working in the book trade in Boston by the 1790s. "In the Independent Chronicle
Independent Chronicle (Boston, Massachusetts)
The Independent Chronicle was a newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts. It originated in 1768 as The Essex Gazette in Salem, and The New-England Chronicle in Cambridge, before settling in 1776 in Boston as The Independent Chronicle. Publishers included Edward E...
for July 7, 1796, Pelham offered for sale new books and 'an uncommonly fine proof of Mr. Copley'
John Singleton Copley
John Singleton Copley was an American painter, born presumably in Boston, Massachusetts, and a son of Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Irish. He is famous for his portrait paintings of important figures in colonial New England, depicting in particular middle-class subjects...
s celebrated plate of the Death of Chatham.'"
In his bookshop Pelham also operated a circulating library. The 1801 catalog of Pelham's Circulating Library included several hundred titles, including, for example:
- Adela Northington
- Belmont Grove; or the discovery
- Belleville Lodge; a novel
- Female Jockey Club
- Hackney Coach; a sentimental miscellany
- Hive; or repository of sententious essays
- Inside View of the Prisons of Paris
- HawkinsLaetitia Matilda HawkinsLaetitia Matilda Hawkins was an English novelist, associated with Twickenham. She is also a character in Beryl Bainbridge's novel According to Queeney....
' Letters on the Female Mind - Looker-On; a periodical work
- Management of the Tongue
- Manual of Liberty
- MirabeauHonoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de MirabeauHonoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau was a French revolutionary, as well as a writer, diplomat, freemason, journalist and French politician at the same time. He was a popular orator and statesman. During the French Revolution, he was a moderate, favoring a constitutional monarchy built on...
's Gallery of Portraits - Mavor's Collection of Voyages and Travels
- Museum of Agreeable Entertainment http://openlibrary.org/books/OL15580555M/The_Museum_of_agreeable_entertainment
- New Foundling Hospital for Wit
- Parker's View of High, and Low Life
- Peruvian Letters
- Reign of George VI Anticipated
- Tooke's Pantheon of the Heathen DeitiesTooke's PantheonTooke's Pantheon, full title Tooke's Pantheon of the Heathen Gods and Illustrious Heroes, was a work on Greek mythology.The Jesuit François Pomey authored the Pantheum mythicum seu fabulosa deorum historia. The Pantheum mythicum became the mythological handbook of the following two centuries...
- TrimmerSarah TrimmerSarah Trimmer was a noted writer and critic of British children's literature in the eighteenth century...
's Introduction to the Knowledge of Nature - Universal Director
- Universal Story-Teller
Pelham's nephew William Blagrove
William Blagrove
William Blagrove was a bookseller, publisher and librarian in Boston, Massachusetts, in the early 19th century. He ran the Union Circulating Library, a subscription library, from 1804 through 1811; it was located on School Street...
took over the library in 1804, moving it to School Street
School Street
School Street is a short but significant street in the center of Boston, Massachusetts. It is so named for being the site of the first public school in the United States...
, and continuing to oversee the enterprise until 1811.
In 1805 Pelham published The Elements of Chess, "one of the earliest works upon chess published in the United States, and the first of its kind printed at Boston. The editor of this volume — (that the book was edited by some chessplayer at the time of its publication is apparent from an exceedingly interesting appendix, containing much new and original matter) — was undoubtedly a nephew of Mr. Pelham's, named William Blagrove, who is known to have been an enthusiast of chess, and a player of merit."
In 1808 he wrote and published A System of Notation, a pronunciation
Pronunciation
Pronunciation refers to the way a word or a language is spoken, or the manner in which someone utters a word. If one is said to have "correct pronunciation", then it refers to both within a particular dialect....
manual for English language. It incorporated "a new edition of a popular English novel, for the purpose of introducing A New System Of Notation; by which the variable sounds of the vowels and consonants in the English alphabet may be accurately distinguished. The irregularity of sound to which many of our alphabetical characters are subject, has been frequently noticed and complained of: more especially by foreigners engaged in learning the language. ... The marks denoting sounds will be on the left hand page; the right hand page will contain the same matter, word for word, the marks of sound being omitted, and the accent distinguished."
From his aunt Sarah Creese, Pelham inherited "the estate, no.59 Cornhill, [in Boston], which her uncle, Rev. Wm. Price had given King's Chapel
King's Chapel
King's Chapel is "an independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association" that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in what was formerly called "Stone Chapel", an 18th century...
. ... In 1813 the wardens of King's Chapel sued Pelham and recovered the estate from him."
Some time after 1810 he moved to Zanesville, Ohio
Zanesville, Ohio
Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. The population was 25,586 at the 2000 census.Zanesville was named after Ebenezer Zane, who had constructed Zane's Trace, a pioneer road through present-day Ohio...
. He died in New Harmony, Indiana
New Harmony, Indiana
New Harmony is a historic town on the Wabash River in Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana, United States. It lies north of Mount Vernon, the county seat. The population was 916 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Evansville metropolitan area. Many of the old Harmonist buildings still stand...
, in 1827.
Works written/published by Pelham
- The Elements of Chess, a Treatise combining Theory with Practice, and comprising the whole of PhilidorFrançois-André Danican PhilidorFrançois-André Danican Philidor , often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess player. He contributed to the early development of the opéra comique...
's Games and explanatory Notes, new modelled and arranged upon an original Plan. Boston: Wm. Pelham, 1805. Google books. - An important and luminous communication on the subject of the impressment of American and foreign seamen and other persons. The treaty referred to was negotiated in London during 1806 by Monroe and William Pinkney, and rejected by President Jefferson in 1807. Boston: Published and sold by William Pelham, no. 59, Cornhill. Munroe & Francis, printers, 1808.
- William Pelham. A system of notation : representing the sounds of alphabetical characters by a new application of the accentual marks in present use : with such additions as were necessary to supply deficiencies. Boston: Printed for W. Pelham, 1808.
- Catalogue of juvenile books and literary toys for sale by William Pelham, no. 59, Cornhill, Boston. 1810
Works about Pelham
- Charles K. Bolton. Circulating libraries in Boston, 1765-1865. Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, Volume 11. Feb. 1907.
External links
- WorldCat. W. Pelham
- Working Men's Institute. Pelham Collection
- http://www.gallantpelham.org/articles/showart.cfm?id_art=74