Thomas Becket

BECKET (Thomas) bookseller and publisher in London, Tully's Head in the Strand (east corner of the Adelphi, or near Surrey Street), 1760–76. Apprentice to Andrew Millar in the Strand. Set up for himself at Tully's Head near Surrey Street in the Strand on January 14th, 1760, and placed an advertisement in the London Chronicle or Universal Post of January 8–10, in connexion with an edition of Roderick Random. He imported French literature and published periodical lists of new books from France. Amongst his earliest publications was a romance called Chrysal or the Adventures of a Guinea, which was first advertised in April 1760. This work went through several editions before the end of the century. Before the end of the year 1760 Becket took into partnership Peter Abraham De Hondt, and the firm published large numbers of romances, plays, and poems. They were the leading prosecutors in the famous copyright case against Alexander and James Donaldson for printing an edition of Thomson's Seasons in 1768, which ended so disastrously for the booksellers. In 1775 Boswell wrote to Johnson asking what Becket meant by saying, in the Public Advertiser of January 20th, that he had the original of Fingal in his shop in 1762, but could not get enough subscribers to encourage him to publish it, and returned the manuscript to the proprietor. About this time Becket is described as "Bookseller to their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, Prince William and Prince Edward". Sterne in one of his letters says of "Becket I have ever found to be a man of probity." [Letters of the late Rev. Mr. Lawrence Sterne, 1775–8, p. 164.]

BECKET, Thomas, bookseller, 73 (Tully's Head, corner of Adelphi), Strand 1760-1778K; 82, Pall Malll 1783B-1794K; 81, Pall Mall 1795K-1815P. Trading: as Becket and De Hondt 1760-1776K; as Thomas Becket 1778K-1809P; as Becket and Porter 1810P-1815P. Partner with Andrew Millar before working with De Hondt. Imported French Literature. A leading prosecutor of Donaldson 1768. Called by Sterne 'a man of probity'. Bookseller to Prince of Wales 1786-1817. Bankrupt 1779, cert. 5 June 1779. Westminster Polls; 1774; Pe., Cll.; 1784: F. Succ. by John Porter. Imprint(s): Kress: 1775: A7160; 1776: A7213; 1780: B292; 1785: B944, S5088; 1786: B1058, 1115; 1792; B2324; 1795: B3023; 1796: B3230; 1797: B3399; 1798: B3622; 180(): B4108. Plomer; Nichols iii 387.

—The London book trades 1775-1800: a preliminary checklist of members
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