Publications of Jeremiah Batley

Note: The following printer, bookseller, or publisher lists are works in progress. They are generated from title page imprints and may reproduce false and misleading attributions or contain errors.

What does "printed by" mean? How to read the roles ascribed to people in the imprints.

In terms of the book trades, the lists below are sorted into up to four groups where: the person is designated in the imprint as having a single role:

  1. "printed by x"; or
  2. "sold by x"; or
  3. "printed for x" or "published by x"; or

as having multiple roles in combination (which suggests a likelihood that the person is a trade publisher):

  1. "printed and sold by x"; "printed for and sold by x"; or "printed by and for x" and so on.

Printers (owners of the type and printing presses, and possibly owners of the copyright) may be identified by the words printed by, but printed by does not universally designate a person who is a printer by trade. Booksellers may be identified by the words sold by, but sold by encompasses a number of roles. Booksellers or individuals who owned the copyright are generally identified by the words printed for, but nothing should be concluded in this regard without further evidence, especially since "printed for" could signify that the named person was a distributor rather than a copyright holder. Trade publishers, who distributed books and pamphlets but did not own the copyright or employ a printer—and were not printers themselves—might be identified by the words printed and sold by. Furthermore, works from this period often display false imprints, whether to evade copyright restrictions, to conceal the name of the copyright holders, or to dupe unwitting customers. Ultimately, one must proceed with caution in using the following lists: designations in the imprints may not reliably reflect the actual trades or roles of the people named, and the formulas used in imprints do not consistently mean the same thing.

David Foxon discussed the "meaning of the imprint" in his Lyell Lecture delivered at Oxford in March 1976, with particular attention to "publishers" in the eighteenth-century context:

The fullest form of an imprint is one which names three people, or groups of people:
     London: printed by X (the printer), for Y (the bookseller who owned the copyright), and sold by Z.
In the eighteenth century the printer's name is rarely given, at least in works printed in London, and the form is more commonly:
     London: printed for Y, and sold by Z.
Very often in this period, and particularly for pamphlets, it is further abbreviated to:
     London: printed and sold by Z.
It is this last form which is my present concern. Z is usually what the eighteenth century called 'a publisher', or one who distributes books and pamphlets without having any other responsibility—he does not own the copyright or employ a printer, or even know the author.

D. F. McKenzie coined the term "trade publisher" for these publishers in his Sandars Lectures, also in 1976, on the grounds that their principal role was to publish on behalf of other members of the book trade (Treadwell 100).

Michael Treadwell cautions that "In this period the imprint 'London: Printed and sold by A.B.' normally means 'Printed at London, and sold by A.B.' and must not be taken to mean that A.B. is a printer in the absence of other evidence." Further, "The imprint 'published by' occurs only rarely in Wing and is almost always associated with the name of a trade publisher" (104). While there are exceptions to the rule, it is "certain," he explains, "that anyone who made a speciality of distributing works for others will show a far higher proportion than normal of imprints in one of the 'sold by' forms" (116), which appear in the imprint as "sold by," "printed and sold by," or "published by" (104). Treadwell gives Walter Kettilby as an example of "a fairly typical copyright-owning bookseller" (106)—his role is almost always designated by the phrase "printed for" on imprints.

A final caution: publisher is a word that should be used with some deliberation. Samuel Johnson defines it simply as "One who puts out a book into the world," but "published by" rarely appears on the imprint until later in the eighteenth century, and then primarily associated with newspapers and pamphlets. Treadwell observes that John Dunton names only five publishers among the 200 binders and booksellers in his autobiographical Life and Errors (1705) wherein he undertakes "to draw the Character of the most Eminent [Stationers] in the Three Kingdoms" (100). Treadwell also remarks, however, that "in law, anyone who offered a work for sale 'published' it. In this sense every work had one or more 'publishers', and every bookseller, mercury, and hawker was a 'publisher'" (114).


See:

  • Terry Belanger, "From Bookseller to Publisher: Changes in the London Book Trade, 1750–1850," in Book Selling and Book Buying. Aspects of the Nineteenth-Century British and North American Book Trade, ed. Richard G. Landon (Chicago: American Library Association, 1978).
  • Bricker, Andrew Benjamin. "Who was 'A. Moore'? The Attribution of Eighteenth-Century Publications with False and Misleading Imprints," in The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 110.2 (2016).
  • John Dunton, The Life and Errors of John Dunton (London: Printed for S. Malthus, 1705).
  • John Feather, "The Commerce of Letters: The Study of the Eighteenth-Century Book Trade," Eighteenth-Century Studies 17 (1984).
  • David Foxon, Pope and the Early Eighteenth-Century Book Trade, ed. James McLaverty (Oxford University Press, 1991).
  • Samuel Johnson, Dictionary of the English Language, (printed for J. and P. Knapton; T. and T. Longman; C. Hitch and L. Hawes; A. Millar; and R. and J. Dodsley, 1755).
  • D.F. McKenzie, The London Book Trade in the Later Seventeenth Century (Sandars lectures in bibliography, 1977).
  • Michael Treadwell, "London Trade Publishers 1675–1750," The Library sixth series, vol. 4, no. 2 (1982).

Printed for Jeremiah Batley

  • Blagrave, Joseph. The art of husbandry epitomiz'd; in two parts. I. Containing all necessary directions for the improvement of it, ... II. Containing new and exact rules for enriching meadows, ... The fourth edition, enlarg'd. By J. Blagrave, ... London: printed for Jer. Battley, 1719. ESTC No. N30021. Grub Street ID 19010.
  • Wilson, Henry. Leybourn's dialling improv'd or, the whole art perform'd, I. Geometrically: By Scale and Compasses, by projecting the Sphere upon the Plain, whereby the Reasons of the Operations are demonstrated. II. Arithmetically: By Sines and Tangents. Also, How to describe all necessary Furniture for Sun-Dials, as the Sun's Place and Declination; with the Babylonish, Italick, and Jewish Hours, and the Point of the Compass the Sun is upon at any Time of the Day; and to make Dials to give the Time of the Day at any Place proposed, in any Part of the World. With Reflective Dialling: Shewing how to make a Dial that shall give the true Hour of the Day, where the Sun cannot shine. To which is now added, instrumental dialling: by the lines of hours, and Inclination upon the Scales, and likewise mechanick dialling, whereby any Person may, without Mathematicks, make a Dial upon any Plain; with the Manner of ordering Oyl, and Colours, for painting Sun-Dials. Concluding with tables ready calculated for all l. London: printed for A. Bettesworth, at the Red-Lyon, J. Batley, at the Dove in Pater-Noster-Row; J. Wilford, at the Three Flower-de-Luces in Little-Britain; and T. Jauncy, at the Angel without Temple-Bar, 1721. ESTC No. N12369. Grub Street ID 2371.
  • Bulstrode, Richard. Miscellaneous essays, viz. I. Of company and conversation. ... XIII. Of old age. ... By Sir Richard Bulstrode, ... Publish'd, with a preface, by his son Whitlocke Bulstrode, Esq;. London: printed for J. Batley; and E. Symon, 1724. ESTC No. N22168. Grub Street ID 11535.
  • Haywood, Eliza. A spy on the conjurer. Or, a collection of surprising and diverting stories, with merry and ingenious letters. By way of memoirs of the famous Mr. Duncan Campbell, demonstrating the astonishing Foresight of that Wonderful Deaf and Dumb Man. The Whole being Moral and Instructive. Written to my Lord-----by a Lady, who, for Twenty Years past, has made it her Business to observe all Transactions in the Life and Conversation of Mr. Campbell. Revised by Mrs. Eliz. Haywood. London: printed for William Ellis, at the Queens Head in Gracechurch-Street; J. Brotherton, near the Royal-Exchange; J. Batley, in Pater-Noster-Row; T. Woodward, at Half-Moon against St. Dunstan's Church, Fleet-Street; J. Fox, in Westminster-Hall, [1725]. ESTC No. T75683. Grub Street ID 298313.
  • Herrera y Tordesillas, Antonio de. The general history of the vast continent and islands of America, commonly call'd, the West-Indies, from the first discovery thereof: With the Best Accounts the People could give of their Antiquities. Collected from the original relations sent to the kings of Spain. By Antonio de Herrera, Historiographer to His Catholick Majesty. Translated into English by Capt. John Stevens. Vol. I. Illustrated with cutts and maps. London: printed for Jer. Batley, at the Dove in Pater-Noster-Row, M.DCC.XXV[1725]-26. ESTC No. N1037. Grub Street ID 378.
  • A new dictionary of heraldry, explaining the terms us'd in that science, with their Etymology, and different Versions into Latin. Containing all the Rules of Blazon, with Reasons for the same. The Original Signification of Bearings. And a concise account of the most noted orders of knighthood that are, or have been; and of Honours and Dignities Ecclesiastical, Civil, or Military. Illustrated with 196 devices on copper The whole design'd to make that Science familiar. Revis'd and corrected, with a letter to the publisher, by Mr. James Coats. London: printed for Jer. Batley at the Dove in Pater-Noster-Row, MDCCXXV. [1725]. ESTC No. T134649. Grub Street ID 183270.
  • Payne, Thomas. A constant regard to the true ends of government recommended to the magistrate: in a sermon preach'd at St. Peter's in Hereford, September 30, 1728. Being the day of the mayor's admission to his office. By Thomas Payne, ... London: printed for Jer. Batley at the Dove in Pater-Noster-Row, and James Wilde bookseller in Hereford, 1729. ESTC No. N51063. Grub Street ID 35075.
  • Ovid. Ovid's Tristia, in five books in English; being a prose, verbal and grammatical version, ... For the use of schools. By N. Bailey. London: printed for J. Batley, T. Cox, and T. Astley, 1729. ESTC No. N10641. Grub Street ID 649.
  • The history of the popes. ... Containing the lives of the first forty eight Roman Pontifs; ... translated from the French original lately published at the Hague. London: printed for Jeremiah Batley, 1733. ESTC No. N66692. Grub Street ID 48393.
  • Stackhouse, Thomas. A complete body of speculative and practical divinity, consisting of five parts: I. of the being, nature, and attributes of God, and of the evidences of divine revelation. ... To which are added, two tables: I. An alphabetical table of the chief matters. 2. A table of texts of scripture explain'd, ... By Thomas Stackhouse, ... London: printed for J. Batley: and T. Cox, 1734. ESTC No. T100422. Grub Street ID 154374.
  • Terence.. Terence's Comedys, translated into English, with critical and explanatory notes. To which is prefixed A dissertation on the life and writings of Terence, ... London: printed for J. Battley, and T. Cox, 1734. ESTC No. T137479. Grub Street ID 185456.
  • Penseyre, Samuel. A new guide to astrology: or, astrology brought to light. Being fitted for all manner of horary questions. ... The second edition. By Samuel Penseyre, ... London: printed for J. Batley and J. Wood, 1735. ESTC No. N20153. Grub Street ID 9560.