Publications of James Crokatt

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 by James Crokatt

  • Rules of the St. Andrew's Club, at Charles-Town, in South-Carolina. London: Printed by James Crokatt, 1731. ESTC No. N48665. Grub Street ID 33153.

Sold by James Crokatt

  • Memoirs of the life and times, of the famous Jonathan Wild, together with the history and lives, of modern rogues, Several of 'em his Acquaintance, that have been executed before and since his death, for the High-Way, Pad, Shop-Lifting, House-Breaking, Picking of Pockets, and impudent Robbing in the Streets, and at Court. Never before made Publick. Writen by Capt. Alexander Smith, Author of the History of the High-Way-Men in Three Volumes. Royal Concubines and Gamesters. Intermixt with strange Discoveries of several unheard of barbarous Murders; all taken out of the Records of Newgate, continued down to the present Times. Adorn'd with cuts. London: printed for Sam. Briscoe, at the Bell-Savage on Ludgate-Hill. and sold by J. Jackson, in the Pall Mall. J. Isted, J. Crokatt, and T. Worrall, in Fleet-Street, 1726. ESTC No. T140167. Grub Street ID 187940.
  • Smith, Alexander. Memoirs of the life and times, of the famous Jonathan Wild, together with the history and lives, of modern rogues, several of ’em his acquaintance, that have been executed before and since his death, for the high-way, pad, shop-lifting, house-breaking, picking of pockets, and impudent robbing in the streets, and at court. Never before made publick. Writen by Capt. Alexander Smith, author of the History of the high-way-men in three volumes. Royal concubines and gamesters. Intermixt with strange discoveries of several unheard of barbarous murders; all taken out of th records of Newgate, continued down to the present times. Adorn’d with cuts. London: printed for Sam. Briscoe, at the Bell-Savage on Ludgate-Hill. And sold by J. Jackson, in the Pall Mall. and J. Crokatt, and T. Worrall, in Fleet-street, 1726. ESTC No. N483637. Grub Street ID 359229.

Printed for James Crokatt

  • Suffolk, Edward Howard. Miscellanies in prose and verse, by a person of quality. London: printed for J. Crokatt at the Golden-Key near the Inner-Temple-Gate in Fleet-Street, MDCCXXV. [1725]. ESTC No. N6155. Grub Street ID 44321.
  • Haywood, Eliza. The unequal conflict; or, nature triumphant: a novel. By Mrs. Eliza Haywood. London: printed for J. Walthoe, over-against the Royal-Exchange in Cornhill, and J. Crokatt, near the Inner-Temple-Gate in Fleetstreet, M.DCC.XXV. [1725]. ESTC No. T75395. Grub Street ID 298121.
  • Bohun, William. The practising attorney; or, lawyer's office: containing, the business of an attorney in all its branches. ... The second edition carefully corrected and much improv'd; ... By William Bohun ... [London]: In the Savoy: printed by E. and R. Nutt, and R. Gosling, (assigns of Edw. Sayer, Esq;) for James Crokatt; and Thomas Worrall, 1726. ESTC No. N20897. Grub Street ID 10278.
  • Salmon, Thomas. Modern history: or, The present state of all nations. By Mr. Salmon. No. XLIII. For the month of December. Being a continuation of the description of Germany; particularly of the circles of the Upper and Lower Saxony, Swabia, &c. London: printed for James Crokatt at the Golden Key, near the Inner-Temple-Gate in Fleet-Street; and sold by J. Graves in St. James’s-Street, J. Jackson in Pall-Mall near St. James’s House, C. King in Westminster-Hall, C. Rivington in St. Paul’s Church-Yard, J. Brotherton at the Bible, and J. Clarke under the Royal Exchange in Cornhill, 1728. ESTC No. N510783. Grub Street ID 359230.
  • Sturmy, J. Sesostris: or, royalty in disguise. A tragedy. As it is acted at the Theatre Royal in Lincolns-Inn-Fields. By Mr. Sturmy. London: printed for J. Crockatt, at the Golden Key near the Inner-Temple-Gate, 1728. ESTC No. T200697. Grub Street ID 232258.
  • Ralph, James. The touch-Stone: or, historical, critical, political, philosophical, and theological essays on the reigning diversions of the town. Designed for the Improvement of all Authors, Spectators, and Actors of Operas, Plays, and Masquerades. In which every Thing antique, or modern, relating to Musick, Poetry, Dancing, Pantomimes, Chorusses, Cat-Calls, Audiences, Judges, Criticks, Balls, Ridottos, Assemblies, New Oratory, Circus, Bear-Garden, Gladiators, Prize-Fighters, Italian Strollers, Mountebank Stages, Cock-Pits, Puppet-Shews, Fairs, and Publick Auctions, Is occasionally handled. With a preface, giving an account of the author and the work. London: printed for J. Crokatt, at the Golden Key opposite to Chancery-Lane, in Fleet-Street, MDCCXXIX. [1729]. ESTC No. N45850. Grub Street ID 30719.
  • Salmon, Thomas. Modern history: or, the present state of all nations. Describing their respective situations, persons, habits, Buildings, Manners, Laws and Customs, Religion and Policy, Arts and Sciences, Trades, Manufactures and Husbandry, Plants, animals and minerals. By Mr. Salmon. Vol.II. Which contains the State of the Islands of Amboyna-Banda, and the Molucca's, where the Spices grow; and shews how barbarously the English were expell'd from those Islands by the Dutch. It contains also the State of Borneo, Java, and Sumatra, and enters upon the Continent of India, or the Empire of the Great Mogul. Illustrated with cuts, and maps, accurately Drawn, according to the Geographical Part of this Work, by Herman Moll. London: printed for James Crokatt at the Golden Key, near the Inner-Temple-Gate in Fleet-Street, 1725 [1734?]. ESTC No. T139585. Grub Street ID 187429.
  • Old gentleman of fourscore.. Nature the great physician; or, every man his own doctor: ... By an old gentleman of fourscore. London: printed for J. Crokatt; and sold by M. Cooper, 1744. ESTC No. T39709. Grub Street ID 268935.
  • St. John, Henry, Viscount Bolingbroke. The last will and testament of the late Rt. Hon. Henry St. John, Lord Viscount Bolingbroke. Extracted from the registry of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. To which is added, a copy of an original letter from his Lordship to a noble peer, giving his reasons for leaving the kingdom in March 1715. London: printed for James Crokatt, in Prujean-Court, opposite Surgeon's-Hall in the Old-Baily, M.DCC.LII. [1752]. ESTC No. N10283. Grub Street ID 288.