Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-10-23
Tho SpccfntOr.

| lowing interesting letter from Professor Sails
bury, of New Haven, relative to the original
edition of the Spectator. 1t was read by Hon.
Stephen Salisbury, president of the society," to
whom it is addressed.
Ny Dear Sir:-In compliance with your sug-
gestion, that, while in London, on my visit to
| England, should endeavor to obtain a copy of
the Spectator as originally published, and report
upon the form in which it appeared, as to pa
| per, typography, and so forth, | applied to a
| book collector, and gave him standing order
| by which hope IN time to be able to present a
copy ofthe original edition to the library of the
| American Antiquarian Society. But, mean
| while, send you the result of my examination
Of the only copy preserved IN the British Muse
um, purchased so late as November, 1885, of
which the advertisement was as follows: "Spec-
| tator; the original edition published in Daily
| Papers, No. to 555 inclusive; vol. to I COM
| plete, with vol. Sseveral papers of which are
| deficient the whole bound in one vol, Hi
| IA"
| l. TYPOGRAPHY AND PAPER.
| Each days Issue is a single folio leaf of rather
| thin but by no means coarse paper, though
| some numbers are on coarSer paper than Others
| The printing is in double columns. The type
| used for all but advertisements is small plea
loaded, with clear imprint; that of the adj
| vertiSrments is brewer, less clear. In some
| later numbers, the leading is omitted, and small
| er type is substituted for the small plea. The
| length of the printed page is not uniform but
| varies from 81 to nearly 10 inches, (some leaves
| are doubled up in the binding of the volume eX-
| amined). The width, including both columns,
| is 81 inches. The width of the margin could
| not be determined, on account of the binders
| trimming
.. EDITING AND PUBLICATION.
Each number up to $50 is marked by a
| Roman numeral, the later ones by Arabic
| numerals, with the month, day, and year added.
| The numbers came out from the first on each
| week day, regularly, until Saturday, Dec. 6,
| l712, after which there was an intermission till
| Friday, June Is, 1714, when the eighth volume
| was begun with number $780, "to be continued
| every Monday, Wednesday and Friday" and,
| accordingly, in number 557, after the MOTTO is
| the following: "From Friday June 18Th to
Monday June 2tst.' In later numbers, the
| year, month, and day OF the week of each are
| simply given as at first The earliest reference
| to any putting of numbers together to form
sets, is in number So, for June 7, III, where we
| read: "COmpleat Sets of this Paper for the
| Month of May are to sold by MIR. Graves in
| St. James Street, aud Mrs. Baldwin in Warwick
Lane, where also may be had those for the
| Months of March and April" In Nos. 247 and
24S, for Dec. 10 and IA, ILL., appears this adj
vertisement: "There is (sic) now printing by
| subscription two volumes of the Spectator on
large character in octave; the price of the Two
volumes, well bound and gilt, two guineaS
Those who are inclined TO subscribe, are desired
TO make their payments to J. TOnson, book
seller in the Strand; the books being so near
finished, they will certainly be ready for sub
scrbers before Christmas next"
The first number marked as belonging to a
volume is 556, which is printed ''vol. Wiz" and
this designation is continued to the end of the
series. In the previous number Steele had said /:
All the members OF the imaginary society
which was described in my first papers, having
disappeared one after another, it is high time
for the Spectator himself to 90 Off the stare"
&c. The continuation of the publication is as
crihed by him TO bis bookseller, in No 632 as
T follows: "Ihe love OF symmetry and order
| which is natural to the mind of man. betrays
MN sometimes INTO my whimsical tancies. Sew
eral epic poets have religiOuSly followed Virgil as
: to the number OF his books. / mention these
great examples IN defence ofmy bookseller who
occasioned this eighth volume of the Spectator,
because as he said, he thought seven a very odd
I | number The LIST, I'd, and 4th volumes of a
copy of the first collected edition of the Spec
tator, which once belonged TO Lord Lansdowne,
and now is in the British museum were pub
lished in1712; the 3D., 9TH 9Th and 7th volumes
| in 49, the Sth volume of the set, wanting in
, this copy, was published in171j. Onwhat prin-
, | clple the first seven SolumeS were made up,
does not appear, for the division has no refer
| ence 10 the date of the original issue; nor are
there as many numbers in one volume as in an
other, although there are about eighty 1.-THE eX-
act number included in the fist yolumel IN
each.
The earlier original Spectators all bore letter
signatures; and, in the concluding number of
the 1th vol, Steele explains them as marks of
authorship; e. L, |, or o, indicating Addisons
hand; l probably points to Tickel of Queens
College, Oxford, as the author; and is doubt
less Steele's own mark. The Spectator was
originally "printcd for Samuel Buckley at the
Dolphin, in Little Britain, and sold by A. Bald
win in Warwick Lane" In No. IS, the follow
ing is added to the imDrint:-''as also Charles
Lille, pertumer, at the corner of Beaufort
Buildings, in the Strand which thencelorward
continues to appear in most of the numbers
3. ADVERTISEMENTS
Nearly one whole column of the second page
OF No. l, is devoted to advertisements which
are eight in number, all OF books on anatomy,
political arithmetic, geography, migration Of
birds, civil government, religion, and right of
election to parliament. In No. 3, there are no
advertisements, but notification where they
are taken in. In No. 3, those of No / rpnnneor
with the exception of one for which new one
IS substituted. In No. 4, there are eight new
advertisements of books: the Art of English
Poetry, Travels, Bible Commentary, Traders
Companion, Our Lords PRAYER the Cborue nj
Schlsm against Dssenters Discharged Public
! Revenue In No. 6, among the advertisements
| IS an "admonltlon to the unbaptzed;" and in
No. II is advertised, as recently published. a
book entitled: "rhe Great Duty of freouentino
| lllS NuIlNlidu DdtI1ltt. W NO. ( is advertised
} work on the doctrine of resistance to tyrants
| through natural princes" which may allude to
l. | the claims of the Pretender. In No. TO- we
e begin to find advertisements of quite another
= sort; for instance, of silk gowns, of "a very
connections House to be eft =" of "Plaiu Snan.
h ish Snuff, Light and Fine" of"deep bright and
- strong French Claret at 24s per dozen" OF
rune frehch Claret, neat and of delicate
naVour, at 24s dozen, bottles and all :" also a
g notlce tnat "a parcel OF new Venetian Gowns
a. hg
In No. II, is advertised "The Monthly Wearber
: Paper, being some Baroscopical Discoveries
y from what part or parts of the Compass the
# Wind may be likely to blow, with what other
- Sorts and Alterations of the Weather NAV Inc
expected every Day and Night in Marcel
e 11l0-ll. Printed for A. Baldwin, near the
h OXiord Arms, IN Warwick Lane% a proof that
4 there were protested weather prophets in En-
gland an hundred and sixty years 400
y AT the end of No. 81 appears the foIloyyino
IL notification "This Is to give notice that The
!. three criticks who, last Sunday settled the
characters Of my Lords Rochester and Boileau
II in the yard of Coffee House in FulleT's Rents
Il will meet this next Sunday, at the same timt
#, and place, to finish the merits of seyera
! Dramatic Writers; and will also make an end
10 OF the nature of the True Sublime"-a quit
s Addisonian hit at the settlement of questions o
s reason and sentiment by appeals to brute force
g In No. SO are theatrical advertisements: in 80
. cosmetics; in 80, 'eighty-six right Dutch Tables
e and Tea Tables finely painted brought owe
n from Amsterdam in Hoand;" in No. 81 til,
y. loss OF snuf-boX is advertised. In No. 377, fol
May IL, l112, is advertised "The Effigie of Hi
l. Hlghness,. Prince Eugene of Savoy, after Oh,
y only original Picture painted by Sir Godrey
is hheiler, the prince being then on mission tc
:, England, TO endeavor to effect the terms of The
peace which was signed, that wear, AT Utrecht
IL Inese Few specimens Of advertisements seemed
s worthy to be mentioned as illustrative of the
4. times, and of the small beginnings Of what nov
ill SO many columns and pages of our daily
' papers.
i have thus, my dear sir, executed tn the bes
a of my ability, the commission which Won raw
me, and shall be pleased il this statement prove,
7. of some little interest to my associates of m,
S Antiquarian Society.
/ Respectfully yours,
, L. E. SALISBURY.
New Haven, Oct. 10, 1871.
Having read the letter, the president spok
on the subject as follows:
81 will only add TO the valuable letter of on
associate, that so many objects of great histori
n cal importance have claimed the attention 0
l. members Of this society that the curiosities o
antiquarian lore have ceased TO be prominen
- | among aPnuigitipue 81 N.