Harvard, Millot's "History",and Isaiah Thomas

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Citation Coleman, Earle E. 1956. Harvard, Millot's "History", and IsaiahThomas. Harvard Library Bulletin X (2), Spring 1956: 240-244.

Citable link https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37363590

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Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume X, Number 2 (Spring1956)

Harvard, Millot' s History, and Isaiah Tho1nas

N the course of his long and illustrjous career Isaiah Thonlas did printing for Harvard on nun1erous occasions. The details of one of his 1n ore arnb i ti o us undertakings for th c University·, not pre-yj ou sly described, arc set forth here b cca use of th cir in tcrcst to

the Hatvard comn1unity and to students of the history of publishing in the United States.

In I\1ay 1 787 Harvard received a fi.vc-volun1c translation of the Abbe Claude l\1i1lot's Elen,ents of Geueral History published in Lon-don in 1778 and 1. 779. The ,vork arrived as part of a ship1nent of books put together by- the London bookseller, Jan1es Buckland, in accordance ,rith a list of books ,vanted 1nade out by four 1nen1bcrs of the Corporation~ 1 A year later I s-a.iah Thom2s prcsen tcd to the U nivcrsity three books printed hy· hin1, one of ,vhic h ,vas a spcci1ncn of his printing types+ In Augllst 1788 the Corporation directed Prcsi-<lent '''illard and Dr Edvlard '-'Tjggles\vort111 I-Iollis Professor of Divinity·, ·to confer ,·vith Thun1as about the printing of -an edition of ~1iIIoes Hirtory for the use of the studcnts.2 1.""he Corporation=-s rea-sons for choosing l\1illot's ,vork in preference to other similar books of the period arc nut kno\vll. The first t\vo volumes are devoted to ancient history·,, ,vhilc the last three deal ,vith modern history, begin~ ning ,vith the barbarjan invasions of Europe and ending ,vjth 1763.

After the conftrence bet,vecn '''illard, ''-'iggles-,yorth, and Thon1as the Corporation ''! oted to employ 1\1r. Isaiah Thomas to print three hundred setts of l\1illot,s General History, for the use of t11e students, in five vo]un1es large 8vo ~greeahly-to the T.1ondon edition 4 •• for 1vhich he shaH be paid thirty shillings a sett: Three hundred of the first volun1c to be delivered to the Treasurer by the first day of Jan-uar)T next, and rhc other volun1es in succession ,virhin t,vo n1onths of

1 In Harvard College Papers~ Supplement to \T ols. H [ and J\T1 I 785-r8n5t p. 1 o (Han·ard Univer.i;ity Atchives). All quotation~ frorn docun1ent.,;; in the Archi\~c.i;;; arc published ,vhh ];:ind pcnnission. of the P.rcsidcnt nnd FcHows of Harvard Co11ege-.

U nlcss: uthc rwis c sta tcd th c. sou rec for info rn1 a tion regarding ded si o ns and a c-ti ,Ti ti cs of the Co rpo icl. tion is College Rec ords 1 111 (Ha t\Tilrd U nive rsi ty Arch i vcs) ..

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume X, Number 2 (Spring1956)

Harr;.~ard, A1iliot"s History, and lsaiab Thorna5 2 41 each other, till the ,vork be complcatcd: And the Treasurer shall pay l\1r .. Tho111as ninety pounds upon the dclivcr)7 of three hundred of each volume4~ This vote ,vas taken on October 16, and six \veeks later Thomas addressed a letter fron1 ,vorcester to Treasurer Ebenezer Storer saying 'I a tn no\V dra, v in g near the close of printing the first \7 ol. of !vi.ill oe s Elctncn ts. - One thing I for got to 1nention to the Corporation of the College i.e. ,vhcther thc·y ,vou1d have it n1cntioncd in the title page that it ,vas printed for the U nivcrsity. I 1nust confess T have son1e vanity ,vhich I "~ish to gratify. If agreeable, and not in-consistent ,vith any regulations of the Corporation, I could ,vish for the honour of being appointed Printer to the University, and as I have a Printing Office in Boston~ ,vhnt ,vork they n1ight ,vant done, und ,vouid be inconvenient to do in this place, could be pcrforn1cd in Bos~ ton~ The Title page is not yet printcd1 but I propose doing it the latter end of next ,veek. If you vliH hono11r me ,vith a line on the subject prevjons to that titne, you ,vill much oblige .. ;~ 0 On December 4 Storer inf orn1cd Tho1uas that he had not had an opportunity to }ay his letter before the Corporation., ,,,.hich ,vould have to consider his appointment as Printer to the Univcr.sityr He had, ho\vever, discussed the n1atter of the title-page ,vith President '\'illard and they ,vcrc both of the opinion that 'jt may be rnentioned in the title page that jt ,vas printed for the university.) 1

In f\1arch r789 Thon1as made a different request of the Treasurer. On the r,velfth of the n1onth he ,vrotc: t 100 Copies of the Second Volume of i\1illot arc no,v bound~ and ,vill next ,veek be for\varded. I ,vill thank J•ou, Sir, to inform 111c ,vhcthcr you can no,v oblige 1ne ,vith payn1ent for t,vo volumes £90 each. 1 ... hc 1vork is heavy, and I have been necessitated to n1ake use of rnoncy appropriated to another use to carry· it on thus far. That 1noney I must in1medh1te]y rcplac-e4 The rc111aining 200 Copies of both the first -a.nd second volume are no,v binding - the 3rd \T ol .. is about 3 quarters printed, both it and the 4th VoL ,vould have been out of the press at this tin1c, but [I] have been ohliged to ,vait for paper) ,vhich ,vill shoitl) 7 be ready.' r-; Tho1nas closed his letter ,vith .a ren1inder that Storer ".rould oblige hi1n h)7 lay~

,'.I 1 n Ha nTard College Papers, 111 r 1 7 8 5--96, l 9. "' Copy of Storer •s k ttcr in Tic:t~urcr '~ Lone :t Book l 7 78-89, p. 5 7 ( H arYard

University Archives). In H~nTard College P:.:i.prrs1 Hli 34. Thomas did not have a paper n1iH of his

O\Vn until I 79J•

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume X, Number 2 (Spring1956)

H atvnrd Library Bulletin

jng hjs request for printing bcf ore the Corporation the next tinJe the)r met. 1"'hey did n1cct on the 1n.st day of the n1onth, and although they discussed IVlilloes History'J thc)r apparcntl)T cstnc to no conclusion about 1"hon1as' request. Instead, they decided to sell the sets to· the students at thirt)~-six shiHings a set~ six 111orc than they 1vcre pay·.ing for thc1n - and those ,vho did not buy a set \YOuld be obliged to take one on lo~n and "continue it for the four years' at one shilling three pence.

On April 6 Storer acted on l']1on1as' request for 1noncy by ,vriting to John Hancock., the forn1er Treasurer of Harvard1 one of a long series of dunning letters. These letters represent a sustained effort b)7

Storer to obtain fro1n Hancock the interest due on ::i hond he had given to the College jn lieu of returning to it certajn securities he had taken to ;philadelphia during the Revolution. Storer ,\1·rote to his predeces-sor~ iThe Corporation of Harv~rd College have engaged A1r. Isaiah Thomas to print a consider~blt ,vork for the use of the Students of the University-.~ expecting that n1onies ,vou1d con1e into the Treas-ury· to n1 a k e the pa y1n cnt!i to hin1 ace or ding to a g reen1 en ts & disc h ar gc ~0111c other dcnrn.nds - the ,vork is partly done & the payments bc-con1 e duei but no n1oncy jn the Treasury.~ the ,v-ork therefore 111ust

- r •

stop unless pay1ncnt c;:111 be i1n111cd1arcly 1nadc, ,vh~ch ,, .. ill be a great dan1agc to the Society4 necessity therefore obliges IJ1C to give hin, an order on }7 0Ul" ExceHency-for the Interest due on your Bond to the College, & jf you can furnish hin1 ,,Tfrh rrny part of the prjncipa.1 he-.sides, it \\~ill lay a ne\V obligaLion on the U nivcrsity r •

1 1") On 7 A prjl 1789 Thomas ,vrote to Storer: 'I thank you for the inf or1nation re-. . specting the 400 Do]s. 7 I \viH caH for it in a fc,v days .. I sha11 soon send on 100 lTIOfC copies of each of the !ST and 2d ,r oJ. by ,vhich tin1e J hope )70U ,vill be able TO make the 400 600 Do1ls ... a, ,S The Treas-urer's Jo~lrnal and l..ieclger for the period, ,vhich sho\v fairly concln-sively that Thon1-as ,,,.as· paid out of the Trea.surer's fund of· cash the su1n· of £150 in April ·1789, indicat~ that 1-iancock did not choose to 'Jay· a nc\V obligation on the U nivcrsity' or even ho~1or the Treasurer's order., but also that Storer actually did have rnonc;l in the Treasury

Copy of letter in T rca:surer 1s Lr tter Bu ok1 pp. 5 8'-5~., 1N Atl 1 ti l c not~ t.ion 'R:.tl]. uf Interest due Deer. 2.8, l 788 £176.1/-'. ·

'1 According to F/eels Pocket Aln1mwc for this pedod one A1assac:husetts dollnr ,v::a s ,,Torth SL"'{ shin ings, or something less than a third of a pound.

! In Ha n--a nl Co Hege Ps p crs, III, 34.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume X, Number 2 (Spring1956)

}-l({r·vrrrd,. t11illot"'s I-Iistory, and lsairrb 1 .. bo11Hrs 143 ,vhcn he ,vrotc 1-lancock or soon found sorne. These records further sho,v that 1 ... hon1as ,vas paid in four rnorc installments, nan1cly £ 1 2 o in July 1789, £80 in September 1789~ £ 2 5 jn January· 1790~ and £ 77. 15.0

in ilay 1 790) totaling £450 plus f2.15. to cover the cost of six packing cases.

According to d1 e original agreement all deliveries ,vere to have been 1nade by I Scptcn1ber 1789 and it seen1s likely fron1 ,vhat follo\vs that the entire ,vork. ,vus printed by July 1789.. Thomas' request to be appointed Printer to rhc Unjvcrsity scc1ns to have been forgotten, for~ :although he ,vas comn1issioned to do other printing for the Univer.sit)T,, the Corporation continued to en1ploy various Boston printers during the ensuing years. Oddly enough none of the fi>ve copies of /Vlilloes flistory seen mentions on the title~page that the ·v{otk ,vas printed for the Univcrsit) 7 •

1~hc printing of lviillot's History \Vas a considerable undertaking '1nd Thon1as ,vas un,villing to let three hllndrcd sets for the University be the end of jt~ In his o\vn copy, in the library of the Aincricun Antiquarian Society, is a four-page f'roposal for I)rinting by Sr1bscrip-ti 011, EI cu1e11 ts of G eu er n l Hi story. Th is undated I'r o fJ o s tr l, tho ugh it docs not state that the ,vork is being printed for I-·Iarvard, ~ss~rts th8.t it :is in press. Furthern1ore~ it gives r1 table of contents of each volun1c ,vith chapter headings different frorn those in the ,vork as finally printed by Tho1nas and from those in the London 1778-79 edition~ ,vhich is presumed to be the r.1ast London Edition~ fro1n ,vhich Tho1nas proposed to print _his subscription edition c:page for page.' Conse-quently, it ::ippcars that lle deterruined to ~end out his T'roposal sooJ1 af tcr the conf crcncc ,vith the I-Iarvard representatives. An1ong the Condittons of Publication are these: 'II. -The price to Subscribers ,vill be only forty five sbi/lhJgs, for the Five Volun1es complete, containing in the ,vhole 2bout 2680 pages . . III. Those gentlemen ,vho incline to encourage the printing and publishing of valuable Books in this country by a generous subscription, ,vill have a seventh set gratis, if they subscribe for six. I\ 7• Should a respectable number of Subscrib-ers appear, a list of them ,vill be added to the last \T olume. None of the copies seen has a fist of subscribers; and in the .A1.assacbusetts Spy for 9 July 1789 and the t\vo snccccdi11g \Veeks appeared the f olto,ving advertisement: 'This Da)T pub]ishcd, })rice 50s elegantly hound, Jn Five \T ol lUnesi 1a rge Octavo. Elcrnents of General History 4 Trr1 ns-latcd f ron1 the French of the Abbe 1\1illot. Printed :at ,,, orce.~ter, b)7

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume X, Number 2 (Spring1956)

244 H ar·vnrd J .... ibrar-v Bulletin ...

lsaiah 1."'homas, and ~old at his Bookstore. Sold -a]so b) 7 said Thornas and Co. in Boston.'

As a publishing venture l\1illot's History illustrates Isaiah Thon1as' enterprising \vay·.s. The ,York setved as the hi~tory textbook at Harvard for over t\venty-fivc. ye,ars1 not being replaced until son1eti1ne be-t,vccn I 814, ,vhcn Nathaniel Amcs 1 ,vho deprecated the ,vork, left college ,vithout graduating,° and 1820) ,vhcn the Cat1tlog11e of the Officers aud Students 5hov.-s that Tytler's General History A11cie11t and AJodern succeeded it.

EART .. E E .. Co1,F..tvrAN

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume X, Number 2 (Spring1956)

List of Contributors

I·IARRY LEVI?\-:, Professor o~ English :ind Co1nparativc Literature, flarvard Uni-\rersity

C. F. 1\ 1 A 1N 1 ] n s tructor in Eng Iish, R l1 tgcrs Uni ver5i ty

G EonG ES EuELBN, I t15itruc tor in Eng] ish and in General Education~ Harvard LTniversiry

PHILIP Hor•·~R) ~ecturcr on Fine Arts, Curator of Printjng and Graphic Arts in the J-J~r~•ard College Library~ and Secretary of the \Villian1 Ilaycs Fogg Art J\luseum

ARTHUR SnERBO, A~sfatant Professor of Englishi University of lIJinois

CARL H.. \ ~r oonn. n,-G, A ~so cia tc Prof cssor of Eng Us hi Uni l ... en;j ty of Vlisconsin

EARLE E+ CoLEJ\·IA?-i, Catalogllcl\ Long,vood Library, Kennett Square, Pc.nnsy]-r v.an1a

CAJ{L F .. STRAUcH1 Professor of English, Lehigh University

EDGAR F~ SHA~No.:-,,i 1 ]R., Assjstant Professor of English.i Harvard University

\V. H~ BoNDi Curator of i\·1anuscrjpcs in the Houghton Library,. Harvard Uni-YCfSlty

DAVID C. \V £ n F.R~ S cnior A ~is tan t in the Harvard College Library