Printers Nᵒ.3: Thomas Warren (1700-1767), Lady Holte & Links to Samuel Johnson
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| The Birmingham Journal, 21 May 1733. Printed in Joseph Hill's Bookmakers of Old Birmingham (1907), the original in Birmingham Archive. |
Thomas Warren (1700-1767) was first noted as a 'bookseller' in 1727.*1* He moved to several properties in Birmingham's printing district around St. Martin's church.
A Peek Inside Warren's Bookshop
Samuel Johnson
In 1733 Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), whose uncle (Andrew Johnson) was a bookseller in Birmingham, visited the town and stayed with Warren, and wrote articles for The Birmingham Journal. At this time, Warren printed Voyage to Abyssinia which Johnson had translated into English, and a copy is held at Birmingham Archive. Residing at Warren's at the same time as Johnson was Edmund Hector (1708-1794), a surgeon in Birmingham who Johnson had been at school with. Johnson wrote to Hector in 1755 stating 'I was extremely pleased to find that you have not forgotten your old friend, who yet recollects the evenings which we have passed together at Warren's and the Swan'.*3* This was the Swan Inn, which survived in Birmingham's Hight Street till the 1960s.
Johnson remained in Birmingham till 1735 and met his later wife, Elizabeth Porter, in the town.
Previous printer: Nᵒ.2 Henry Butler.
Between 1729 and 1730 a local member of the gentry, Lady Holte of Aston Hall, bought books and other items at Warren's and her bills provide a sneaky peek into the contents of the shop. She bought two volumes of Gulliver's Travels; Hutchinson's 'On ye Passions'; spelling books, presumably for her children; 'Headley's method of Teaching'; the 'Beggars Opera', first performed in 1728; two volumes of 'Cyclopedia'; as well as many more publications. She had books bound and bought ink, and also paid for 'Reading' certain books, so presumably Warren offered a lending service. Warren also sold Holte other items, including a 'Pair of fine Pockett Globes' which he bought in from London. Books allowed the reader to explore the expanding eighteenth-century world, so the globes were an apt addition to the bookshop, and Warren sold books about globes and exploration too.*2*
Printing
Warren began printing books in the early 1730s. His first known printed works were A Practical Discourse on Reconciliation (1729) by John Reynolds with the imprint 'Printed for and Sold By T. Warren, Bookseller, near St. Martin’s Church, Birmingham', so probably printed in London, and Multum in Parvo, or Jubilee of Jubilees (1732) printed in London and by 'T. Warren, over-against the Swan-Tavern'. This area of High Street was where the printing trade was centralised in the eighteenth century. Warren also began producing The Birmingham Journal in 1732, the town's first newspaper. Only one copy of this publication is known to survive dated 21 May 1733 (see above).
Warren began printing books in the early 1730s. His first known printed works were A Practical Discourse on Reconciliation (1729) by John Reynolds with the imprint 'Printed for and Sold By T. Warren, Bookseller, near St. Martin’s Church, Birmingham', so probably printed in London, and Multum in Parvo, or Jubilee of Jubilees (1732) printed in London and by 'T. Warren, over-against the Swan-Tavern'. This area of High Street was where the printing trade was centralised in the eighteenth century. Warren also began producing The Birmingham Journal in 1732, the town's first newspaper. Only one copy of this publication is known to survive dated 21 May 1733 (see above).
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| Samuel Johnson (1775) by Joshua Reynolds. |
Samuel Johnson
In 1733 Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), whose uncle (Andrew Johnson) was a bookseller in Birmingham, visited the town and stayed with Warren, and wrote articles for The Birmingham Journal. At this time, Warren printed Voyage to Abyssinia which Johnson had translated into English, and a copy is held at Birmingham Archive. Residing at Warren's at the same time as Johnson was Edmund Hector (1708-1794), a surgeon in Birmingham who Johnson had been at school with. Johnson wrote to Hector in 1755 stating 'I was extremely pleased to find that you have not forgotten your old friend, who yet recollects the evenings which we have passed together at Warren's and the Swan'.*3* This was the Swan Inn, which survived in Birmingham's Hight Street till the 1960s.
Johnson remained in Birmingham till 1735 and met his later wife, Elizabeth Porter, in the town.
By 1755 Thomas Warren's son, another Thomas (1728-1814), had taken over the trade, and the son himself retired to Castle Bromwich in 1801.
~ FINIS ~
See books printed by Warren in the 1700s: here.
Previous printer: Nᵒ.2 Henry Butler.
Next printer: No. 4 Thomas Aris.
NOTES
*1* He subscribed to: Simon Patrick, A Commentary Upon the Historical Books of the Old Testament (London: Jo. Cant, 1727).
*2* Bill of Lady Holte from Thomas Warren, 1729-30, Birmingham Archive. Reference on request.
*3* Letter from Johnson to Hector, 15 April 1755, in: The Letters of Samuel Johnson: 1731-1772, ed. by Bruce Redford (Princeton Legacy Library, 2014), I, p. 104.
*1* He subscribed to: Simon Patrick, A Commentary Upon the Historical Books of the Old Testament (London: Jo. Cant, 1727).
*2* Bill of Lady Holte from Thomas Warren, 1729-30, Birmingham Archive. Reference on request.
*3* Letter from Johnson to Hector, 15 April 1755, in: The Letters of Samuel Johnson: 1731-1772, ed. by Bruce Redford (Princeton Legacy Library, 2014), I, p. 104.
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