Benjamin White (publisher): Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 13:15, 13 January 2013
Benjamin White | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1725 |
| Died | March 9, 1794 |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse | Ann Yaldeen |
| Relatives | brother of Gilbert White |
Benjamin White or Ben White (c. 1725 – March 9, 1794) was a successful Fleet Street publisher. He was the first publisher to specialise in books on Natural History including the The Natural History of Selborne which was written by his brother.
Leben
Benjamin White was the eldest son of John White (1688 - 1758), a barrister, and his wife Anne (born Holt). The White family lived at The Wakes the family home in Selborne which was to become important to the White family. Ben attended school at Bishop's Waltham and he went to London to join the publishing business. He joined the publishing house led by John Whiston and he was a partner by 1756 and he led the firm by 1765.[1]
Ben White became the richest member of his family but he is remembered for introducing his younger brother Gilbert White to the barrister Daines Barrington and the naturalist Thomas Pennant with whom he would create publishable correspondence with about the natural history of Selbourne.[1] The family connection was extended by Benjamin's brother John. John was chaplain to the garrison in Gibraltar and it is said that Gilbert's seventeen year encouragement of his brother John to document the natural history of the southern tip of Iberia led to Gilbert's decision to document Selbourne's natural history. John had sent many specimens back to England for Gilbert to study.[2] John was to prepare a book for publication when he returned to England but his brother Ben, and Gilbert who was also consulted, agreed to reject, Fauna Calpensis, what is now a lost book.[3]
The printing firm at the corner of Fleet Street and The Strand was known as Horace's Head. It was the first to specialise in books on natural history and his publishing house became a meeting place for naturalists[4] such as Thomas Pennant who had his books published by White.[1] He also books on Mollusc shells by Emanuel Mendez da Costa.[5]
Ben's son, also Benjamin, joined the firm and he was was involved in publishing Gilbert's much edited book of correspondence on natural history titled The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne. White died in Bentley, Hampshire having led a was a successful Fleet Street publisher. He never knew of the success of his brother Gilbert's book that started 30 years after his death.[4] Benjamin, John and Gilbert's White's home in Selborne, The Wakes is preserved as a museum today.[6]
References
- ^ a b c Paul F. S. Cornelius, ‘White, Benjamin (c.1725–1794)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2006 accessed 12 Jan 2013
- ^ Foster, Paul. "The Gibraltar collections: Gilbert White (1720–1793) and John White (1727–1780), and the naturalist and author Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (1723–1788)". 34: 30–46. doi:10.3366/anh.2007.34.1.30. ISSN 0260-9541.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Menez, Alex. "A History of Natural History in Gibraltar" (PDF). Book of Abstracts from Calpe Conference. Gibraltar Museum. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
- ^ a b Benjamin White (1725–1794), his older brother Gilbert, and notes on the hibernation of swallows, Paul F. S. Cornelius, Archives of Natural History. Volume 21, Page 231-236 DOI 10.3366/anh.1994.21.2.231, ISSN 0260-9541, Available Online June 1994.
- ^ Benjamin White, books in the Internet Archive
- ^ Gilbert White House, accessed January 2013