BIBLIOGRAPHY OF JOHN BROWN

New York: The Bibliographical Society of America, 1971. cloth. Brown, John. 8vo. cloth. xxxi, 210 pages. First edition. According to its Introduction, this bibliography describes all the first editions, including those published posthumously, of works written by John Brown (1715 - 1766). This is a man who can be studied in many ways. One can look at Brown as an 18th-century English author whose writings outsold comparable ones by Samuel Johnson; as a poet whose poems have been highly praised by critics ranging from William Warburton to R. D. Havens; and as an early "pre-Romantic" whose prose and poetry were instrumental in interesting the English in the Lake District. In politics, Brown can be viewed as a liberal Whig whose views on religion, female education, slavery, civil liberty and other topics make him a more representative figure of the times than many members of Johnson's circle, and as the author of some successful pieces of political rhetoric which were praised by many knowledgeable people, including Edmund Burke and Voltaire. In other areas, Brown could be studied as a man interested in the American colonies, perhaps as the earliest fundraiser for the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University; as a leading proponent of utilitarianism; as an influential writer on education; as a writer of oratorios; as a polemicist; as a dramatist, closely associated with David Garrick; or as a fascinating personality. Except for four short poems, all of the items were first published separately. With three exceptions - one item by Brown, two of Browniana - all separately published eighteenth-century printings of later editions and translations are also described. The order of works is chronological according to the first edition's publication date. For each work, the editions are listed as London editions, Dublin editions, English language editions published elsewhere (i.e. Belfast, Edinburgh, Boston, Philadelphia or New York) and translations. This work also contains indices of booksellers, publishers and printers.