The NORTH BRITON continued by several hands, Vol. I. Part I. [Numbers I - XLVI] bound with The NORTH BRITON continued by several hands, Vol. I. Part II. [Numbers XLVII - C]

The NORTH BRITON continued by several hands, Vol. I. Part I. [Numbers I - XLVI]

Printed for W. Bingley, London, 1769

Number 1, June 5, 1762 to number 46, November 12, 1763, [plus] Index, [and] An Appendix to the First Forty-Six numbers of the North Briton ("A Full and Distinct Account of the Persecution carried on against John Wilkes Esq. With a Faithful Collection of the Gentleman's Tracts from the Year 1762 to the Year 1769."). The Appendix is prefaced by a 2-page statement from W. Bingley dated August 29, 1769, "Kings' Bench Prison", in which he sets out his reasons for reprinting (in folio format) the original 46 numbers of the North Briton and the Appendix. There are a few hand-written corrections in ink of a date in the appendix – probably contemporaneous to printing.

[2, facsimile title-page], pages numbered 1-163 [page numbers 21-24 not used], [4, index], vi, cxii

ESTC T177671

Bound with

The NORTH BRITON continued by several hands, Vol. I. Part II. [Numbers XLVII - C]

Printed for W. Bingley, London, 1769

Number 47, May 10, 1768 to number 100, April 10 1769, [plus] Index.

[2, title-page, with a note "to the bookbinder" on the verso], pages numbered 279-614 [pages 417-418 bound in inverted], [2, index].

ESTC P1906 [partial]

The volumes are complete despite the jump in the use of Arabic numeral page numbers.

Folio (33.5 x 20.5 cms.)

Recent quarter leather binding with light brown cloth covered boards and new end-papers. Gilt tooling and lettering to spine. Printed on good quality paper of uneven sizes, with wide margins. Occasional browning and marks to a very few pages as well as worm tracks, not touching the text, to the bottom margins of a small number of pages.

The North Briton was a radical newspaper published in 18th century London, serving also as the pseudonym of the newspaper's author, John Wilkes. It was begun in response to The Briton, a pro-government paper sponsored by Prime Minister (1762-3) Lord Bute . The North Briton became renowned for publishing scandalous rumours and political insults. The North Briton sold around 2,000 copies a week — nearly ten times the circulation of The Briton.

Part I is a reprint, by William Bingley, of nos. 1-46 of John Wilkes's North Briton, with an index and 'An appendix to the first forty-six numbers of the North Briton', and other additional material.

Part II comprises a reprinting of numbers 47 – 100 which were continued by others including William Bingley, without the participation of John Wilkes.

John Wilkes (1725-97) radical politician and newspaper editor. First issued in weekly parts, the North Briton appeared anonymously, but was principally written by John Wilkes, with editorial assistance and contributions from Charles Churchill. The publication under Wilkes originally ended with no. 45 (April 7, 1763) following which an added no. 46 appeared on 12 Nov. 1763, printed by J. Williams but attributed to Wilkes.

Issue number 45 of The North Briton criticised King George III and his newly appointed ministry for making too generous a peace treaty with France. Specifically it criticized a royal speech (written by Bute) in which King George III praised the Treaty of Paris ending the Seven Years' War. Wilkes was arrested, charged with libel (accusing the King of lying), and imprisoned for a short time in the Tower of London. He fled to France (1763–68) in order to escape prosecution. Despite being arrested upon his return in 1768, and being jailed in the King's Bench Prison, Wilkes sought re-election to Parliament and was re-elected as a Member of Parliament for Middlesex and Alderman of London in 1769, despite opposition from the government.

The Appendix to the first 46 numbers of The North Briton was published after Wilkes returned from exile and gives a detailed account of his prosecution. His use of the Magna Carta in his defence, and detailed in the appendix, is widely seen as a masterstroke, and throughout this period (1760s) the rallying cry of 'Wilkes and liberty' was repeatedly heard on the streets of London.

William Bingley was also gaoled in Newgate and then in King's Bench Prison on account of issues number 50 and 51 of The North Briton. He was released after two years without trial.

This is a heavy / high value volume and, as consequence, the shipping cost (using a tracked and signed for service) will be higher than the average quoted in my store listings.

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