The Spectator
Image of a spine for The Spectator, note its intricate detail
A rather unassuming looking book concealling beautiful and extravagant artwork inside.
It is strange how a chat on a phone call can lead to an acquisition at the archive. On a call to Dickie, one of our volunteers, he was telling me about a television programme he had watched the night before and he asked me did I know when The Spectator started. To be honest I had no idea so Dickie informed me that it was 1711 and wouldn’t it be fabulous to have something in the archive this old. Given that our oldest item at the moment is 1806 I had to agree with him.
The Spectator, Volume II – 1753 – Printed for J. and R. Tonson and S. Draper – issues 170 to 251
Following the call I couldn’t resist the temptation to learn some more about The Spectator, discover whether there were copies available to buy, and consider whether indeed we could afford any.
Wikipedia as always turned up trumps (well worth the annual donation to keep it going) and I was surprised to discover the convoluted history of the newspaper.
Its first incarnation was a daily issue founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele and ran from 1st March 1711 to 6th December 1712 (555 issues). These issues were collected together in seven volumes.
Joseph Addison resurrected The Spectator in 1714 (without the involvement of Richard Steele) and it was published three times a week. This incarnation ran from 18th June 1714 (issue 556) to 20th December 1714 (issue 635)
The Spectator as we know it today was started in July 1828 and issued as a weekly publication. It is now the longest running weekly magazine in the world.
My trawl of the internet found no original copies available to purchase. However, I did discover that during the eighteenth century (and onwards) the various volumes were re-printed and published.
I have tracked down one copy of each volume (minus Volume II) to add to the archive, with details as below:
Volume I – 1764 – Printed for J. and R. Tonson – issues 1 to 80
Volume II (of 4 volumes – not the original Volume II) – undated but looks 20th century – Everyman’s Library – issues 170 to 321
Volume III – 1753 – Printed for J. and R. Tonson and S. Draper – issues 170 to 251
Volume IV – undated (same volume plate as 1792 Volume VI) – Printed for J. and R. Tonson and S. Draper – issues 252 to 321
Volume V – 1753 – Printed for J. and R. Tonson and S. Draper – issues 322 to 394
Volume VI – 1792 (handwritten in cover) - Printed for J. and R. Tonson and S. Draper – issues 395 to 473
Volume VII – 1747 – Printed for J. and R. Tonson – issues 474 to 555
Volume VI – 1792 (handwritten in cover) – Printed for J. and R. Tonson and S. Draper – issues 556 to 635.
Although I failed to take us back to 1711 we can at least say that our oldest item in the archive is now from 1747.
This wonderful publication can be viewed at our next open evening on Monday 14th February 2022. Alternatively, if you would like to view this and any other of our treatures from our collections please do drop me a line and I will arrange for you to visit at a time more convenient for you.
Thank you for joining me this month. Please do let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
