Difference between revisions of "Chronology and History of the World"

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(Summary paragraphs by Daniel Biegler.)
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===by John Blair===
 
===by John Blair===
 
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<blockquote>''The Chronology and History of the World'' was published in London in early summer 1754. The book quickly became the standard work of its kind and was frequently reprinted throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. To the 1768 edition Blair added a set of fourteen maps and ‘A dissertation on the rise and progress of geography’, which were also published separately in the same year, and in 1784 an expanded version of his dissertation was published in a smaller duodecimo format. A French translation of ''The Chronology and History of the World'' appeared in Paris in 1797, and there were several American editions in the 1820s. From 1856 onwards it was known as Blair's Chronological Tables, Revised and Enlarged, although the editor of the 1856 London edition, J. Willoughby Rosse, declared in the preface that ‘all that remains of Blair is the general outline’ (xii); a London edition was published with that title as late as 1904.
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John Blair (d. 1782) was a Church of England clergyman and chronologist best know for his numerous printings, re-printings, and editions of ''The Chronology and History of the World''.<ref> Richard B. Sher, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/2567 "Blair, John (d. 1782)"] in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed June 6, 2013.</ref>
  
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The success of Blair's book led to the author's election as a fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1755; in the same year he published a paper, ‘Agitation of the waters near Reading’, in the society's Transactions. In 1761 he was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. In September 1757, through the influence at Leicester House of John Home and Gilbert Elliot, among others, Blair was appointed chaplain to Augusta, princess-dowager of Wales (to whom he later dedicated some editions of his Chronology and History), and mathematics tutor to her son Prince Edward, later duke of York, whom he accompanied on a continental tour in 1763–4. He subsequently served as Edward's secretary, and owed to him his appointment as prebendary of Westminster in March 1761, which was later followed by presentation of the dean and chapter of Westminster to the vicarage of Hinckley, to the vicarage of St Bride's, London, in 1771, and to the rectory of St John the Evangelist, Westminster, in 1776. He was also rector of Horton in Buckinghamshire.<ref> Richard B. Sher, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/2567 "Blair, John (d. 1782)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 6 June 2013.</ref> </blockquote>
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<blockquote>In the early 1750s Blair issued ''Proposals for Printing by Subscription, the General Chronology and History of the World'', a work he is said to have adapted from chronological tables originally devised by his Edinburgh classmate and distant relation, Hugh Blair. ''The Chronology and History of the World'' was published in London in early summer 1754. The book quickly became the standard work of its kind and was frequently reprinted throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.<ref>Ibid.</ref></blockquote>
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Updated editions continued to be published subsequent to Blair’s death through 1904, although "‘all that remain[ed] of Blair" in later editions was the "general outline."<ref>Ibid.</ref>  
  
 
==Bibliographic Information==
 
==Bibliographic Information==
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==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
 
==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
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Listed in the [[Jefferson Inventory]] of [[Wythe's Library]] as ''Blair's Chronology. fol.'' and kept by [[Thomas Jefferson]]. Later sold by Jefferson to the Library of Congress.<ref>Sowerby 134</ref> Both the [https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433 Brown Bibliography]<ref> Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file.</ref> and [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe George Wythe's Library]<ref>''LibraryThing'', s. v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on April 28, 2013, http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe </ref> on LibraryThing list this title as the one intended by Jefferson's entry.  
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Listed in the [[Jefferson Inventory]] of [[Wythe's Library]] as ''Blair's Chronology. fol.'' and kept by [[Thomas Jefferson]]. Later sold by Jefferson to the Library of Congress.<ref><ref>E. Millicent Sowerby, ''Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson'', 2nd ed. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983), ?:??? [no.134?].</ref> Both the [https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433 Brown Bibliography]<ref> Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file.</ref> and [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe George Wythe's Library]<ref>''LibraryThing'', s. v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on April 28, 2013, http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe </ref> on LibraryThing list this title as the one intended by Jefferson's entry.  
  
 
==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
 
==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==

Revision as of 12:00, 19 October 2013

by John Blair

John Blair (d. 1782) was a Church of England clergyman and chronologist best know for his numerous printings, re-printings, and editions of The Chronology and History of the World.[1]

In the early 1750s Blair issued Proposals for Printing by Subscription, the General Chronology and History of the World, a work he is said to have adapted from chronological tables originally devised by his Edinburgh classmate and distant relation, Hugh Blair. The Chronology and History of the World was published in London in early summer 1754. The book quickly became the standard work of its kind and was frequently reprinted throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.[2]

Updated editions continued to be published subsequent to Blair’s death through 1904, although "‘all that remain[ed] of Blair" in later editions was the "general outline."[3]

Bibliographic Information

Author: John Blair, (d. 1782)

Title: The Chronology and History of the World: From the Creation to the Year of Christ 1753, Illustrated in LVI tables; of Which IV are Introductory & Include the Centurys Prior to the Ist Olympiad, and Each of the Remaining LII Contain in One Expanded View, 50 Years or Half a Century.

Publication Info: London: [s.n.], 1754.

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

Listed in the Jefferson Inventory of Wythe's Library as Blair's Chronology. fol. and kept by Thomas Jefferson. Later sold by Jefferson to the Library of Congress.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag Both the Brown Bibliography[4] and George Wythe's Library[5] on LibraryThing list this title as the one intended by Jefferson's entry.

Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy

Rebound in quarter brown leather and red bookcloth with new endpapers.

View this book in William & Mary's online catalog.

External Links

Google Books

References

  1. ↑ Richard B. Sher, "Blair, John (d. 1782)" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed June 6, 2013.
  2. ↑ Ibid.
  3. ↑ Ibid.
  4. ↑ Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file.
  5. ↑ LibraryThing, s. v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on April 28, 2013, http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe
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