A CRITICAL STUDY OF THE ’CHAMPION’

270 Pages·014.388 MB·English

by  SPEER, JOHN F

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Date____________ May 22_______________19 S3
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Speer, John F._____________ ____________________________<C
Author Birth Date
A C ritical study of the Champion___________
Title of Dissertation
English Language and Literature Ph.D. June, 1951
Department or School Degree Convocation
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THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
A CRITICAL STUDY OF THE CHAMPION
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO
THE FACULTY OF THE DIVISION OF THE HUMANITIES
IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND LITERATURE
BY
JOHN FORBES SPEER
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
JUNE, 1951
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Chapter
I. A HISTORY OF THE CHAMPION.......................................................... 1
I I . THE VINEGAR FAMILY........................................................................... 52
I I I . THE DREAM VISION................................................................................ 79
IV. THE PROFESSIONS................................................................................ 106
V. COLLEY CIBBER..................................................................................... 144
VI. POLITICS................................................................................................... 178
VII. CONCLUSION.............................................................................................. 223
APPENDIX
Summaries of Individual Issues of the Champion .................... 237
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................ 262
i i
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CHAPTER I
A HISTORY OF THE CHAMPION
As a part of its issue of November 3 to November 10, 1739,
the General evening post carried an announcement that on
Thursday the 15th. In st, -will be published,
(to be continued every Morning on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sat­
urday ,)
The Champion: or B ritish Mercury.
By the celebrated Capt. Hercules Vinegar
of Hockley in the Hole.
Containing Essays on various Subjects, and the fresh est
Advices both Foreign and Domestick.
Quod optanti Divum promittere nemo
Auderet Volvenda dies en a ttu lit. Virg.
Printed f o r T . Cooper at the Globe in Paternoster-
row.
This was the fir s t mention of the Champion, a periodical whose
history and contents are the subject of th is d issertation . De­
sp ite the announcement in the General evening post, there is no
p ositive proof that the Champion actually began publication on
the stated day, for there seem to be no extant copies of the ear­
lie s t issu es. This date, however, would seem to be supported by
the reprinting (in 1741) of the issu es from November 15, 1739, to
June 19, 1740. The introductory nature of the fir s t of these re­
printed papers suggests that it was also the fir s t paper in the
original series.
If we can be a ll but certain of the date of the fir s t
issue of the Champion, we are in a realm of greater d ifficu lty in
determining the date of the fin a l issu e. Again we are faced with
1
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2
an absence of original sheets and the uncertainty which resu lts
from second-hand in fo rm a tio n .A lm o st our only source of in fo r­
mation about the Champion a t this time is the occasional leading
a rtic le reprinted in the Gentleman1 s magazine, v/e can, however,
fix the time of the Champion* s demise rath er accurately from in ­
formation garnered from th is source, for in the issue for April
1743, i t announced: ,TThe T itle of th is Paper is a l t e r ’d and now
runs thus: The B ritish Champion; or the Im partial A dvertiser.
And tho’ the Printer is the same, it appears to have new Authors.
The leading a rticle which accompanies th is announcement bears
There is considerable div ersity of opinion about th is
term inal date: George Marr (The periodical essay ists of the eight­
eenth century Chew York, 19241, p. 109) says April 19, 1740; Nathan
Drake (Essays, biographical. c r i t ic a l , and h is to r ic a l, illu s tr a ­
tiv e of the Rambler, Adventurer, & Idler [London, "T3093, I, 85)
points to June 19, 1740; the London Times’ Tercentenary handlist
of English & Welsh newspapers, magazines & reviews, p, 40, con­
servatively takes the date of what i t assumed to be the la s t ex­
tan t issue, August 31, 1742; ’Walter Graham (English lite ra ry p eri­
odicals [New York: Thomas Nelson, 19303, p. 116) says September 15,
1743; and R. S. Crane and F. B. Kaye (A census of B ritish newspa­
pers and p erio d icals, 1620-lBQQ [Chapel H ill, 19271, p. 23,) points
only to the year, 1743. On the b asis of the B rltish champion re­
p rin ts in the Gentleman’s magazine, Graham also conjectured th at
the Champion ran u n til at le a s t April 3, 1744. Notes and Q ueries,
CLXIII (1932), 150. 'Wilbur L. Cross (The history oT~“Henry Yielding
[New Haven: Yale U niversity Press, 19183 I, 260) says ’’several
years” a fte r 1741.
^For some reason, the London magazine, Tnhich like the
Gentleman ’ s reprinted from other periodicals, seems never to have
taken m aterial from the Champion.
^Gentleman’s magazine, XIII (1743), 191. Not only were
the authors changed but almost a ll resemblance to the old Champion
was dropped: chief among these changes was the new paper’s lack of
concern with p o litic a l m atters, long the chief source of in te rest
in the old Champion. This change of policy is probably responsible
fo r the insertion of the word ’’Im partial” in the su b -title . Nor
does i t continue to use the ’’family device” of the e a rlie r paper.
Further, none of the booksellers who backed the old Champion seems
to have been connected with th is new venture; the B ritish champion
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3
(its e lf an indication th at it was thought of as a new paper rath er
than a continuation) the number 3 and is dated April 7; and since,
like its predecessor, the B ritish champion appeared thrice a week,
the date of the f ir s t issue of the new periodical would be Satur­
day, April 2, 1743.^ The la s t issue of the old Champion which is
extant in the sheets i s that of March 10, 1742/43 (no. 509). I t
seems clear, therefore, th at the old Champion suspended operations
sometime between March 10, 1742/43 and Thursday, March 31, 1743,
the la s t date at which i t could have appeared. There are no re­
p rin ts in the GentlemanTs magazine a fte r March 3, 1742/43; th is
absence of reprints at a time when the Champion was being used
with considerable regularity suggests—though only suggests—
that i t ceased publication rath er early in the month.
The f i r s t paper we now have in the original sheets is that
of December 29, 1739. I t is a single-page issue of the Champion;
o r , B ritish mercury, "printed for T. Cooper, at the Globe in
Pater-noster-row ; where Advertisements, and L etters to the Authour
are taken in ." On the t i t l e side of the page appears a leading
a rtic le , a le tte r signed "Publicus," and the beginning of a sec­
tion of foreign news. Turned over, the single sheet reveals the
was published by Henry Goreham, who was not connected with the old
Champion. See A. Aspinall, "Accounts of London newspapers in the
eighteenth century," English h isto ric a l review, LXIII (194&), 212.
^\John Edwin Wells ("The TChampion’ and some unclaimed
essays by Heniy Fielding," Snglische Studien, XLVI [19133, 365)
accepts th is date fo r the beginning oi the new periodical.
2Although the t i t l e c alls the periodical The champion,
the tex t consistently calls it the Champion. Throughout th is
study I have used th is la tte r form.
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conclusion of the foreign news, a section of home news, and a
section of advertisem ents. This order, however, is not invariable
the position of the news sections is frequently reversed.
With the next issue (January 1, 1739/40, although i t is
misdated January 29, 1739/40) there is a change of publisher; the
colophon now reads "printed for C. Corbet, at Addison*s Head,
over-against St. DunstanTs Church; where Advertisements, and Let­
te rs to the Authour are taken in ." This format and th is publisher
continued through the issue of A pril S, 1740.
On April 10, 1740, we find the colophon changed to read:
"London: Printed by J . Meres in the Old Baily near Ludgate, where
Advertisements are taken in ." The only other extant issue to bear
th is colophon is that of February 12, 1741/42. Thus, were these
lo st, we would be unable to connect Meres with the Champion e ith e r
as printer or bookseller. I t may, I think, be assumed th at Meres
was acting both as p rin ter and bookseller: the Champion*s colophon
usually gives only the bookseller, and where we find the p rin ter
given (always without giving the bookseller) i t seems safe to as­
sume that the p rin ter was also the se lle r.
The next issue (April 12, 1740) bears the colophon:
"London: Printed for J. Graham, under the Inner-Temple-Gate; oppo­
site Chancery Lane, in F le e ts tre e t; where Advertisements and Let­
ters to the Authour are taken in ." And not only was the se lle r
changed, but the p rin te r as w ell. None of the advertisements
which appeared in the Meres issues appear in the subsequent ones.
Further, there are significant changes in the printing: in the
place of Meres* p ic to ria l ornament surrounding the in itia l le tte r
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of each leading a rtic le , the la te r p rin ter, whom we may designate
as p rin ter B, uses ornament of stylised foliage; in the place of
MeresT ita lic "This Day is published" on the advertisement page,
p rin te r B uses a fancy Gothic type. These differences suggest
that a differen t p rin te r had taken over the Champion, a suggestion
which w ill be subsequently reinforced.
Graham and p rin te r B continued to produce the Champion
u n til Hay B, 1740, when the colophon was changed to read: "Printed
for J . Sumpter, in Apollo-Court. over against the Middle-Temple-
Gate, in F le e ts tre e t; where Advertisements and L etters to the
Authour are taken in ." But although the bookseller changed, the
p rin te r seems to have remained the same: the signs of p rin ter B
continue to appear regularly. But on May 24, 1740, the colophon
was again changed to read: "London: Printed for J. Shelley, at the
B ible, near the Ship Tavern, without Temple Bar. where Advertise­
ments and L etters to the Author are taken i n .” And with th is
change of bookseller, we find again the sig is of Meres’ printing
and a new series of advertisem ents.
On July B, 1740, the bookseller again changed. The colo­
phon for that date reads: "London: Printed for C. Chandler, at the
Bible in Ship-Yard, near the Ship Tavern; without Temple Bar; where
Advertisements and L etters to the Authoir are taken in ."^ U ntil
at le a st May 19, 1741, Chandler’s name continued to be carried in
•k)n August 9, 1740,the colophon was altered slig h tly by
the addition of the word "Bookbinder" a fte r Chandler’s name.
This Chandler should not be confused with the more famous Richard
Chandler, who was a partner in the firm of Ward and Chandler.
The coincidence of addresses suggests that there was some sort of
commercial relatio n sh ip between Chandler and Shelley.
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6
the Champion1 s colophon; during that time Meres continued to do
the printing. Between th is date and July 23, 1741, there are no
extant issues to give us information about the production of the
Champion. But on the la tte r date we find again the signs of
p rin ter B and the colophon: ’’London: Printed for J. Huggonson, in
Sword-and-Buckler-Court, over-against the Crown-Tavern on Ludgate
H ill; where Advertisements and L etters to the Authour are taken in .”
And on October 15, 1741 the id en tity of p rin te r B is revealed when
the colophon is changed to read: "London: Printed by J. Huggonson,
in Sword-and-Buckler-Court, over-against the Crown-Tavern on
Ludgate-H ill; where Advertisements and L etters to the Authcsur are
taken i n . ” I t continued to appear in th is form for so long (to
March 10, 1742/43) as we have issues extant.^ Probably Huggonson
2
continued to print the paper u n til i t suspended publication.
In the face of th is evidence it seems rather d iffic u lt to
know what to make of the statement by the unfriendly ”T. Johnson"
th at the p rin ter was "one Smith, a very obscure Typographer, who
remov’d from S p ittle-F ield s to (his proper Center of Gravity)
•3
Clare-Market. to p rin t The Champion."^ Because the Champion a r ti-
^-But see Cross, I , 26l: "On April 10, 1740, his periodical
appeared with the t i t l e ’The Champion; or Evening A dvertiser.’
Huggonson’s name as prin ter now disappeared; and an announcement
was made th a t hereafter the paper would be distributed by James
Graham. . . . "
^It should be noted that on March 16, 1741/42, the follow­
ing notice was added to the front page between the date and the
leading a rtic le : "Advertisements for this Paper are taken in , at
a moderate Price, only at Cowley’s Head without Temple-Bar. and
J. Huggonson’s on Ludgate-H ill."
•^Tryal of Colley Cibber (London, 1740], p. 2. This was
almost certainly the G. Smith who advertised in the Champion of
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7
cles reprinted in th is pamphlet did not appear u n til Hay 17, 1740,
and because p rin ter A seems to have printed a ll issues of the
Champion for the re st of 1740, we are hard pressed for a s a tis ­
factory explanation. Possibly, Smith took over Meres’ types when
(May 6, 1740) he at le a st temporarily ceased to p rin t and Huggonson
put out the paper
When we come to the reprinting of the early issues in 1741,
we have a somewhat more d iffic u lt problem. Our c iie f source of
information about the business a ffa irs of the Champion is the re­
cord of the booksellers who controlled the periodical, a record
which is , or was, in the private possession of Miss G. K. Godden.
Parts of th is record were printed in Miss Godlen’s Henry F ield in g,
a memoir, and a ll subsequent historians have based th e ir in fo r­
mation concerning the financial arrangements of these booksellers
2
on this book. Because of i t s central position in any discussion
of the reprinting of the Champion and F ielding's leaving of the
periodical, Miss Goduen’s reproduction of the minutes of the com­
pany deserves quotation at length:
In the same month [June, 17411 Fielding appears as a t­
tending a ’Meeting of the Fartners in the Champion,' held at
the Feathers Tavern, on June 29. The lis t of the partners
present at the Feathers is given as follows:
Present
Mr Fielding Mr Cogan
Mr Nourse Hr G illiver
Gctober 24, 1741, "The memoirs of the Royal Society, being a new
abridgement of the Philosophical Transactions. By Mr. Baddam.
Printed by G. Smith, in Stanhope S treet, Clare-Market, and sold by
T. Cooper, at the Globe in Pater-Noster Row.”
■*-See p. 5.
^London: Sampson Low, Marston and Co., 1910, r.r. 115-116.
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