KNIGHT, Charles

Half-Hours with the Best Authors

London Charles Knight n.d. 4 vols in 2. 312, 312, iv, 312, iv, 316 p. 22 cm. 4 b&w frontispieces, 2mildly foxed. Hardcover. Full leather, attractive gilt-tooled spine with raised bands, marbled fore-edge design matches endpapers, corners sl. bumped. Vol. 1: Armorial bookplate on front paste-down endpaper, owner's sig. on front endpaper, tear in p. 77, 80, hole in p. 233. Knight, Charles 1791-1873, author and publisher, son of Charles Knight, bookseller of Windsor. He was keen about popular instruction, and so early as 1814 had sketched out the plan of a weekly series, which should bring all kinds of knowledge, mixed with lighter matter, within the reach of the poorest. (although not a part of this series, Half-Hours with the Best Authors is in the spirit of the populist anthologies published by Knight over his career). He was also something of an inventor, and in 1838 took out a patent for ‘improvements in the process and in the apparatus used in the production of coloured impressions on paper, vellum, parchment, and pasteboard by surface printing.’ His proposal to collect the newspaper duty by means of a stamped wrapper is said to have given to Rowland Hill [q.v.] the first suggestion of the penny post. DNB.

• USD 250.00 > other currencies
• ordernr.: 001292

• bookseller: Attic Books (CANADA)