Isaiah Thomas' Catalog, part 1

What were Americans reading in 1801?

May 15, 2024

Isaiah Thomas (1749-1831) was a Boston-born printer and publisher. He reported the first account of the battles of Lexington and Concord and read the Declaration of Independence aloud for the first time in Massachusetts. And founded the American Antiquarian Society, where his printing press is displayed above the reading room, which you can see below:

In addition to printing an extensive catalog of books, he wrote a History of Printing in America that was published in 1808.

I’m going to reproduce the contents of an 1801 catalog of books printed by Thomas in Worcester, Massachusetts and sold both locally and regionally. Many of them are freely available in the Internet Archive, although not necessarily in volumes printed by Thomas. The printer was able to reproduce many titles originally published in Britain or Europe because international copyright laws were not yet practical; so many of the titles are such reproductions. Thomas printed most in Octavo (8vo, 6" x 9") or Duodecimo (12mo, 5" x 7 3/8") formats. Rarer were Sextodecimal (16mo, 4" x 6 3/4") and Octodecimo (18mo, 4" x 6 1/2" ). The pricing seems to be wholesale.

I think these titles provide a very interesting view into what a commercial printer was producing for public consumption in 1801. I suspect that reading some of these books would enhance our understanding of the worldviews of early Americans in Worcester and throughout New England. Thomas didn’t italicize the titles of the books; I have reproduced exactly what the catalog listed, with hyperlinks where I was able to find an online copy. I’ll do a letter of the alphabet at a time — it’s a large catalog!

Abbe Barruel's History of the French Clergy and Revolution, 8vo. $2.00

Abbe Barruel's History of Jacobinism, 4 vols. 8vo. boards. $3.

Abbe Maury's Principles of Eloquence, 12mo. $0.87 1/2

Abbey De La Trap. 12mo. $0.87 1/2

Account of European Settlements in America, 8vo. 1st vol. $1.25

Adams's (President) Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States. 3 vols. 8vo. $5.00

Academy of Compliments. 12mo. $0.20

Adams's (Hannah) History of New England. 8vo. $2.12 1/2

Adams's Modern Voyages. 2 vols. 12mo. $1.75

Adams's Latin Grammar. 12mo. $0.75

Adams's Flowers of Modern Travels. 2 vols. 12mo. $1.75

Adams's Flowers of Ancient History. 2 vols. 12mo. $2.00

Adams's Flowers of Modern History. 2 vols. 12mo. $2.00

Addison's Works. 4 vols. 12mo. $4.00

Addison's Evidences of the Christian Religion. 12mo. $0.73

Address to Farmer's, 12mo sewed $0.37 1/2

Adventures of King Richard Coeur De Lion, with the death of Lord Faulkland, 3 vols. 12mo. $2.75

Adventures of Don Quixote. 8vo. with plates. $2.33 1/2

Adventures of Neoptolemus, son of Achilles 12mo $0.87 1/2

Adventures of Peregrine Pickle. 4 vols. 12mo. (call) $4.00

Adventurer. 4 vols. 12mo. $4.00

Advertisement for a Husband. 12mo. $0.72

Advice of a Lady of Quality to her Children, a valuable present to Young Ladies. 12mo. $1.00

Age of Louis XV. by Voltaire. 2 vols. 12mo. $1.87 1/2

Aikin's Letters to his Son, relative to Literature and the Conduct of Life. 8vo, $1.33 1/2

Aikin's Letters to his Son, &c. 12mo. $0.95

Aikinside's Pleasures of Imagination. 12mo. $0.62 1/2

Ainsworth's Latin Dictionary. 8vo. New Edition. $3.25

Alden's Spelling Book, 1st part. $0.12 1/2

Alden's Spelling Book, 2d part. $0.20

Alexander's History of Women, 2 vols. 8vo. $3.42

Alexander's (Caleb) Virgil. 8vo. $2.25

Alexander's (Caleb) Columbian Dictionary of the English Language, designed for the use of Schools and private Families, agreeably to the present polite mode of pronunciation, 12mo. $1.00

Alexander's (Caleb) Greek Grammar, 12mo. (Leather bound) $0.66 2/3

Alexander's (Caleb) Introduction to English, 12mo. $0.20

Alexander's (Caleb) Grammatical Elements. $0.12 1/2

Alexander's (Caleb) Young Gentlemen and Ladies' Instructor, for Schools. 12mo. $0.37 1/2

Alexander's (Caleb) Introduction to Latin. 12mo. $0.50

Alexander's (Caleb) English Grammar. #0.23

Alexander's Latin Grammar, 12mo. $0.37 1/2

Alexis, or the Cottage in the Woods, a very entertaining Novel. 12mo. $0.84

American Revolution, by Gordon, 3 vols. 8vo. %5.25

Alliene's Alarm to the unconverted. 12mo. $0.37 1/2

Allen's Hymns. 18mo. $0.92 1/2

Algerine Captive. 2 vols. 12mo. an entertaining work, by Royal Tyler, Esq. $1.33 1/2

Algerine Spy, in Pennsylvania, 12mo. $0.56 1/4

Almoran and Hamet, 18mo. $0.62 1/2

Alphonso and Dalinda. 12mo. $0.62 1/2

Ambrosio, or the Monk, a Romance. 2 vols. 12mo. $1.70

Amelia, a Novel by Fielding, 12mo. $1.00

American Bee. 12mo. $0.75

American Clerk's Magazine. 12mo. $1.00

American Farmer's Letters, 8vo. and 12mo. $2.00 and $0.83 1/2

American Museum, containing a large number of valuable original and other pieces, in prose and verse, in every branch of polite Literature, complete. $20.00

American Preceptor. 12mo. $0.37 1/2

American Revolution, &c. by Lendrum. 12mo. 2 vols. $1.87 1/2

American Preacher. 4 vols. 8vo. being a Collection of Sermons by eminent Ministers in the United States. $6.00

American Spectator; or Matrimonial Preceptor. 12mo. $0.95

American Songster. 12mo. $0.75

American Spelling Book. 12mo. $0.17

American Theater, a collection of Plays. 2 vols. 12mo. $2..25

American Young Man's Companion. a very valuable book for young Farmers and Mechanics. 12mo. $0.87 1/2

Amorous Novelist, 8vo. $0.50

Amusing Companion, or Entertaining Story Teller, 12mo. $0.84

Anacharsis the younger. Travels into Greece. 7 vols. 8vo. $15.00

Ancient Treatise on Agriculture and Gardening, printed in London, 1631. $1.00