Robert Chambers (publisher, born 1802)
Robert Chambers | |
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The High School, Edinburgh | |
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Children | son: Robert Chambers Jr. (1832–1888) |
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Robert Chambers
Chambers was an early phrenologist in the Edinburgh Phrenological Society. He was also the anonymous author of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, which was so controversial that his authorship was not acknowledged until after his death.[3]
Early life
Chambers was born in Peebles in the Scottish Borders 10 July 1802 to Jean Gibson (c. 1781–1843) and James Chambers, a cotton manufacturer. He was their second son of six children.[1] The town had changed little in centuries. The town had old and new parts, each consisting of little more than a single street. Peebles was mainly inhabited by weavers and labourers living in thatched cottages.[4] His father, James Chambers, made his living as a cotton manufacturer. Their slate-roofed house was built by James Chambers' father as a wedding gift for his son, and the ground floor served as the family workshop.[5]
A small circulating library in the town, run by Alexander Elder, introduced Robert to books and developed his literary interests when he was young. Occasionally his father would buy books for the family library, and one day Robert found a complete set of the fourth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica hidden away in a chest in the attic. He eagerly read this for many years. Near the end of his life, Chambers remembered feeling "a profound thankfulness that such a convenient collection of human knowledge existed, and that here it was spread out like a well-plenished table before me."[6] Robert's older brother, William, later recalled that for Robert, "the acquisition of knowledge was with him the highest of earthly enjoyments."[7]
Robert was sent to local schools and showed unusual literary taste and ability,[2] though he found his schooling to be uninspiring. His education was typical for the day. The country school, directed by James Gray, taught the boys reading, writing, and, for an additional charge, arithmetic. In grammar school it was the classics—Latin and Ancient Greek, with some English composition. Boys bullied one another and the teacher administered corporal punishment in the classroom for unruly behaviour. Although uninspired by the school, Robert made up for this at the bookseller.
Both Robert and William were born with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. Their parents attempted to correct this abnormality through operations, and while William's was successful Robert was left partially lame. So while other boys roughed it outside, Robert was content to stay indoors and study his books.[8]
Robert surpassed his elder brother in his education, which he continued for several years beyond William's. Robert had been destined for the ministry, but at the age of fifteen he dropped this intended career. The arrival of the power loom suddenly threatened James Chambers' cotton business, forcing him to close it down and become a draper. During this time, James began to socialise with a number of French prisoners of war on parole who were stationed in Peebles. Unfortunately, James Chambers lent these exiles a large amount of credit, and when they were abruptly transferred away he was forced to declare bankruptcy. The family moved to Edinburgh in 1813. Robert continued his education at the High School,[9] and William became a bookseller's apprentice. In 1818 Robert, at sixteen years old, began his own business as a bookstall-keeper on Leith Walk. At first, his entire stock consisted of some old books belonging to his father, amounting to thirteen feet of shelf space and worth no more than a few pounds. By the end of the first year the value of his stock went up to twelve pounds, and modest success came gradually.[10]
Early works
While Robert built up a business, his brother William expanded his own by purchasing a home-made printing press and publishing pamphlets as well as creating his own type. Soon afterwards, Robert and William decided to join forces—with Robert writing and William printing. Their first joint venture was a magazine series called The Kaleidoscope, or Edinburgh Literary Amusement, sold for threepence. This was issued every two weeks between 6 October 1821 and 12 January 1822.[11] It was followed by Illustrations of the Author of Waverley (1822), which offered sketches of individuals believed to have been the inspirations for some of the characters in Walter Scott's works of fiction.[12] The last book to be printed on William's old press was Traditions of Edinburgh (1824), derived from Robert's enthusiastic interest in the history and antiquities of Edinburgh. He followed this with Walks in Edinburgh (1825), Popular Rhymes of Scotland (1826) and Picture of Scotland (1826). This was followed by five volumes of Scottish history to form part of Constable's Miscellany. In 1832 he compiled Gazetteer of Scotland.[13]
These books gained him the approval and personal friendship of Walter Scott. After Scott's death, Robert paid tribute to him by writing a Life of Sir Walter Scott (1832). Robert also wrote a History of the Rebellions in Scotland from 1638 to 1745 (5 vols, 1828) and numerous other works on Scotland and Scottish traditions.
Marriage
On 7 December 1829 Robert married Anne Kirkwood, the only child of Jane and John Kirkwood.
W. & R. Chambers
At the beginning of 1832 Robert's brother
At the same time Robert ran a bookshop and circulating library from 48 Hanover Street with his younger brother, James Chambers. Meanwhile, William ran his shop from 47 Broughton Street. Robert at this time was living close to the shop, at 27 Elder Street[17] (demolished in the 1960s to improve access to Edinburgh Bus Station).
Among the other numerous works of which Robert was in whole or in part the author, the Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen[18] (4 vols., Glasgow, 1832–1835), the Cyclopædia of English Literature (1844), the Life and Works of Robert Burns (4 vols., 1851), Ancient Sea Margins (1848), the Domestic Annals of Scotland (1859–1861) and the Book of Days (2 vols., 1862–1864) were the most important.[19]
Chambers's Encyclopaedia (1859–1868), with Dr Andrew Findlater as editor, was carried out under the superintendence of the brothers. The Cyclopædia of English Literature contains a series of admirably selected extracts from the best authors of every period, "set in a biographical and critical history of the literature itself." For the Life of Burns he made diligent and laborious original investigations, gathering many hitherto unrecorded facts from the poet's sister, Mrs Begg, to whose benefit the whole profits of the work were generously devoted.[20][3]
Vestiges
During the 1830s, Robert Chambers took a particularly keen interest in the then rapidly expanding field of geology, and he was elected a fellow of the Geological Society of London in 1844. Prior to this, he was elected a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1840, which connected him through correspondence to numerous scientific men. William later recalls that "His mind had become occupied with speculative theories which brought him into communication with Sir Charles Bell, George Combe, his brother Dr. Andrew Combe, Dr. Neil Arnott, Professor Edward Forbes, Dr. Samuel Brown, and other thinkers on physiology and mental philosophy."[21] In 1848 Chambers published his first geological book on Ancient Sea Margins. Later, he toured Scandinavia and Canada for the purpose of geological exploration. The results of his travels were published in Tracings of the North of Europe (1851) and Tracings in Iceland and the Faroe Islands (1856).[3]
However, his most popular book, influenced by his geological studies and interest in speculative theories, was a work to which he never openly attached his name. In 1844, Chambers completed the dictation of his
The reason for Chambers' anonymity was clear enough as soon as one began reading the text. The book was arguing for a developmental view of the cosmos combining stellar evolution with progressive transmutation of species in the same spirit as the late Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. Lamarck had been discredited among intellectuals by this time, and evolutionary (or development) theories were exceedingly unpopular, except among political radicals, and materialists. Chambers, however, tried to explicitly distance his own theory from that of Lamarck's by denying Lamarck's evolutionary mechanism any plausibility. "Now it is possible that wants and the exercise of faculties have entered in some manner into the production of the phenomena which we have been considering; but certainly not in the way suggested by Lamarck, whose whole notion is obviously so inadequate to account for the rise of the organic kingdoms, that we only can place it with pity among the follies of the wise."[23] Additionally, his work was far more sweeping in scope than any of his predecessors. "The book, as far as I am aware," he writes in his concluding chapter, "is the first attempt to connect the natural sciences in a history of creation."[24]
Robert Chambers was aware of the storm that would probably be raised by his treatment of the subject, and he did not wish to get his and his brother's publishing firm involved in any kind of scandal. The arrangements for publication, therefore, were made through a friend named Alexander Ireland, of Manchester.[3] To further prevent the possibility of any unwanted revelations, Chambers only disclosed his authorship to four people: his wife, his brother William, Ireland, and George Combe's nephew, Robert Cox.[25] All correspondence to and from Chambers passed through Ireland's hands first, and all letters and manuscripts were dutifully transcribed in Mrs. Chambers' hand to prevent the possibility of anyone recognizing Robert's handwriting.
By implying that God might not actively sustain the natural and social hierarchies, the book threatened the social order and could provide ammunition to
Other activities
Chambers gave a talk on ancient beaches at the
Near the close of autumn 1848, Chambers allowed himself to be brought forward as a candidate for the administrative position of Lord Provost of Edinburgh. The timing was especially poor, with others seeking any means possible to try and discredit his character. His adversaries found the perfect opportunity to do so in the swirling allegations that he was the author of the much reviled Vestiges. William Chambers, in his Memoir of Robert Chambers, still sworn to secrecy despite his brother's recent passing, makes his only mention of Vestiges in connection with this affair: "(Robert) might have been well assured that a rumor to the effect that he was the author of 'Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation' would be used to his disadvantage, and that anything he might say on the subject would be unavailing."[26] Robert withdrew his candidacy in disgust.
In 1851 Chambers was one of a group of writers who joined the publisher
Robert Chambers was a golfer and was elected an honorary member of the Musselburgh Golf Club (now Royal Musselburgh Golf Club) on 14 September 1833.[27] His son, who followed him into the publishing business, was a renowned player and became Champion Golfer in 1858 as a member of Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society.[28]
Book of Days
The Book of Days was Chambers's last major publication, and perhaps his most elaborate. It was a miscellany of popular antiquities in connection with the calendar, and it is supposed that his excessive labour in connexion with this book hastened his death. Two years before, the University of St Andrews had conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws, and he was elected a member of the Athenaeum Club in London.[3]
Death
Robert Chambers died on 17 March 1871 in
A year after Robert's death, his brother William published a biography under the title Memoir of Robert Chambers; With Autobiographical Reminiscences of William Chambers. However, the book did not reveal Robert's authorship of the Vestiges. Milton Millhauser, in his 1959 book Just Before Darwin, wrote the following about William's memoir: "The fraternal Memoir of Robert Chambers might have been an excellent biography had not the author been concerned to keep the Vestiges secret and one or two others. Despite the author's intelligence and sympathy, such omissions inevitably produced a distorted picture" (p. 191, note 7). The book contains some reminiscences by Robert of his early life, with the rest of the narration filled in by William.
Alexander Ireland, in 1884, issued a 12th edition of Vestiges with Robert Chambers finally listed as the author and a preface giving an account of its authorship. Ireland felt that there was no longer any reason for concealing the author's name.[3]
Works
Principal writings
- The Kaleidoscope, or Edinburgh Literary Amusement. October 1821 – January 1822.
- Illustrations of the Author of Waverley. 1822.
- Traditions of Edinburgh. W. & C. Tait. 1825.
- Notices of the Most Remarkable Fires with have Occurred in Edinburgh. 1825.
- Walks in Edinburgh. 1825.
- Popular Rhymes of Scotland. 1826.
- Picture of Scotland. 1827.
- History of the Rebellion of 1745. 1828.
- Scottish Ballads. 1829.
- Scottish Songs. 1829.
- The Picture of Stirling. 1830.
- Life of King James I. 1830.
- Gazetteer of Scotland (with William Chambers). 1832.
- Scottish Jests and Anecdotes. 1832.
- Life of Sir Walter Scott. 1832.
- History of Scotland. 1832.
- Reekiana, or Minor Antiquities of Edinburgh. 1833.
- Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen. 1833–1835.
- Life and Works of Burns (based on Currie's edition). 1834.
- Jacobite Memoirs of the Rebellion. 1834.
- History of the English Language and Literature. 1835.
- Poems. 1835.
- The Land of Burns (with Professor John Wilson). 1840.
- Cyclopaedia of English Literature (with Robert Carruthers). 1840.
- History of the Rebellion of 1745. 1840.
- Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation (published anonymously). 1844.
- Twelve Romantic Scottish Ballads. 1844.
- Explanations: A Sequal (published anonymously). 1845.
- Select Writings of Robert Chambers, in seven volumes. 1847.
- Ancient Sea Margins. 1848.
- Tracings of the North of Europe. 1851.
- Life and Works of Robert Burns. 1851.
- Tracings of Iceland and the Faroe Islands. 1856.
- Domestic Annals of Scotland. 1859–1861.
- Sketch of the History of Edinburgh Theatre Royal. 1859.
- Memoirs of a Banking House, by Sir William Forbes (ed. R. Chambers). 1859.
- Edinburgh Papers. 1861.
- Songs of Scotland Prior to Burns. 1862.
- Preface to Daniel Dunglas Home: Incidents in My Life, first series. 1863.
- The Book of Days. 1864.
- Life of Smollett. 1867.
- Traditions of Edinburgh. 1868.
- The Threiplands of Fingask. 1880.
Unpublished manuscripts
- Life and Preachings of Jesus Christ, from the Evangelists.
- A Catechism for the Young.
- Private Prayers and Meditations.
- Antiquarian Papers.
- Several papers on spiritualism.
Editor and contributor
- Chambers's Edinburgh Journal. 1832 ff.
- Chambers's Information for the People. 1833–1835.
- Chambers's Educational Course. 1835 ff.
References
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/5079. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ a b Chisholm 1911, p. 820.
- ^ a b c d e f Chisholm 1911, p. 821.
- ^ Memoir (1872), p. 9.
- ^ Millhauser (1959), p. 11.
- ^ Memoir (1872), p. 56.
- ^ Memoir (1872), p. 114.
- ^ Millhauser (1959), p. 14.
- ^ Waterston & Macmillan Shearer (2006), p. 174.
- ^ Millhauser (1959), p. 18.
- ^ Memoir (1872), pp. 146, 154.
- ^ Memoir (1872), p. 156.
- ^ Grant's Old and New Edinburgh vol.2 p.225
- ^ Memoir (1872), p. 175.
- ^ Memoir (1872), p. 307.
- ^ Chisholm 1911.
- ^ "Edinburgh Post Office annual directory, 1832–1833". National Library of Scotland. p. 35. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
- ^ "Biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
- ^ Chisholm 1911, pp. 820–821.
- ^ Collison & Preece (2015).
- ^ Memoir (1872), p. 254.
- ^ Crawford, Robert (2011) The Beginning and the End of the World: St Andrews, Scandal and the Birth of Photography Edinburgh: Birlinn
- ^ Vestiges (1844), p. 231.
- ^ Vestiges (1844), p. 388.
- ^ Ireland, "Introduction to the Twelfth Edition," in Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation (1884), pp. vii–viii. Two years after the initial publication, in 1846, a Dr. Neil Arnott was also added to this inner circle.
- ^ Memoir (1872), p. 256.
- ^ Golf: A Royal and Ancient Game, by Robert Clark 1875 and 1893 Reprinted by EP Publishing 1975, page 92
- ^ "Prestwick 1851". Scottish Golf History. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
- ^ Millhauser (1959), p. 189.
Bibliography
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chambers, Robert". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 820–821. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Collison, Robert L.; Preece, Warren E. (2015). Robert Chambers. Encyclopædia Britannica.
- Millhauser, Milton (1959). Just Before Darwin: Robert Chambers and Vestiges. Wesleyan University.
- Waterston, Charles D; Macmillan Shearer, A (2006). Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002: Biographical Index (Volume I) (PDF). Edinburgh: Royal Society of Edinburgh. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-902198-84-5. Archived from the original(PDF) on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- Layman, C.H., ed. (1990). Man of Letters: The Early Life and love letters of Robert Chambers. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-0193-6.
- Macfarlane, Iris; Macfarlane, Alan. The Life of Robert Chambers (rough draft ed.). Retrieved 27 March 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-226-10073-9. (Contains facsimiles of the 1st editions of Vestiges and Explanations)
- Secord, James A. (2001). Victorian Sensation: The Extraordinary Publication, Reception, and Secret Authorship of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-74410-0. Archived from the originalon 16 May 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2007.
Works by Chambers
- Chambers, Robert (1844). Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. London: John Churchill.
- Chambers, Robert (1845). Explanations: A Sequel to "Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation". London: John Churchill.
- Chambers, Robert (1853). Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, 10th ed. London: John Churchill.
- Chambers, Robert (1860). Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, 11th ed. London: John Churchill.
- Chambers, William (1872). Memoir of Robert Chambers; With Autobiographical Reminisces of William Chambers. New York City: Scribner, Armstrong & Co.
- Chambers, Robert (1884). Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, 12th ed. with a preface by Alexander Ireland. Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers.
External links
- Works by Robert Chambers at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Robert Chambers at Internet Archive
- Works by Robert Chambers at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Works by Robert Chambers at Google Books (scanned books original editions illustrated)
- Robert Chambers, Poems (1835), and Popular Rhymes, Fireside Stories, & Amusements of Scotland (1842), complete texts.
- "Archival material relating to Robert Chambers". UK National Archives.