Samuel Bagster the Elder
Samuel Bagster the elder (26 December 1772 – 28 March 1851) was the founder of the publishing firm of Bagster & Sons.
Early life
Samuel Bagster was born on 26 December 1772, the second son of George and Mary Bagster, of St. Pancras. He was educated at Northampton under the Rev. John Ryland, and, after serving an apprenticeship with William Otridge, commenced business as a general bookseller on 19 April 1794 in the Strand, where he remained until 1816.
Printing the Bible
The idea
A few years before he left, the rarity and consequent costliness of all polyglot bibles gave Samuel Bagster the idea of supplying a convenient and inexpensive edition. He first brought out a Hebrew Bible, which was followed by the Septuagint, both in foolscap octavo. The production of English bibles was a monopoly in the United Kingdom, confined in England to the king's printer and the two great universities, in Scotland to Sir D. H. Blair and John Bruce, and in Ireland to Mr. Grierson. It had been decided, however, that the patent did not apply to bibles printed with notes.
Bagster's polyglot bible
In 1816, Bagster brought out "The English version of the polyglot bible" (with a preface by T. Chevalier), in foolscap octavo size, containing a selection of over 60,000 parallel references, mainly selected and all verified by himself. The book was extremely successful. Every detail in its production was superintended by the publisher, who introduced a new style of binding in the best Turkey Morocco, with flexible tight backs, the sheets being sewed with thin thread or silk. He also used prepared sealskins, which, with their 'pin-head grain,’ were much admired.
Move and other printing
In 1816, Bagster moved to 15
Regulation reform
In consequence of the arbitrary regulations of the excise authorities, paper only of certain sizes could be had. It was partially owing to Bagster's exertions that the rules were modified. Two other forms of the English bible were issued, and, all of them harmonising page for page, began what is known as the 'Facsimile Series.' The publication of the first volume of the polyglot was followed in 1821 by an octoglot edition of the liturgy of the Church of England in a handsome quarto. The eight languages were English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, ancient Greek, modern Greek, and Latin.
William Greenfield
In 1822, Bagster made the acquaintance of the self-taught Orientalist,
Later printing
Many books were subsequently printed by Bagster. A quarto issued in 1841 is specially deserving of mention. It is 'The English Hexapla,’ giving six important versions of the New Testament in English (
The
Firm motto
The well-known motto of the firm, "πολλαὶ μὲν θνητοῖς γλῶτται, μία δ'ἀθανάτοισιν" ("The inhabitants of earth have many tongues, those of heaven have but one"), is said to have been due to the Rev. H. F. Cary. The Bagster family said the Latin version, "multæ terricolis linguæ, cœlestibus una", was composed by William Greenfield. The two versions appear on Greenfield's tomb; according to Henry Richard Tedder in the Dictionary of National Biography, "it is very probable that they were both by him".[2]
Personal life
Bagster married Eunice Birch on 19 December 1797; she survived him 26 years, dying on the eve of her 99th birthday. He died at his residence in Old Windsor on 28 March 1851, aged 78, and is commemorated with a large ledger slab memorial at Abney Park Cemetery. Eunice is interred with Samuel and their eldest son Samuel Bagster the Younger (1800–1835) who printed many of the firm's publications. Due to the younger Samuel's early death, his brother Jonathan (1813–1872) succeeded the elder Samuel as senior member of the firm.
References
- ^ McClintock, J. and Strong, J. (1870), Methodist New Connection (Wesleyan), Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
- ^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1885). "Bagster, Samuel (1772–1851)". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 2. London: Smith, Elder & Co.