William Hone - An Annotated Bibliography
Bibliography:
Ancient Mysteries Described, Especially the English Miracle Plays, founded on Apocryphal New Testament Story, Extant among the Unpublished Manuscripts in the British Museum; including notices of Ecclisiastical Shows, the Festivals of Fools and Asses--the English Boy-Bishop, the Descent into Hell--the Lord Mayor's Show, the Guildhall Giants--Christmas Carols, &c. By William Hone. With Engravings on Copper and Wood. "Is it possible the spells of Apocrypha should juggle men into such strange Mysteries?"--Shakespeare. London: Printed for William Hone, 45, Ludgate Hill. 1823. [300 pages; Printed by J. M'Creery]
Excerpts from and summaries of medieval mystery plays that Hone had discovered in the British Library; many founded on stories from the Apocrypha, thus tending to justify Hone's 1820 publication of the Apocryphal New Testament.
Another Article for the Quarterly Review. By William Hone, Author of Aspersions Answered &c. "How long will a man lie i'the earth ere he rot?"--Shakespeare. London: Printed for William Hone, 45, Ludgate Hill, 1824. Sixpence. [32 pages; 3 eds.; 6d.]
With Aspersions Answered, this brief prose polemic makes up Hone's response to scathing criticism he had received in the Quarterly Review for publishing the Apocryphal New Testament.
Another Ministerial Defeat! The Trial of the Dog, for Biting the Noble Lord; with the Whole of the Evidence at Length. Taken in Short-Hand. By the Author of "The Official Account of the Noble Lord's Bite." London: Printed by and for W. Hone, 67, Old Bailey, Three Doors from Ludgate-Hill, 1817. [8 pages; 2d.].
A mock trial of Castlereagh's dog, Castlereagh being the "Noble Lord" in the title; see also Official Account of the Noble Lord's Bite!
The Apocryphal New Testament, Being all the Gospels, Epistles and Other Pieces not Extant, Attributed in the First Four Centuries to Jesus Christ, His Apostles, and their Companions and not Included in the New Testament by its Compilers. Translated from the Original Tongues, and now First Collected into One Volume. London: Printed for William Hone, Ludgate Hill, 1820. 6s.
A highly controversial publication. Some felt that Hone was challenging the canon of the established church by publishing the Apocrypha to a large audience; Hone himself claimed that the Apocrypha were chiefly of antiquarian interest.
Aspersions Answered, an Explanatory Statement, Addressed to the Public at Large, and to Every Reader of the Quarterly Review in Particular. By William Hone. "Truth will ultimately prevail, even though he who uttered it should be destroyed."--Dr. Vicesimus Knox. London: Printed for William Hone. 45, Ludgate Hill. 1824. One Shilling. [68 pages; at least 6 eds.]
The Quarterly Review's vicious review of Hone's Apocryphal New Testament prompted this polemical defense; it was motivated as well by Hone's desire to clear the name of his brother Joseph, a solicitor who was having professional troubles on account of his association with William. See also Another Article for the Quarterly Review.
Authentic Account of the Royal Marriage: Consisting of Original Memoirs of Prince Leopold and Princess Charlotte; New and Faithful Particulars Respecting Their Attachment and Nuptials; a Great Variety of Genuine Anecdotes of His Serene Highness Hitherto Unknown; Complete Circumstantial Details of the Whole of the Marriage Ceremonial, and Full Descriptions of the Splendid Dresses, Equipages, &c. With an Appendix, Containing the Acts of Naturalizing Prince Leopold, Setting Forth his Titles, Settling his Precedence, and Providing and Establishment, with other Interesting Documents, &c. London: Printed for W. Hone, 55, Fleet-street, 1816. [48 pages; 1s. 6d.]
Many liberals and radicals revered Princess Charlotte; she embodied the hope that sometime in the not-too-distant future, England might have a benign and compassionate monarch. As this and the following works attest, the reform-minded Hone produced several works celebrating Charlotte and then bemoaning her death in 1816.
Authentic Memoirs of the Life of the Late Lamented Princess Charlotte; with Clear Statements Showing the Succession to the Crown, and the Probability of the Wife of Jerome Buonaparte becoming Queen, and Her Son, Jerome Napoleon, being Prince of Wales, and Afterwards King of these Realms. London: Printed by and for William Hone, 67, Old Bailey, Three Doors from Ludgate Hill, 1817. [16 pages; 6 eds.; 6d.]
Authentic Particulars of the Death of the Princess Charlotte and Her Infant. London: Printed by and for William Hone, 67, Old Bailey, Three Doors from Ludgate Hill, 1817. [16 pages; 10 eds.; 6d.]
"Autobiographical." [Chapter 2, pp. 22-63, of Hackwood's biography; see Secondary Source Bibliography.]
Hackwood's is the only published version of Hone's fragmentary autobiography, the drafts of which can be found in the British Library (Add. MS 40121). Written as an exemplary "sinner saved" narrative, scholars would be wise to read the autobiography with a particularly skeptical eye.
Bank Restriction Barometer; or, Scale of Effects of the Bank Note System, and Payments in Gold. [See Bank Restriction Note, below.]
Bank Restriction Note; Specimen of a Bank Note--not to be Imitated. Submitted to the Consideration of the Bank Directors and the inspection of the Public. Published by William Hone, Ludgate Hill, [1819]. Price (with the Bank Restriction Barometer) One Shilling.
Broadside engraving by Cruikshank imitates design of standard bank note, though the design here is made up of persons jailed and hanged, presumably for passing forged notes. The work--Cruikshank once called it "the most important design [he] ever made"--was an extremely effective piece of anti-capital punishment propaganda.
Bentham, Jeremy. See On the Liberty of the Press.
The Bullet Te Deum; with the Canticle of the Stone. Imprimatur. F. Rabelais. London: Printed for one of the Candidates for the Office of Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, and Sold by William Hone, 55, Fleet Street, and 67, Old Bailey, three Doors from Ludgate Hill. 1817. Price Two-pence. [Printed by J. D. Dewick, Barbican.]
A liturgical parody using religious cadences to describe a stone thrown at the Prince Regent in late January, 1817. Though it sold simultaneously with Hone's other liturgical parodies, the Bullet was not singled out for a blasphemy prosecution.
Buonaparte-phobia, or Cursing Made Easy to the Meanest Capacity:--A Dialogue between the Editor of "The Times,"--Doctor Slop, My Uncle Toby, & My Father. London: Printed for W. Hone, 55, Fleet Street, [single sheet imitating a newspaper, with portrait of Napoleon, 1815].
Parody--printed to look like a single news sheet and based on Sterne's Tristram Shandy--satirizes the intemperate language of John Stoddart, lead-writer for The Times in 1815. Stoddart became popularly known as "Dr. Slop" as a consequence of the pamphlet.
Buonapartephobia. The Origin of Dr. Slop's Name. "I have conferred on him a glorious Immortality!" * * * "With his name the mothers still their babes!"--K. Henry VI. [portrait of Napoleon.] "David's Portrait of Napoleon, as He Now Appears." London: Printed by and for William Hone, 45, Ludgate Hill. 1820. One Shilling. [At least 10 eds.]
Octavo reprint of 1815 edition (above), with new introduction; Napoleon portrait also from 1815. Hone probably republished the work because Stoddart had recently formed a conservative propaganda organization called the "Constitutional Association." The full text of the 1820 reprint is available here. See also A Slap at Slop.
Burdett, Sir Francis. See A Correct Report . . . .
Byron. See Don Juan, Canto the Third!; Lord Byron's Corsair; and Poems on His Domestic Circumstances.
A Catalogue of Ancient and Modern Books, including many Curious and Scarce Articles, together with a Large Collection of Old Tracts, Particularly Trials; Also some Engraved British Portraits, and Prints for Illustration with a few Paintings in Oil, which are now on sale, (for ready money only) at the Prices Affixed to each Article, by William Hone, Bookseller, 45, Ludgate Hill, London. [1820]. [1s.; Printed by J. M'Creery]
A fairly conventional bookseller's catalogue, though, as the title suggests, there is an extensive collection of Trials.
Catalogue of Books, Books of Prints, &c., collected for a history of parody, by Mr. William Hone, containing an extensive and remarkable assemblage of extraordinary parodies with articles of a very singular nature. Legal, political, ecclesiastical, and dramatic facetiae . . . Every article signed with Mr. Hone's autograph, and many containing his MS. notes and observations: Including all the books and papers used on the trials, each identified by his written statements; also his collection of ancient and modern prints . . . together with unpublished copper-plates and seventy-eight wood blocks, engraved from Mr. George Cruikshank's drawings. Which will be sold by auction, by Mr. Southgate, at his rooms . . . on Thursday 22, and Friday 23, of February, 1827. London: 1827. [37 pages.]
As a consequence of his 1826 bankruptcy, Hone was forced to sell his substantial personal library.
Circumstantial Evidence. Report of the Trial of Elizabeth Fenning, Charged with Administering Poison with Intent to Murder; Whereupon She was Found Guilty before Sir J. Silvester, the Recorder at the Old Bailey, April 11, 1815, and Suffered Death: Including all the Evidence Omitted in the Sessions Paper Report. By Mr. Job Sibly. A New Edition, with Notes and Illustrations; and Some Account of the Sufferer and her Parents. London: Printed for William Hone, Ludgate Hill, 1819. [60 pages. 2s. 6d.]
Contains material from The Important Results . . . of 1815; its reissue in 1819 probably suggests that Hone was concerned with miscarriages of justice more generally.
A Circumstantial Report of the Extraordinary Evidence and Proceedings Before the Coroner's Inquest, on the Body of Edward Vyse, Who, on Tuesday Evening, March 7, 1815, Was Shot Dead from the Parlour Windows of the House of the Hon. Frederick Robinson, M. P. in Old Burlington Street, specially Reported, and Revised from Minutes Taken by the Inquest, with the Surgeon's Report, and Other Documents. By William Hone, One of the Evidence. [diagram of head with a top hat on either side, apparently a likeness of Vyse with the location of the bullet holes in both hat and head] London: Printed for William Hone, 55, Fleet Street, 1815. Price Two Shillings and Sixpence. [Printed by J. M'Creery]
Hone, by mere chance, had witnessed the Vyse shooting which happened during the Corn Law agitation. See also Hone's report of the Watson inquest.
A Correct Report of the Speech Delivered by Sir Francis Burdett, Bart. in the House of Commons, on . . . the 13th of March, 1809 on the conduct of H. R. H. the Duke of York. London: Bone and Hone, 1809.
Hone and John Bone operated a bookselling shop in the Strand from 1808 to 1810; at the same time, both were deeply involved in various radical and reformist causes, including a few publications such as this speech by the favorite radical politician, Sir Francis Burdett.
The Critical Review; or, Annals of Literature. London. Monthly, 1756-1817. Published by Souter (1814), G. and S. Robinson (1815-17).
Hone was the "literary editor" of the Critical from Jan. 1814 to June 1815.
Defoe, Daniel. See The Right Divine of Kings to Govern Wrong!
'Don John,' or Don Juan Unmasked; being a Key to the Mystery, Attending that Remarkable Publication: with a Descriptive Review of the Poem, and Extracts. London: Printed for William Hone, Ludgate Hill. 1819. [Printed by J. D. Dewick, 46 Barbican.]
A long review of the first two cantos of Byron's Don Juan; the work also attacks what Hone sees as both the pretension and the cowardice of John Murray, the "Don John" of the title, who published the poem without his own or Byron's name.
Don Juan, Canto the Third! There never was such times. Radical Reflections. London: William Hone, Ludgate Hill, 1819. [Epigraph (printed on separate sheet immediately after title page): "But in this kind, to come in braving arms, / Be his own carver, and cut out his way, / To find out right with wrong--it may not be."--Richard II.]
A spurious continuation of Byron's poem. In Hone's version, Juan and Haidee are married and have twelve children, and Juan becomes a London newspaperman. See also, Don John, above.
The Early Life and Conversion of William Hone [Sr.]. Edited by His Son. London: T. Ward. 1841.
A biographical account of Hone's father which the younger William Hone edited and published shortly before his own death.
The Emigrant's Guide to the United States of America; Containing the Best Advice and Directions Respecting the Voyage,--Preservation of Health,--Choice of Settlement, &:c. Also the Latest Information Concerning the Climate, Productions, Population, Manners, Prices of Land, Labour, and Provisions, and Other Subjects, Economical and Political, Affecting the Welfare of Persons About to Emigrate to the United States and British America. By Robert Holditch. London: Printed for William Hone, 45, Ludgate Hill, 1818. [124 pages; 4s. 6d.]
Hone produced only a handful of works in the year after his 1817 trials; publishing Holditch's book would seem to indicate that Hone was contemplating a new direction in his business.
The Every-Day Book; or, Everlasting Calendar of Popular Amusements. London: Published for William Hone by Hunt and Clarke, 1826, 1827.
Diverse antiquarian essays and "amusements" published in weekly numbers from Jan. 1825 through Dec. 1826, then collected and issued in two volumes with index in 1827. There were numerous editions throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, especially by the Tegg publishing house that purchased the rights to the work in the late 1820s. See also Hone's Table Book and Year Book.
Facetiae and Miscellanies. With one hundred and twenty engravings, drawn by George Cruikshank. London: Published for W. Hone by Hunt and Clarke, 1827. [Printed by J. M'Creery]
A one-volume, octavo edition of most of Hone's popular pamphlets. To produce the volume, Hone simply supplied the publishers with unsold copies of his pamphlets which they bound together with a new introduction.
First Part of a Catalogue of Books, for 1809, in Different Languages, and Various Classes of Literature, Including a considerable Number of Works on Trade and Commerce, Manufactures, Money, Coin, Revenue, The Affairs of the Poor, Assize and Price of Bread, Public Improvement, and other subjects of Political Economy. Now on Sale, for Ready Money Only by Bone and Hone, Booksellers and Publishers, No. 331, Opposite Somerset-House, Strand. Where Libraries and Parcels of Books are bought, or taken in Exchange, on the most equitable Terms. [1809.] Price One Shilling. [Macdonald and Son, Printers, 46, Cloth Fair, Smithfield]
Hone and John Bone (the former activist in the London Corresponding Society) took over J. S. Jordan's bookselling business in 1808. The enterprise lasted until late 1810, when both proprietors went bankrupt.
The First Trial of William Hone, on an Ex-Officio Information. At Guildhall, London, December 17, 1817, Before Mr. Justice Abbott and a Special Jury, for Publishing the Late John Wilkes's Catechism of a Ministerial Member. London: Printed by and for William Hone, 67, Old Bailey; and sold by all booksellers. 1817. [20 eds. 48 pages. 1s.]
Transcript of the trial; see also the Three Trials, where this publication is bound together with the other trials.
The Form of Prayer, with Thanksgiving to Almighty God, to be used daily by all Devout People throughout the Realm, for the Happy Deliverance of Her Majesty Queen Caroline from the late most Traitorous Conspiracy. [Engraving of figures of "Populius" and "Libertas" on either side of printing press emblem--caption: "Knowledge is Power."] London: Printed for William Hone, 45, Ludgate Hill; and sold by all Booksellers in the United Kingdom. 1820. Price Six-pence.
It was customary upon any great occasion in the monarchy for a "form of prayer" to be issued for services in the English Church. Hone parodies the practice here to celebrate the Queen's victory over the Prince Regent (now George IV).
A Full Report of the Proceedings of the Meeting, Convened by the Hampden Club, which Took Place at the Freemason's Tavern, Great Queen-Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, on Saturday, the 15th June, 1816, upon the Subject of Parliamentary Reform. London: Published by Wm. Hone, Fleet-Street, 1816. 52 pages.
The Hampden Clubs were radical organizations; many were active in the dissemination of radical and reformist literature. Hone's publication is a clear indication of his politics.
Full Report of the Third Spa-Fields Meeting; With the Previous Arrests. London: Printed for William Hone, 55 Fleet Street, 67 Old Bailey, [February 10] 1817.
The Spa-Fields uprising of December 2, 1816, was a watershed event in the history of Regency-period radicalism. It brought Hone into close contact with the Spenceans, and it also led to a government crackdown on radical activity in 1817. Hone published several accounts of the "meeting."
Great Gobble Gobble Gobble, and Twit Twittle Twit, or Law Versus Common Sense, Being a Twitting Report of Successive Attacks on a Tom Tit, His Stout Defences & Final Victory. A New Song, with Original Music by Lay Logic Esqre. Student in the Law of Libel. London: Published by William Hone. No. 67 Old Bailey, [1818]. [4 pages; 2s.]
Hone's poem accompanies George Cruikshank's engraving; they depict Hone as "Tom Tit" perched on a fence teasing a gigantic turkey (i.e. Ellenborough, the justice who presided over Hone's libel trials).
Hazlitt, William. See Political Essays.
Hone's Interesting History of the Memorable Blood Conspiracy, Carried on by S. MacDaniel, J. Berry, J. Egan, and J. Salmon, Thief-Takers, and Their Trials and Sentences, in 1756, for Procuring Two Boys to Commit a Robbery, in order to Get the Reward for their Conviction, and Obtaining and Innocent Lad to be Executed, Having Sworn Away the Lives of Seventy Poor Creatures, and Received £1,720 from the Treasury for their Blood-Money; Also the Reasons for which they were Suffered to Escape the Gallows, and Illustrative Legal and Critical Notes and Observations applicable to Present Circumstances. With a Portrait of Mac Daniel, after he was Pilloried. London: Printed for William Hone, 55, Fleet Street. 1816. One Shilling.
Probably written with the Home Office spy system in mind--spies, in Hone's view, were in the profitable "blood money" business of trapping innocent citizens in seditious or blasphemous activities. The pamphlet has a remarkable preface in which Hone makes the case for popular oversight of judicial and governmental institutions.
Hone's Reformists' Register and Weekly Commentary. 2 vols. weekly from 1 February 1817-25 October 1817. London: Printed by and for William Hone, at the Reformists' Register Office, 67, Old Bailey, Three Doors from Ludgate Hill. 1817. 2d. per number.
Hone's weekly contribution in the "twopenny trash" genre helped to fill a gap in radical news publications after Cobbett fled to America in March 1817. The first few numbers were written by Francis Place. The Reformists' Register provides a blow-by-blow account of Hone's treatment in the months leading up to his libel trials.
Hone's Riots in London: with most Important and Full Particulars, now first published: elucidating the events of Monday, December 2, 1816; including original memoirs and anecdotes of Preston, Dyall, the Watson Family, Thomas Spence--Spence plan complete--and a variety of circumstances, incidents, singular facts, and explanations, shewing the real occasion and true character of the tumults. London: Printed for W. Hone, 1816.
A journalistic account of the Spa-Fields uprising.
Hone's View of the Regent's Bomb, Now Uncovered, for the Gratification of the Public in St. James's Park, Majestically Mounted, on a Monstrous Nondescript, Supposed to Represent Legitimate Sovereignty. [London: William Hone, 1816.]
Broadside with engraving of a mortar (the "Regent's Bomb") on a stumpy pedestal, followed by prose description and baudy "commemorative" poem. The gag is based on the word "bomb" which sounds like "bum" in Hone's dialect--hence, the reference is to the Regent's ample posterior. Detailed description with excerpts.
The Housekeeper's Domestic Library; or, New Universal Family Instructor in Practical Economy. London: M. Jones, 1805. By Charles Millington; edited by William Hone.
1804 and 1805 were slim years in the book trade for the young William Hone. Apparently in order to earn a few shillings (and much to the amusement of his friend John Venning), Hone edited this household volume which was usually referred to as Millington's Cookery.
The Important Results of an Elaborate Investigation into the Mysterious Case of Elizabeth Fenning: being a Detail of Extraordinary Facts Discovered since her Execution, including, The Official Report of her Singular Trial, Now First Published, and Copious Notes thereon. Also, Numerous Authentic Documents; An Argument on her Case; A Memorial to H. R. H. the Prince Regent; & Strictures on a Late Pamphlet of the Prosecutor's Apothecary; with Thirty Letters, Written by the Unfortunate Girl while in Prison: an Appendix, and an Appropriate Dedication. "If imputation and strong circumstances, / Which lead directly to the door of truth, / Will give you satisfaction, you may have it."--SHAKESPEARE. London: Printed for William Hone, 55, Fleet Street, 1815. Price Six Shillings and Sixpence. [Printed by J. Moyes, Greville Street, London.]
After witnessing Fenning's execution, Hone became interested in the case. Fenning was (in Hone's view) a person who was the victim chiefly of a flawed legal system. See also Circumstantial Evidence and La Pie Voleuse.
In Parliament. Dropt Clauses out of the Bill, against the Queen. For Mr. Attorney General, to peruse and settle. With a refresher. W. Hone, Ludgate Hill, London, Solicitor for said Clauses. [1820.] [4 pages; 6d.]
Printed and folded to look like a letter to the Attorney General; later issued as regular octavo edition. In parallel columns, the text matches the charges against the Queen with equally damning charges against George IV.
The King's Statue, at Guildhall, or, French Colours and French Principles Put Down; a Serio-Comic Dialogue, Between Mr. Foresight, Citizen and Spectacle-Maker; and Mr. Contract, Citizen and Long-Bowstring-Maker. London: Printed for William Hone, 55, Fleet Street, [1815]. [Broadside; 2 eds.; 1s. 6d. tinted; 2s. fully colored.]
Hone, incidentally, bought his freedom of the City of London through the Spectacle-Makers' Company.
The Late John Wilkes's Catechism of a Ministerial Member; Taken from an Original Manuscript in Mr. Wilkes's Handwriting, never before printed, and adapted to the present Occasion. With Permission. London: Printed for one of the Candidates for the Office of Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, and Sold by William Hone, 55, Fleet Street, and 67, Old Bailey, three doors from Ludgate Hill. 1817. [8 pages; 2d.]
Together with the Political Litany and the Sinecurist's Creed, parodies for which Hone was charged with blasphemous and seditious libel in 1817. Marcus Wood (see Secondary Source Bibliography) contends that Hone really did, as the title claims, adapt this work from a Wilkes manuscript in his possession. Title page and full text of the Catechism.
Letters to the Lord Mayor, With an Appendix, containing an analysis and New Classification of the State of the Representation, and the House of Commons. By Major Cartwright. Published by Will. Hone, at the Reformist's Register Office, 67, Old Bailey, three doors from Ludgate Hill. [March- May, 1817]. [Printed by John McCreery; 103 cols.; 2d.]
Hone and the venerable reformer Major Cartwright were long- time acquaintances. This collection of letters sets forth Cartwright's criticism such practices as boroughmongering that make the Commons anything but representative of the English people.
The Life of William Cobbett, Author of the Political Register. Written by himself. London: Printed for W. Hone, 55, Fleet Street, and 67, Old Bailey, (Three Doors from Ludgate Hill.), 1816. [Printed by Macdonald and Son; 16 pages; 9 eds.; 4d.]
Abridged version of Cobbett's autobiographical Life and Adventures of Peter Porcupine.
Lord Byron's Corsair. Conrad, the Corsair; or, The Pirates' Isle. A Tale. By Lord Byron. Adapted as a Romance. London: Printed by and for William Hone, Reformists' Register Office, 67, Old Bailey, 1817. [16 pages; 4d.]
A prose rewriting of Byron's 1814 poem. Hone may have gotten the idea from an 1814 review of the poem in The Critical Review which he edited.
The Maid and the Magpie. See La Pie Voleuse
The Man in the Moon, &c. &c. &c. "If Caesar can hide the Sun with a blanket, or put the Moon in his pocket, we will pay him tribute for light."--Cymbeline. With Fifteen Cuts. [Cruikshank engraving--back view of Prince Regent attempting to snuff a printing-press sun with a blanket.] London: Printed by and for William Hone, 45, Ludgate Hill. 1820.
A parody of the address of the Prince Regent to Parliament, written in comic verse with several Cruikshank engravings. Facsimile image of title page.
The Meeting in Spa Fields: Hone's authentic and correct account, at length, of all proceedings on Monday, December 2d; with the resolutions and petition of Nov. 15, 1816. London: Printed for W. Hone, 1816.
A journalistic view of the Spa-Fields uprising.
The Midnight Intruder; or, Old Nick at C--lt-n H--se. A Poem. By W. R. H. Author of Gaul, King of Ragah, A tragic drama, in 3 parts; The Rats of Mousiana, &c. [Epigram verse from poem: "God prosper long our R-----t brave,-- / No pain or sorrow may he have, / From gout good angels free him. / In every pleasure may he revel, / And like St. Dunstan treat the D---l, / When next he comes to see him."] London: Printed for W. Hone, 55, Fleet Street. 1816. Price Eighteen Pence. [Printed by W. Thorogood].
A satirical ballad in the Peter Pindar mode mocking the Prince Regent.
Napoleon and the Spots in the Sun; or, The R----t's Waltz; and Who Waltzed with Him--and Where. A Poetical Flight with Notes Variorum, by Syntax Sidrophel, F. S. A. London: Printed for W. Hone, 55, Fleet Street. 1816. Eighteen Pence. [Printed by Hay and Turner].
A satirical ballad about the Prince Regent.
A New Form of Prayer. See The Political Litany.
"Non Mi Ricordo!" &c. &c. &c. "This will witness outwardly, as strongly as the conscience does within"--Cymbeline. [Engraving of a portly George IV positioned as witness against Queen Caroline standing at bar uttering "Non me ricordo," apparently to the question "Who are you?"] London: Printed by and for William Hone, Ludgate Hill. 1820. Sixpence.
Satirical attack on George IV and on the credibility of the Italian witnesses against Queen Caroline who, under questioning, repeatedly answered with "Non mi ricordo" (i.e. "I don't remember").
Official Account. Bartholomew Fair Insurrection; and the Pie-Bald Poney Plot! [sic] By the Author of The Noble Lord's Bite--The Trial of the Dog, &c. [Engraving of a rather silly-looking, polka-dotted rocking horse]. London: Printed by and for William Hone, Reformists' Register Office, 67, Old Bailey, 1817. [8 pages; 2d.]
Whimsical account of the expected but abortive uprising; may contain the germ idea for Political Showman as prominent political figures are portrayed as animals.
Official Account of the Noble Lord's Bite! and his Dangerous Condition, with Who Went to See Him, and What Was Said, Sung, and Done, on the Melancholy Occasion. Published for the Instruction and Edification of All Ranks and Conditions of Men. By the Author of Buonaparte-Phobia; or, Cursing Made Easy. London: Printed by and for W. Hone, 67, Old Bailey, Three Doors from Ludgate Hill. 1817. Price Four-Pence.
Satire in which Castlereagh lies in bed, having been bitten by his dog, while many governmental figures (and the publisher John Murray) come to visit him. Go to the full electronic text. See also Another Ministerial Defeat!
On the Liberty of the Press and Public Discussion. By Jeremy Bentham. London: Printed for William Hone, 45, Ludgate-Hill, 1821. [38 pages; 1s.]
Hone and Bentham were quite close during the early 1820s; Bentham's work on the free press was sparked in part by Hone's trials.
La Pie Voleuse. The Narrative of the Magpie; or The Maid of Palaiseau. Being the History of the Maid and the Magpie. Founded upon the Circumstance of an unfortunate female having been Unjustly Sentenced to Death, on Strong Presumptive Evidence. With a Preface, and Curious Anecdotes. The romantic Drama of the Maid and the Magpie has excited the deepest and most extraordinary Interest, and is received with Unanimous and Repeated Shouts of Applause. [Expert but simple Cruikshank engraving depicting a bird hanging in the gallows] London: Printed by J. Swan, 76, Fleet Street, for William Hone, 55, Fleet-Street, 1815. Price Sixpence.
A rather crude prose version of a drama that was playing to enthusiastic crowds in London. Hone's narrative is meant to call to mind the case of Elizabeth Fenning who was tried and executed on the power of circumstantial evidence.
Poems on his Domestic Circumstances. I. Fare Thee Well! II. A Sketch from Private Life. By Lord Byron. With the Star of the Legion of Honour, and Other Poems. London: Printed for W. Hone, 55, Fleet Street, 1816. [32 pages; 24(?) eds.; 1s.]
Hone likely pirated the first two poems listed in the title from The Champion newspaper, which in turn had pirated them from Murray's privately printed edition.
A Political Catechism, Dedicated, Without Permission, to His Most Serene Highness Omar, Bashaw, Dey, and Governor, of the Warlike City and Kingdom of Algiers; The Earl of Liverpool; Lord Castlereagh, and Co. By an Englishman. London: Printed for one of the Candidates for the Office of Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, and Sold by William Hone, 55, Fleet Street, and 67, Old Bailey, three Doors from Ludgate Hill, 1817. [8 pages; 2d.]
Not to be confused with The Late John Wilkes's Catechism for which Hone was prosecuted, this parodic catechism--not by Hone--circulated widely in the same channels with Hone's work.
Political Essays, with Sketches of Public Characters. By William Hazlitt. London: Printed for William Hone, 45, Ludgate Hill, 1819. [439 pages; 12s., 14s. in boards]
Hazlitt and Hone were quite close at this period; the collection was prepared and published at Hone's urging.
The Political House that Jack Built. "A straw thrown up to show which way the wind blows." With Thirteen Cuts. [Cruikshank engraving of scales with pen in one side clearly outweighing three documents called "Bank Restriction," "Bill of Indemnity," and "Ex-Officio" in the other. Wellington is dropping a sword onto the documents--it remains to be seen whether the combined force will outweigh the pen (i.e. whether military force will overpower the free press). Caption: "The Pen and the Sword."] London: Printed by and for William Hone, Ludgate Hill. 1819. [70+ eds.; 1 s.]
Probably Hone's most famous publication, it contains a satirical commentary on Peterloo, government spies and informers, corruption, royal foppery, etc. accompanied by Cruikshank's brilliant engravings. The work sold more than 100,000 copies.
The Political Litany, Diligently Revised; to be Said or Sung, Until the Appointed Change Come, Throughout The Dominion of England and Wales, and the Town of Berwick upon Tweed. By Special Command. London: Printed for one of the Candidates for the Office of Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, and Sold by William Hone, 55, Fleet Street, and 67, Old Bailey, three doors from Ludgate Hill. 1817. 2d.
Together with The Late John Wilkes's Catechism and The Sinecurist's Creed, liturgical parodies for which Hone was tried in 1817.
The Political Showman--At Home! Exhibiting his Cabinet of Curiosities and Creatures--All Alive! By the Author of the Political House that Jack Built. "I lighted on a certain place where was a Den."--Bunyan With Twenty-Four Cuts. [Engraving of a many-headed gargoylish creature, the heads caricatures of prominent government ministers.] "The putrid and mouldering carcase of exploded Legitimacy."--Mr. Lambton. London: Printed for William Hone, 45, Ludgate Hill, 1821. [32 pages; 27 eds.; 1s.]
Cruikshank caricatures of prominent government figures surrounded by text --quotations from Marvell, Cowper, Shakespeare, etc.--selected by Hone. The work had a large influence on the public stature of the persons represented.
Poor Humphrey's Calendar. Wherein are Given Mysterious Warnings, Plain Hints, True Tokens, Judicial Judgments, Prognostications, and Prophecies concerning the Signs of the Times; Especially Things to Come in 1829: Discreetly shadowed forth to the Understanding of Listeners to the Voice of the Stars. . . . London: Published by Matilda Hone, Printseller. 29, Russel-Court, Brydges-Street, Covent-Garden, and Sold by All Booksellers in the United Kingdom. [1829] [2 eds.; 1s., stitched.]
A bizarre almanac Hone produced apparently in order to forward his daughter Matilda's newly established print and bookselling shop. Matilda was Hone's third daughter, born 26 July 1805.
The Queen's Matrimonial Ladder, A National Toy with Fourteen Step Scenes; and Illustrations in Verse, with Eighteen other cuts. By the Author of "The Political House that Jack Built." "The question is not merely whether the Queen shall have her rights, but whether the rights of any individual in the kingdom shall be free from violation."--Her Majesty's Answer to the Norwich Address. [Cruikshank engraving of the Queen sitting atop a step ladder with the Prince Regent lying on his back on the ground, having broken a step and fallen.] "Here is a Gentleman, and a friend of mine!"--Measure for Measure. London: Printed by and for William Hone, Ludgate Hill. 1820. [22 pages; 44+ eds.; "This Pamphlet and the Toy together, ONE SHILLING."]
Hone/Cruikshank production depicts the stages in Queen Caroline's relationship with the Regent/George IV. Hone marketed the work along with a small paper ladder, the "toy," from which the work takes its form.
Reformists' Register. See Hone's Reformists' Register.
The Report at Large of the Coroner's Inquest on Jane Watson, Shot at Mr. Robinson's Address, &c., to the Inquest, at length. The Verdict,--Wilful Murder, against Mr. Robinson's Butler, the Corporal, and Two Soldiers. Specially Reported by William Hone, One of the Evidence; and Reporter of the Extraordinary Proceedings before the Coroner's Inquest, on the Body of Edward Vyse, also Killed by the Firing at Mr. Robinson's. London: Printed for William Hone, 55, Fleet-Street. 1815. [44 pages; 18d.; Printed by J. M'Creery]
During the Corn Law riots in early March, 1815, Hone happened to witness a shooting in front of Robinson's house; he published the subsequent inquests. See also the report of the Vyse inquest.
The Right Divine of Kings to Govern Wrong! Dedicated to the Holy Alliance by the Author of the Political House that Jack Built. [Engraving of gruesome-looking king figure being annointed with "discord" and "oil of steel" by a placeman and a churchman.] "The devil will not have me damn'd, lest the oil that is in me should set hell on fire."--Shakespeare. London: Printed for William Hone, 45, Ludgate Hill. 1821. [60 pages; 18d.]
Text is Hone's radical revision and abbreviation of Defoe's Jure Divino; contains also a prose introduction on Defoe, "divine right," etc.
The Right of the People to Universal Sufferage and Annual Parliaments, Clearly Demonstrated. By the late Duke of Richmond. The Arguments in this pamphlet are unanswerable. London: Printed for William Hone, 55, Fleet Street, and 67, Old Bailey, three doors from Ludgate Hill. 1817. [8 pages; 2d., or 11s. per hundred; Printed by Macdonald and Son.]
A reprint of Richmond's address advocating universal male suffrage; originally published in 1783, frequently republished by radicals in the 1790s and after.
Rolleston, Frances. See Some Account . . ..
The Rules and Regulations of an Institution Called Tranquillity; Commenced in the Metropolis as an Economical Bank, to Afford Persons of All Ages, Trades, and Descriptions, an Opportunity of Providing for Their Future Wants by the Payment of Small Sums, in a Way Calculated to Secure to each Contributor, or to His Widow and Children, the Benefit of His Own Economy: and Also, for Enabling Youth of Both Sexes, to Deposit Their small Savings to Accumulate until the Time of Their Respective Marriages to be then Returned to Them with Interest and Proportionate Premiums. &c. &c. &c. Office of the Institution, Albion Street, Black Friars Bridge. London: Printed for the Use of the Members, and May be had at the Office, Price threepence, or 2s. 6d. Per Dozen to Give Away. 1807. [16 pages; printed by Theodore Page.]
John Bone and Hone set up the Tranquillity project--a kind of annuity scheme aimed ultimately at abolishing the Poors Rates--in late 1806 or early 1807. It lasted only about one year.
The Second Trial of William Hone, on an Ex-Officio Information. At Guildhall, London, December 19, 1817, Before Lord Ellenborough and a Special Jury, for Publishing a Parody, With an Alleged Intent to Ridicule The Litany, and Libel the Prince Regent, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. London: Printed by and for William Hone, 67, Old Bailey, 1817. [45 pages; 15+ eds.; 1s.]
Transcript of the trial; see also the Three Trials of William Hone, where this publication is bound together with the other trials and the proceedings from the public meeting called to celebrate Hone's acquittals.
The Sinecurist's Creed, or Belief; as the Same Can or May be Sung or Said Throughout the Kingdom. By Authority. From Hone's Weekly Commentary, No. 2. London: Printed for one of the Candidates for the Office of Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, and Sold by William Hone, 55, Fleet Street, and 67, Old Bailey, three doors from Ludgate Hill. 1817. [2d.]
Together with The Late John Wilkes's Catechism and The Political Litany, parodies for which Hone was charged and tried in 1817.
Sixty Curious and Authentic Narratives and Anecdotes, repsecting Extraordinary Characters: Illustrative of the Tendency of Credulity and Fanaticism; Exemplifying the Imperfections of Circumstantial Evidence; and Recording Singular Instances of Voluntary Human Suffering. By John Cecil. A New Edition. London: Printed for Richard Beckley, 29, Mary-le-Bone Street, Piccadilly. 1822.
A popular antiquarian miscellany, edited and with a Preface by Hone.
A Slap at Slop and the Bridge-Street Gang. London: William Hone,45, Ludgate-Hill, 1821. [4 page news-sheet.]
Parodic newspaper--with many Cruikshank engravings, including a beautiful triptych portraying the fate of the press--satirizing the efforts of John Stoddart ("Dr. Slop") and the conservative Constitutional Association; later issued in abbreviated form as a standard octavo pamphlet. See also Buonapartephobia of 1820.
Some Account of the Conversion from Atheism to Christianity of the Late William Hone, Author of "The Political House that Jack Built," etc. and of "The Every-Day Book," "Table Book," and "Year Book." With further particulars of His Life and Extracts from His Correspondence. [by Frances Rolleston] Second Edition, Revised. London: Francis and John Rivington; Keswick: James Ivison. One Shilling.
Rolleston met Hone when they were neighbors in 1834; they remained cordial for the rest of Hone's life. The work is a very pious account of Hone's conversion to Christianity; Hone frequently referred to as a "brand snatched from the burning." Nonetheless, the work is an indispensible biographical resource.
Southey, Robert. See Wat Tyler.
The Spirit of Despotism. Dedicated to Lord Castlereagh. [By Vicesimus Knox.] Edited by the Author of "The Political House that Jack Built." London: Printed for William Hone, 45, Ludgate Hill, 1821. [96 pages; 9 eds.; 1s. 6d.]
Abbreviation of Knox's work from the 1790s, published here over objections from Knox's son; Hone later issued a 340-page edition with Knox's name on the title page.
The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England: including the Rural and Domestic Recreations. May Games, Mummeries, Shows, Processions, Pageants, and Pompous Spectacles, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. By Joseph Strutt. Illustrated by One hundred and forty engravings, in which are represented most of the Popular Diversions; selected from Ancient Paintings. A New Edition, with a Copious Index, by William Hone. London: Printed for William Reeves Bridge-Court, Westminster. 1830.
Hone edited this work, originally published in the first decade of the 1800s, and added an extensive index.
The Table Book; by William Hone. With Seventy Engravings. London: Published for William Hone, by Hunt and Clarke, York-Street, Covent-Garden. 1827.
The follow-up to Hone's Every-Day Book--a compendium of English folk culture materials. See also the Year Book.
The Third Trial of William Hone, on an Ex-Officio Information. At Guildhall, London, December 20, 1817, Before Lord Ellenborough and a Special Jury, for Publishing a Parody, on the Athanasian Creed, Entitled "The Sinecurist's Creed." London: Printed by and for William Hone, 67, Old Bailey, 1818. [44 pages; 16+ eds.; 1s.]
Transcript of the trial; see also The Three Trials of William Hone, where this publication is bound together with the other two trials.
The Three Trials of William Hone, for Publishing Three Parodies; viz. The Late John Wilkes's Catechism, The Political Litany, and The Sinecurist's Creed; on Three Ex-Officio Informations, at Guildhall, London, during Three Successive Days, December 18, 19, & 20, 1817; before Three Special Juries, and Mr. Justice Abbott, on the First Day, and Lord Chief Justice Ellenborough, on the Last Two Days. Thrice the brindled cat hath mew'd!--Shakespeare. London: Printed by & for William Hone, 67, Old Bailey, and Sold by All Booksellers. 1818. Price--with the Proceedings of the Public Meeting--Four Shillings in Boards.
A collected edition of all three trials (with separate pagination); also contains the Trial by Jury. Hone's Three Trials proved to be very popular reading; they were reissued several times in the nineteenth century.
Trial by Jury and Liberty of the Press. The Proceedings at the Public Meeting, December 29, 1817, At the City of London Tavern, For the Purpose of Enabling William Hone to Surmount the Difficulties in which he has been Placed by being Selected by the Ministers of the Crown as the Object of their Persecution. Mr. Waithman in the Chair. With the Resolutions and the Speeches of Mr. Waithman, Sir Francis Burdett, Mr. Alderman Thorp, Mr. Perry, Mr. P. Walker, Lord Cochrane, Mr. Charles Pearson, Mr. Sturch, and Mr. Wooler. Also, the Subscriptions Received from Time to Time, With all the Names, Mottoes, &c. London: Printed by and for William Hone, 67, Old Bailey, 1818. [approx. 28 pages; 7 eds.; 6d.]
Mainly transcripts of speeches celebrating Hone's victories; subscriber list includes many prominent radicals and a few government figures as well. Often bound with Hone's Three Trials.
View of the Regent's Bomb, see Hone's View . . .
Wat Tyler; a Dramatic Poem. [By Robert Southey] A New Edition. With a Preface Suitable to Recent Circumstances. London: Printed for W. Hone, 67, Old Bailey, and 55, Fleet Street, 1817. [94 pages; 2s. 6d.]
An embarrassing piracy of the now-Tory Southey's early radical work.
The Yacht for THE R----T'S B-M-. A Poetical Epistle, from Brother John in England, to Brother Pat in Ireland. [London: William Hone, 1816.] [6d.]
Half-sheet broadside with (in British Library copy) yellow colored engraving of ship at the top; poem in three columns in the center; prose description of yacht in two columns at bottom. Detailed description with excerpts.
The Year Book of Daily Recreation and Information; concerning Remarkable Men and Manners, Times and Seasons. Solemnities and Merry-Makings, Antiquities and Novelties, on the Plan of the Every-Day Book and Table Book, or Everlasting Calendar of Popular Amusements, Sports, Pastimes, Ceremonies, Customs, and Events, Incident to Each of the Three Hundred and Sixty-Five Days, in Past and Present Times; Forming a Complete History of the Year; and a Perpetual Key to the Almanack. By William Hone. London: William Tegg and Co., 85, Queen Street. Cheapside.
In the early 1830s an impoverished Hone produced this antiquarian work on the model of his Every-Day Book and Table Book. According to Hone's daughter, the Tegg publishing house earned thousands of pounds from their purchase of Hone's copyrights.