Vanity Publishing

[Simon Wood]

Hi All,

Tumblety's 1866 paranoid ramblings "A Few Passages in the Life of . . ." was printed in Cincinnati, an early example of vanity publishing.

How many copies were produced or who constituted its intended audience is unknown, but twenty years later in April 1886 an advertisement appeared in the "Books Wanted" columns of "The Publishers' Weekly", placed by—

5860

The ad ran thus—

5859
5861

Robert Clarke & Co list the wanted title as "Free Passages in the Life of . . . ," so I'm wondering if Tumblety produced a subsequent 1866 edition.

Regards,

Simon

[Chris G.]

Hi All,

Tumblety's 1866 paranoid ramblings "A Few Passages in the Life of . . ." was printed in Cincinnati, an early example of vanity publishing.

How many copies were produced or who constituted its intended audience is unknown, but twenty years later in April 1886 an advertisement appeared in the "Books Wanted" columns of "The Publishers' Weekly", placed by—

5860

The ad ran thus—

5859
5861

Robert Clarke & Co list the wanted title as "Free Passages in the Life of . . . ," so I'm wondering if Tumblety produced a subsequent 1866 edition.

Regards,

Simon


Or it's an early example of a typo? :)

Chris

[Simon Wood]

Hi Chris,

Thanks. That was truly insightful.

Regards,

Simon