John Newbery

Lore & Background

Newbery was born in 1713 to Robert Newbery, a farmer, in Waltham St Lawrence, Berkshire, England, and an unknown mother. He educated himself and was apprenticed to printer William Ayers at age sixteen. The business was later sold to William Carnan. In 1737 Carnan died, leaving the business to his brother Charles Carnan and Newbery. Two years later, Newbery married William Carnan's widow, Jordan Mary (the source gives her name as Jordan Mary). He adopted her three children, John, Thomas and Anna-Maria. In 1740 their daughter Mary was born; John, born in 1741, died at age 11; son Francis was born in 1743. By 1740 Newbery had started his publishing business in Reading. His first two publications were an edition of Richard Allestree's The Whole Duty of Man and Miscellaneous Works Serious and Humerous In Verse and Prose. In 1743 he left Reading, putting his stepson John Carnan in charge, and established a shop in London at the sign of the Bible and Crown near Devereux Court. His first children's book, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, appeared 18 July 1744 (the source gives this date; the exact date is not definitively established, but the source states it). The book cost sixpence, with an extra two pence for a red and black ball or pincushion. Newbery believed play was a better enticement than physical discipline. In 1745 he moved to 65 St. Paul's Churchyard, naming the shop the Bible and Sun. He eventually sold the Reading business. About one-fifth of the five hundred books he produced were children's stories. He published his own books as well as those by authors like Samuel Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith. His most popular book was The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes, with 29 editions between 1765 and 1800. He also published a series by "Tom Telescope" that went through seven editions between 1761 and 1787. Newbery died 22 December 1767 at his house in St. Paul's Churchyard and is buried in Waltham Saint Lawrence. His prosperity also came from patent and sales of Dr Robert James's Fever Powder. He used his fortune to help writers including Johnson and Goldsmith. His son Francis, stepson Thomas Carnan, nephew Francis and his wife Elizabeth, and grandson Francis Power continued the business after his death. In 1922 the John Newbery Medal was created by the American Library Association in his honour.

Reader's Guide

John Newbery (1713–1767) was an English publisher who transformed children’s literature into a commercially viable market. His first children’s book, *A Little Pretty Pocket-Book* (1744), was child-sized with a bright cover and included poems, proverbs, and an alphabet song. It cost sixpence, with an optional extra two pence for a red and black ball or pincushion; children recorded their behaviour by sticking a pin into the red side for good conduct or the black side for bad, reflecting Newbery’s belief, following John Locke, that play was more effective than physical punishment. The book promised to “infallibly make Tommy a good boy and Polly a good girl.” Newbery borrowed techniques from other publishers, such as binding in Dutch floral paper and advertising his other products within his stories. About one-fifth of his roughly five hundred publications were children’s titles, including ABC books, novels, and magazines. His most popular work, *The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes*, saw twenty-nine editions between 1765 and 1800. He also published the Tom Telescope series, which explained emerging science through lectures by a boy, notably *The Newtonian System of Philosophy*. Newbery’s prosperity came partly from selling Dr James’s Fever Powder, a patent medicine he advertised in his children’s books. He used his wealth to support writers such as Samuel Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith. The Newbery Medal, established in 1922, honours his legacy.

Did You Know?

• Newbery married William Carnan's widow, Jordan Mary (the source gives her name as Jordan Mary).
• His first children's book, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, appeared on 18 July 1744 according to the source, though the exact date is not definitively established.
• Newbery bound some of his books in Dutch floral paper, but the source does not say this was universal.
• The source states Newbery 'published his own books', meaning he published works he wrote or commissioned, but it is unclear which he wrote himself.