John Bartlett (
June 14, 1820-
December 3, 1905), US author and publisher
Bartlett is primarily remembered as the compiler of
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. First published in
1855, it has been in print ever since. It is currently in its 16th edition and is the foremost reference work of its type.
Bartlett was the son and grandson of sea captains. At age 16, Bartlett began working at the
Harvard University bookstore. By
1849, he was the owner. He became a bibliophile and developed such a reputation as a source of information among those who frequented the store that the phrase “Ask John Bartlett” was popular on campus. Seeking to help his customers and live up to his reputation, he kept a
commonplace book of quotes which was the genesis of his
Familiar Quotations: Being an Attempt to Trace to Their Source Passages and Phrases in Common Use. He would go on to publish nine editions of his collection during his life.
When the
Civil War started, he sold the bookstore and briefly served as a volunteer
paymaster for the Union
Navy. His book of quotations had attracted the attention of
Little, Brown and Company and he joined the publishing firm in
1863, becoming a senior partner in
1878.
Besides literature, Bartlett’s passions included
chess,
whist, and
angling. While at Little, Brown, he penned and compiled a number of books on those topics:
New Method of Chess Notation (
1857),
The Shakespeare Phrase Book (
1882),
Catalogue of Books on Angling, including Ichthyology, Pisciculture, Etc. (
1882), and
Complete Concordance to Shakespeare's Dramatic Works and Poems (
1894).
Among his friends was poet
James Russell Lowell, who commemorated him and his passion for fishing in the poem “
To John Bartlett, Who Had Sent Me a Seven Pound Trout”
Sources:
britannica.com
Gale Contemporary Authors Online database
Gale Dictionary of American Biography database
Introduction, Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 16th edition