In 1790, “a gentleman” who described himself as an acquaintance of John Howard published anonymously in London Anecdotes of the Life and Character of John Howard, Esq. F.R.S. This forty-seven-page book includes a frontispiece profile of Howard “sketched with a pencil from life, by a Lady who resided some months under the same roof with Mr. Howard previous to his last expedition.” The book was “printed for the author,” meaning that the author paid for the printing. The title page indicates that the author also arranged for three booksellers to sell the book:
- Hookham, Bond-Street
- Sewell, Corn-Hill
- Mrs. Harlow, St. James’s-Street
Thomas Hookham, Senior, was a highly successful bookseller and book-binder with a shop on Bond Street. He also operated one of the largest circulating libraries in London.^ Anecdotes was priced at two shillings, probably a fairly low price in 1790 for a bound, octavo volume with a drawing.^ Howard died in 1790. Howard’s death surely heightened attention to his memory. At least one other biography of Howard was published in 1790. Anecdotes apparently was aimed to sell quickly at the center of the London book market.
Anecdotes is relatively credible among sources on Howard’s life and work. Anecdotes sells an immediate, personal connection to Howard at a time when others knew Howard first-hand. If Anecdotes contained obvious falsities, its market value could suffer significantly. Moreover, Anecdotes explicitly disavows being a “laboured panegyric” and includes some material showing Howard in a negative light. It also forthrightly acknowledges disputes about Howard’s motives. The commercial motivation for Anecdotes probably was best served by a credible, factual book.