Benjamin Kingsbury

Benjamin Kingsbury (* around 1765 in Warwick , fl. 1825 in London ) was an English clergyman and author. He achieved wide fame as the author of a book on razors and their use ( A Treatise on Razors , 1797), which had numerous editions in the first half of the 19th century and which was also published in a German translation in 1800.

life and work

Kingsbury was born in Warwick in the English county of Warwickshire around 1765 and went to school in Daventry to the southeast . After training as a clergyman began in 1783, he first settled in Warwick. He lost a position as Presbyterian pastor in Evesham , which he had started in 1790, after a short time in a dispute with the local church. His work as a clergyman gave birth to a number of theological works with titles such as An Answer to an Address to the People of Great Britain (1788), Prayers for the Use of Families (1790) and A Recommendation of Family Religion (1792).

In 1791, Kingsbury married the daughter of a respected hardware dealer in London and entered his father-in-law's business. In London in 1797 the first edition of its most widely used font, appeared A Treatise on Razors (dt. A treatise on razor ). In this Kingsbury dealt with the razor - apparently on the basis of his professional activity. Kingsbury describes both the exact characteristics of a high-quality straight razor and the steps necessary to properly care for it. At the same time, it instructs the reader in the correct use of razors for self- shaving .

Just three years after its first publication, the Treatise on Razors appeared in a German translation under the title Abhandlung von Barbier-Messern (Leipzig 1800). In the first half of the 19th century, the English-language edition saw numerous editions. While the 10th edition from 1825 still contained the note “Sold by the author”, the title page of the 11th edition from 1830 stated for the first time that the font was for sale at a Thomas Kingsbury in New Bond Street in London stand In 1866 the magazine The Spectator devoted a detailed review to the work.

Fonts

• An Answer to an Address to the People of Great Britain, by the Bishop of Llandaff, in another Address to the People , 1788
• Prayers for the Use of Families , 1790
• A Recommendation of Family Religion , 1792
• A treatise on razors: in which the weight, shape, and temper of a razor, the means of keeping it in order, and the manner of using it, are particularly considered; And In which it is intended to convey a knowledge of all that is necessary on this subject; By Benjamin Kingsbury, Razor-Maker , London 1797, ² 1801, ³ 1802, ⁴ 1804, ⁵ 1806, ⁶ 1810, ⁷ 1814, ⁸ 1820, ⁹ 1821, ¹⁰ 1825, ¹¹ 1830, ¹² 1837. The sixth edition from the year 1810 is available online from the Bodleian Libraries , University of Oxford.
• An Address to the People of Great Britain on the proposed Tax upon Income , 1798

literature

• A Brief History of the Presbyterian Congregation at Evesham , in: The Christian reformer; or, Unitarian magazine and review 8 (1852), pp. 607-621, here p. 619.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The tenth edition of the text A Treatise on Razors , printed by W. Davy in London, contains the note “Sold by the author” on its title page, while the eleventh edition of the same work from 1830 already states that the font was used by a Thomas Kingsbury is for sale.
2. ↑ On this and the following cf. A Brief History of the Presbyterian Congregation at Evesham , in: The Christian reformer; or, Unitarian magazine and review 8 (1852), pp. 607-621, here p. 619.
3. ↑ The title page of his book A Treatise on Razors identifies him as a "razor maker" ( cutler ). On the title page of the German translation Abhandlung von Barber-Messer from 1800 Kingsbury is referred to as “Sr. Kings Maj. Of Great Britain Body Barber ”.
4. ^ Razors , in: Spectator 39 (1866), pp. 406-408.