Edward Cave
Edward Cave , ( February 27, 1691 - January 10, 1754 ) was a printer, editor and publisher. With The Gentleman's Magazine he designed the first " magazine " of public interest in the modern sense.
Cave, the son of a cobbler, was born in Newton near Rugby, Warwickshire , where he also attended high school, from which he was expelled on charges of stealing from the principal. He took on a variety of jobs, including a lumberjack, reporter and printer. He came up with the idea of a periodical publication that would take into account all subjects that interested the educated readership. From business to poetry. So he tried to convince various London printers and booksellers to take up his idea. Since no one was interested, Cave took the task into his own hands. The Gentleman's Magazine was first published in 1731 and quickly became the most influential and widely copied magazine of its time. It also helped Cave to prosper. In 1750 he founded The Rambler , to which Samuel Johnson contributed most of the contributions.
Cave was a shrewd businessman. He put all his energy into his magazine and rarely left his offices at St John's Gate (Clerkenwell) . He used a large number of distributors, most notably Samuel Johnson , who was always grateful that Cave kept him in his prime position for many years. Cave himself often contributed articles under the pseudonym Sylvanus Urban .
He also obtained a license from Lewis Paul for 250 spindles of his patented spinning wheel, a predecessor of the waterframe . In 1742 he bought Marvels Mill in Northampton and converted it into a cotton mill, believed to be the world's first water-powered mill . It was obviously profitable, but only moderate. The spinning mill was abandoned in 1761 or shortly thereafter.
Cave suffered from gout . He rests at St. James Church in Clerkenwell .
literature
- Pailler, Albert: Edward Cave et le Gentleman's Magazine: (1731-1754). Lille [u. a.], 1975, ISBN 2-252-01690-6
- Ram, Titia Henriette: Magnitude in marginality: Edward Cave and The Gentleman's Magazine, 1731 - 1754; containing a first-line index of all poems, with notes and references on authorship. Overveen, 1999, ISBN 90-804659-4-1
Web links
- Online page images of Gentlemen's Magazine the first twenty volumes, from v1 1731 through v20 1750
- Daily Life in Georgian England as Reported in the Gentleman's Magazine
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cave, Edward |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British printer, editor and publisher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 27, 1691 |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 10, 1754 |