Author: Burton, W.
Biography:
BURTON, W. (fl 1780)
WorldCat lists just one copy, in the New York Society Library, of Superstition, Fanaticism, and Faction; a Poem, published in 1780 by Flexney of Holborn, London. This copy, not seen, may contain information that would help to identify the author. Allibone and other sources state that he was a London printer who also wrote Researches into the Phraseology, Manners, History, and Religion of the Ancient Eastern Nations (1805). A surviving prospectus for this work indicates that it was originally published in monthly parts, commencing on 1 Mar. 1802, and that the printer—not the author—was William George Burton of 82 Fetter Lane, London. However, he was born in 1772 (or, possibly, 1774), making it very unlikely if not impossible for him to be the author of the poem. No alternative candidate has been identified. (Allibone; ODNB [for William Evans Burton] 10 Aug. 2023; British Book Trade Index at bbti.bodleian.ox.ac.uk 10 Aug. 2023)