Author: Nicholls, Thomas
Biography:
NICHOLLS, Thomas (fl 1776-1812)
For someone who published so much, surprisingly little good information is to be found about Thomas Nicholls. He offered his first, anonymous poem for sale from his own address of 3, Red Lion Court, Silver Street, London—an address long associated with publishing—and Goodridge may be correct in speculating that he was involved in the business. On the other hand, the same arrangements were not made for later works. He was well read but lacks the signs of a classical education. He is referred to as “Mr.” not “Esq.” and with no professional titles. His choice of subjects is variable but generally in the service of morality and public good, especially the good of the lower classes. He was a Londoner but wrote about other places; he may have found inspiration in other books and in newspaper reports. He seems to have managed to elude the newspapers himself. Towards the end of his publishing career there is a focus on the Isle of Wight that might suggest a phase of retirement (such as a poem on the death of the Newport miller), but no correspondent burials are recorded there. Perhaps the best clues come from the eight-page list of subscribers to The Wreath: with few exceptions, the names are from London and belong typically to the artisan or merchant classes (several goldsmiths, for instance). A few booksellers subscribed for multiple copies. An authorial postscript offered subscribers the opportunity to acquire a further collection of “miscellanies” to be bound in with The Wreath with an engraved frontispiece representing a wreath, but no such collection has been located. His name is common enough that it has been so far impossible to confirm details of his biography. (ancestry.com 29 Feb. 2024; findmypast.com 29 Feb. 2024; Goodridge)
Other Names:
- Thos. Nicholls
- T. Nicholls
- F. Nicholls