There are several circumstances, besides the date given by Collins, which show that the Vicar was sold, in whole or in part, at least four years before it was published, and not a few months before, as Mrs. Piozzi thought. The occasion for the delay has been explained in various ways. One explanation is that it was held back until the Traveller, which came out in 1765, should have increased the author's reputation. It may have been, as Johnson told Boswell, that the publishers were afraid that the book would not sell. Certainly the results would seem to bear them out in any doubts they may have had of its financial success. Mr. Welsh says:
"All the writers who have spoken of the "Vicar of Wakefield" have jumped to the conclusion that it brought a golden harvest to its publishers ... The first three editions ... resulted in a loss, and the fourth, which was not issued until eight years after the first, started with a balance against it of £2 16s. 6d., and it was not until the fourth edition had been sold that the balance came out on the right side."
After being three months in the press, the book appeared March 27, 1766. The advertisement in the Public Advertiser reads: "This Day is publiſhed, In two Volumes in Twelves, Price 6s. bound, or 5s. ſewed, The Vicar of Wakefield, A Tale. Supposed to be written by Himself. 'Seperate [ſic] miſere cavete fœlices.' Printed for F. Newbery, at the Crown in Pater-Noſter Row, of whom may be had, Price 1s. 6d. The Traveller, or, a Proſpect of Society, a Poem. By Dr. Goldsmith." The author's name was signed to the preface, or "Advertisement" of the book, so it was not really anonymous, as the title-page and newspaper advertisement would lead us to think. If it was not a financial success the tale seems to have met with popular favor. The second edition, bearing the imprint London: Printed for F. Newbery, in Pater-Noster-Row, MDCCLXVI., was issued May 31, and the third on August 29. Ninety-six editions were issued before 1886, and there are translations in every European language.
This Francis Newbery, as we have said, was nephew and successor to John Newbery. The elder man combined a successful business in the publishing of books with the sale of quack medicines,—not an unusual thing in those days. His list of nostrums contained over thirty medicines, among them being Dr. James's Fever Powder, Dr. Steer's Oil for Convulsions, Dr. Harper's Female Pills, and a certain Cordial Cephalic Snuff. His book-selling ventures demand more than passing mention, since he really introduced "the regular system of a Juvenile Library, and gave children books in a more permanent form than the popular chap-books of the period,"—delightful books of which more than one writer has spoken with affection. The general character of the stories, splendidly bound in flowered and gilt Dutch papers, may be gathered from a few of their titles: The History of Little Goody Two Shoes, The Renowned History of Giles Gingerbread, and Blossoms of Morality.
Newbery's publishing ventures were not confined to children's books, by any means; his name gains additional luster by appearing on the title-pages of several of Goldsmith's works. Francis was mostly a reflection of his enterprising uncle, but his connection with the Vicar of Wakefield will ever cause him to be remembered.
Duodecimo.
Collation: Two volumes. Volume I: 2 ll., 214 pp. Volume II: 1 l., 223 pp.