Page:A history of booksellers, the old and the new.djvu/356

316 316 THE RIVINGTONS, THE PARKERS, together) ; in less than twenty years, twenty-seven editions had been exhausted."* The author's profits, as well as the publisher's, were large, and the Rev. J. Keble devoted his portion of them to the entire reconstruction of his own church, that of Hursley, in Hampshire. In 1832 Joseph Parker retired from business, re- taining, however, his share in the Bible Press until his death in 1850. Mr. John Henry Parker, his nephew, was the son of John Parker, merchant, of the City of London, and was born in the year 1806. After receiving a good educa- tion at Dr. Harris's school at Chisvvick, he entered the bookselling trade in 1821, and was consequently fully prepared, eleven years later, to occupy the position just vacated by his uncle. Mr. John Henry Parker is known almost as well as an antiquarian, and as a writer on architecture, as a publisher. He continued his uncle's business at Oxford, and extended it to London, where for many years it was under the management of Mr. Whitaker. The University, however, bought in again the share held by his uncle, in 1850, and declined admitting Mr. J. H. Parker as a partner unless he undertook to give up general business, as by a clause in the deed of partnership none of the temporary proprietors are allowed to follow any other calling. Mr. Parker's business was in such a profitable condition as to render such a step totally out of the question. He acted, however, as agent for the Oxford Press for many years. the "Christian Year, "that Sydney Smith christened it by the name of "The Sunday Puzzle."
 * It was from the intricacy of thought of some few of the poems of