Memoirs of the Society of Grub-Street

London :Printed for J Wilford, behind the Chapter-house in St Paul’s Church-yard, 1737. – 2 v. 12mo.

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These two volumes are a compendium of articles from issues of the Grub Street Journal published between January 1730 and August 1732. The first issue of the Grub-Street Journal appeared on January 8th 1730 and provided the reader with a miscellany of literary reviews, poetry and extracts from the newspapers and news sheets complete with satirical comment. The editors were Dr John Martyn, a former Professor of Botany at Cambridge University and a Dr Richard Russell and a frequent contributor to the early issues was the poet Alexander Pope. The editors whilst acknowledging that they themselves were “Members of the Society of Grub-Street in general, but have formed our-selves into a select company, in order to restrain the enormities of our worst brethren, proceeding from their want of integrity and knowledge.” The contributions to the journal were pseudonymous and “Mr Quidnunc” was responsible for the news digest (and its mordant humour). An example of this can be found in issue no. 68, April (1731) in which the description of the monument to Sir Isaac Newton, complete with Latin epitaph is mocked and an English alternative suggested.

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