the experience of reading in Britain, from 1450 to 1945...

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Richard Burton : Admirable Curiosities, Rarities, and Wonders in England

' [letter from Johnson to bookseller Mr Dilly] There is in the world a set of books which used to be sold by the booksellers on the bridge, and which I must entreat you to procure me. They are called "Burton's Books"; the title of one is "Admirable Curiosities, Rarities, and Wonders in England". I believe there are about five or six of them; they seem very proper to allure backward readers; be so kind as to get them for me, and send me them with the best printed edition of "Baxter's Call to the Unconverted".'

Century: 1700-1799     Reader/Listener/Group: Samuel Johnson      Print: Book

Richard Burton : Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah

'Nothing approaching it [Cunninghame Graham's book "Mogreb-el-Acksa"] has appeared since Burton's "Mecca" [...] and Burton's "Mecca" is nowhere near it.'

Century: 1850-1899     Reader/Listener/Group: Joseph Conrad      Print: Book

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