John Bell (publisher)

John Bell
Born	1745
Died	1831 Fulham
Occupation	Publisher
Language	English
Nationality	English

John Bell (1745–1831) was an English publisher. Originally a bookseller and printer, he also innovated in typography, being responsible for an influential font that omitted the long s.

From 1769, Bell owned a bookshop in the Strand, London, the "British Library". His 109-volume, literature-for-the-masses Poets of Great Britain Complete from Chaucer to Churchill, which rivalled Samuel Johnson's Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1781), was published from 1777 to 1783. Each volume cost just six shillings, much less than what was commonly charged.

Bell's organisation of his publishing company defied "the trade" — forty dominant publishing companies — to establish a monopoly on top publications. In addition to the extensive Poets of Great Britain, he published book sets on Shakespeare and The British Theatre. The drawings and illustrations in these works influenced later publishers. He also ran a circulating library. In 1788-1789, he operated a type foundry called the British Letter Foundry in collaboration with punchcutter Richard Austin. Revivals of these typefaces have been made under the name of Bell and Austin.

Bell died in Fulham in 1831, leaving a reputation as a "mischievous spirit, the very Puck of booksellers." He was the uncle of the engraver Edward Bell.

Bell was one of the founders of the Morning Post, a London daily newspaper, in 1772. In 1787 he launched The World, with Edward Topham. Later he set up the Sunday newspaper Bell's Weekly Messenger, La Belle Assemblée, and other periodicals.

Bell's British Theatre was sold in sets 140 plays in 21 volumes, each with a unique choice of plays. For example, one set is arranged thus:

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