Mary Cooper (publisher) facts for kids

Mary Cooper was a very important English publisher and bookseller in London. She worked from 1743 to 1761. Many people think she was one of the first people to publish books especially for children in English. She did this even before another famous publisher named John Newbery.

Mary Cooper: A Pioneer in Publishing

Starting Her Publishing Journey

Mary Cooper ran her business on a famous street in London called Paternoster Row. She took over the business after her husband, Thomas Cooper, passed away. Thomas Cooper was also a printer and publisher.

In 1742, Thomas Cooper had published a helpful reading guide called The Child's New Play-thing. After he died, Mary Cooper published a new version of this book herself. She was active in the publishing world from 1743 to 1761.

Publishing Books for Children

Mary Cooper is especially famous for publishing Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book in 1744. This book is very special because it's the first known collection of English nursery rhymes ever printed!

Mary Cooper gathered all these rhymes herself. Each rhyme in the book also had a small picture, called a woodcut, next to it. People who have looked at her work later said that "Cooper's ear for a good jingle was unerring." This means she was really good at finding catchy and fun rhymes.

An Important Woman in Business

Mary Cooper also worked with other important people in the publishing world. For example, she had business deals with Andrew Millar, who was the publisher for the famous writer Henry Fielding. She even printed some of Henry Fielding's short books, called pamphlets.

In the 1700s, many people thought that women in the publishing business weren't very important. But Mary Cooper was different! She was a very successful publisher. Besides working with other businesses, she also owned the rights to at least 18 different book titles. This meant she had full control over those books. She is also known for publishing a newspaper called the Manchester Vindicated in 1749.

See also

• List of women printers and publishers before 1800