Sarah Cotter facts for kids

Sarah Cotter (who passed away in 1792) was an important Irish printer and bookseller during the mid-1700s. She helped share knowledge and stories by printing and selling books.

Her Life and Work

Early Life and Business

Sarah Cotter might have been the sister or daughter of another bookseller named Joseph Cotter. When he passed away around 1751, Sarah took over his business.

Her shop was located in Dublin, under a place called Dick's Coffee House on Skinner Row. She ran the business from 1744 until 1774. This was a big deal because, at the time, it was unusual for women to own and run businesses.

Breaking Barriers

In 1756, Sarah Cotter achieved something very special. She was allowed to join the Guild of St. Luke the Evangelist. This guild was like a club or association for people in certain trades, and it usually didn't allow women to become full members. Sarah was admitted as a "quarter-brother," which was a rare honor for a woman back then. She continued to pay her fees to the guild until 1770.

A Specialist in Law Books

Sarah was very smart and noticed something important: there was a need for a publisher who focused on legal books. So, she started working with other printers, like Oliver Nelson and Richard Watts, to publish books about law.

For example, in 1756, they published a book called Sir John Strange's Reports of adjudged cases in the courts of Chancery. Sarah became known as a leading publisher and seller of law books. She even put out a special list of law books for sale in 1766. She also advertised her books regularly in newspapers like the Dublin Journal and Freeman's Journal.

Connecting with London and Other Publications

Sarah Cotter also built strong connections with the book trade in London, England. She would bring books from London to sell in Dublin. Her name even appeared as the Dublin agent on some books printed in London.

Besides law books, Sarah published many other interesting titles. These included Poems by Eminent Ladies (1757), Shakespeare's Measure for measure (1761), and a book by Edmund Burke called Philosophical enquiry (in 1766). She also published A collection of apothegms and maxims for the good conduct of life by Gorges Edmond Howard in 1767.

Later Years and Legacy

In 1768, Sarah married Joseph Stringer, who was a painter in Dublin. Even after getting married, Sarah continued to run her business using her own name. That same year, she printed a play called The wonder! or a woman keeps a secret by Susanna Centlivre.

From 1768, her husband and a former apprentice named Charles Ingham helped manage the business. Sarah officially retired in 1774.

Years later, in 1784, Sarah wrote a letter to Philip Skelton, praising his book An appeal to commonsense on the subject of Christianity. She was so impressed that she offered to pay for a cheaper version of his book to be printed. This would allow more people to read it.

Philip Skelton later allowed her to have his portrait drawn. He asked her to destroy the portrait before she passed away so no copies would be made. Sarah kept her promise and destroyed it three months before she died in 1792. Her will was officially approved in Dublin that same year.

Sarah Cotter's books are still remembered today. They are listed in a special collection of Irish books at the University of Cambridge, which was put together in 1916.

See also

• List of women printers and publishers before 1800