Timothy Dexter
From Kook Science
| Lord Timothy Dexter | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Engraving by James Akin of Newburyport, c. 1805 | |
| Born | 22 January 1747 Malden, Prov. of Massachussetts Bay |
| Died | 23 October 1806 (59) Newburyport, Massachusetts |
| Burial | Old Hill Burying Ground, Dexter Family Plot, Newburyport |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth (Lord) Frothingham (m. 1770) |
Timothy Dexter (January 22, 1747 - October 23, 1806), also known as Lord Timothy Dexter, was an American merchant who was noted for his routine profiting from seemingly ill-advised trades, as in the case of his exporting warming pans and wool mittens to the tropical West Indies, causing him to be described as a "marked example of a man of feeble intellect gaining wealth purely by luck."[T]
Lord Dexter's Autobiography
- Dexter, Timothy (1802), A Pickle for the Knowing Ones: Or, Plain Truths In a Homespun Dress, Boston
- Dexter, Timothy (1805), A Pickle for the Knowing Ones: Or, Plain Truths In a Homespun Dress (2nd ed.), Newburyport
- Dexter, Timothy (1848), A Pickle for the Knowing Ones: Or, Plain Truths In a Homespun Dress (4th ed.), Newburyport: Blanchard & Sargent, https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005261102
- Dexter, Timothy; Quince, Peter (1881), A Pickle for the Knowing Ones: Or, Plain Truths In a Homespun Dress, Reprint of the Edition of 1838, Boston: S. A. Tucker, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hnqfl2
Reviews
- Blumenthal, Walter Hart (March 1921), "The World's Most Curious Books", The Bookman (George H. Doran Company) 53 (1): 8, https://archive.org/details/bookman00unkngoog/page/n28/mode/2up
Of the books which are remarkable for oddity by reason of their contents rather than their appearance, that written by Timothy Dexter outdoes most. This screed, "A Pickle for the Knowing Ones, or Plain Truths in a Homespun Dress", is without an iota of punctuation, though capitals are sprinkled with a fine frenzy. A second edition of this masterpiece has a page consisting of line after line of commas, semicolons, colons, and interrogation points for the convenience of those finicky readers who wish to "peper and solt" the text to their liking. The author confides that he speaks with "the voise of the peopel and cant Help it".
Reading
- Knapp, Samuel L. (1848), Life of Lord Timothy Dexter: Embracing Sketches of the Eccentric Characters That Composed His Associates: Including "Dexter's Pickle for the Knowing Ones.", Newburyport: J. G. Tilton, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t9p27524q&view=1up&seq=7
- Drake, Samuel Adams (1884), "Lord Timothy Dexter", A Book of New England Legends and Folk Lore in Prose and Poetry, Boston: Roberts Brothers, p. 292-301, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b4512588&view=1up&seq=320
- Todd, William Cleaves (1886), Timothy Dexter: Known As 'Lord Timothy Dexter,' of Newburyport, Mass. An Inquiry Into His Life And True Character, Boston: Press of D. Clapp & Son, https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000155353/Home
- Currier, John J. (1906), "Eccentric Characters", History of Newburyport, Mass., 1764-1909, Newsburyport, Mass.: The Author, p. 419-431, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044024591679&view=1up&seq=423