Collins was born in 1682, the son of William Collins, Esq., a Gentleman Usher to Queen Catherine, and Elizabeth Blythe. His father managed to spend his way through his fortune of some £30,000, but despite this he was able to give his son a liberal education, after which Arthur worked for at least some of his life as a bookseller across from Street Dunstan"s Church on Fleet Street.
He is most known for his work
The first two editions of Collins"s Peerage were published as single volumes in 1709 and 1712. Subsequent editions included an increasing number of added volumes, such that the fifth edition, published in 1778, contained eight volumes. Barak Longmate, publisher of the fifth edition, also published a supplement to it in 1785.
Samuel Egerton Brydges released the nine-volume sixth edition in 1812, bringing all of the book"s contents up to date and describing Collins as "a most industrious, faithful, and excellent genealogist" whose only failing was a habit of regarding rank and titles with "too indiscriminate respect and flattery.".
