Obadiah Rich

Background

Obadiah Rich was born on November 25, 1777 at Truro, Massachussets; according to Truro church records, he was baptized there July 13 of that year. His parents were Obadiah Rich (1758 - 1805) and Salome (Lombard) Rich (1761 - 1807). Scion of a long line of Cape Cod sea-faring folk, he was born to the tradition of the sea rather than to familiarity with rare books and manuscripts. His father was a master mariner and commander during the Revolution of the brig Intrepid, a well-known privateer.

Career

About 1790 the family moved to Boston, and there Rich lived until in 1816 he was appointed American consul at Valencia, Spain, a post he held until about 1829. In 1823 he took charge of the archives of the legation in Madrid in the absence of the chargé d'affaires and continued to live there until about 1829, when he moved to London and established himself as a bookseller, later taking several of his sons into partnership.

From 1834 to 1845 he held the post of American consul at Port Mahon in the Balearic Islands but spent more time in London during these years than at his official station.

Rich was apparently interested in books and historical matters in his early years in Boston. In Madrid he found opportunity to give free rein to his bibliographical instincts and became one of the most eminent book-collectors of his day.

Adopting as his chief province the manuscripts and early printed books relating to America, he entered a collecting field then occupied by few and hence had the unparalleled opportunity to gather for the proverbial song the most remarkable collection of rare Americana which had been made up to that time. He so generously opened this library of source material to American historical scholars working in Spain that his invaluable assistance was acknowledged in print by such historians as Washington Irving, William H. Prescott, George Ticknor, George Bancroft and others.

As a bookseller in London, Rich specialized in early Americana, turning to financial advantage the rarities procured during his years of residence in Spain. For years he acted as agent for American libraries and collectors, and many choice books and manuscripts now possessed by American institutions were gathered and furnished by him.

He died in London January 20, 1850, in his sixty-seventh year.

Achievements

• Rich was instrumental in prevailing upon Irving to write the life of Columbus, and that distinguished author lived in Rich's house during a part of his stay in Madrid while engaged upon it. He is now chiefly remembered by his bibliographies of books and manuscripts relating to America. Though they are in a sense only glorified booksellers' catalogues, their bibliographical information is in the main reliable and they still hold a respected place in scholarly libraries. The more important are: A Catalogue of Books, Relating Principally to America, Arranged under the Years in Which They Were Printed (1832); Bibliotheca Americana Nova; or, A Catalogue of Books in Various Languages Relating to America, Printed Since the Year 1700; and Catalogue of a Collection of Manuscripts, Principally in Spanish, Relating to America, in the Possession of O. Rich. All of these are now extremely rare. Rich also wrote a little gazetteer, A General View of the United States of America, published in London in 1833, of which a second edition appeared three years later.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Bibliotheca Americana Nova: Or, a Catalogue of Books in Various Languages Relating to America, Volume 1

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Bibliotheca Americana Nova: A Catalogue Of Books In Various Languages, Relating To America, Printed Since The Year 1700, Including Voyages To The ... Travels, Compiled Principally From The Works

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

  • Bibliotheca Americana Nova: A Catalogue of Books Relating to America, in Various Languages, Including Voyages to the Pacific and Around the World, and ... Travels Printed Since the Year 1700, Part 2

    (This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)

  • A Catalogue of Books, Relating Principally to America: Arranged Under the Years in Which They Were Printed

    (This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)

  • A General View Of The United States Of America: With An Appendix Containing The Constitution. The Tariff Of Duties. The Laws Of Patents And Copyrights, &c.

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

  • A Catalogue of Books

    (A catalogue of books, relating principally to America, ar...)

  • A Catalogue Of Books, Tracts, And Manuscripts, Chiefly Relating To North And South America: Many From The Collection Of Obadiah Rich (1872)

    (This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)

  • A Catalogue of Books, Relating Principally to America: Arranged Under the Years in Which They Were Printed

    (This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before ...)

  • Bibliotheca americana nova; or, A catalogue of books in various languages, relating to America, printed since the year 1700

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

  • Bibliotheca Americana Nova: A Catalogue Of Books In Various Languages, Relating To America, Printed Since The Year 1700, Including Voyages To The ... Compiled Principally From The Works...

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

Membership

He joined the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1805 and two years later became one of the charter members of the Boston Athen'um; he was for many years a member of the American Antiquarian Society (elected 1834) and of several state historical societies.

Connections

He married, at Gibraltar, Ann Montgomery. They had four sons and two daughters.

Father:

Obadiah Rich

Mother:

Salome (Lombard) Rich

Spouse:

Ann Montgomery