John Timbs (; 17 August 1801 – 6 March 1875) was a British writer and antiquary. Some of his work was published under the pseudonym of Horace Welby.
Biography Timbs was born in 1801 in Clerkenwell, London. He was educated at a private school at Hemel Hempstead. In his sixteenth year he was apprenticed to a druggist and printer at Dorking. He had early shown literary capacity, and when nineteen began to write for the Monthly Magazine. A year later he became secretary to Sir Richard Phillips, its proprietor, and permanently adopted literature as a profession.
He was successively editor of the Mirror of Literature, the Harlequin, The Literary World, and sub-editor of the Illustrated London News. He was later to become the third editor of the ILN. He was also founder and first editor of Year-Book of Science and Art. His published works amounted to more than one hundred and fifty volumes. In 1834 he was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.
Timbs died on 6 March 1875 and is buried in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul, Edenbridge, Kent.
Works Some of these were published under the pseudonym, Horace Welby. His work continued to be re-edited and republished well after his death.
Signs before Death, and authenticated apparitions: in one hundred narratives, collected by Horace Welby. 1825 Arcana of Science and Art: or, An annual register of useful inventions and improvements, discoveries and new facts, in mechanics, chemistry, natural history, and social economy; 1828 Harlequin: A journal of the drama. 1829 Laconics; 1829 Literary World: a journal of popular information and entertainment. 1839 Table-Wit, and After-Dinner Anecdote. 1840 Curiosities of London. 1855 Things not generally known, familiarly explained: A book for old and young. 1856 Curiosities of History; 1857Curiosities of London (1855), books.google.com, retrieved 10 March 2009 School-Days of Eminent Men. I. Sketches of the progress of education in England, from the reign of King Alfred to that of Queen Victoria. II. Early lives of celebrated British authors, philosophers and poets, inventors and discoverers, divines, heroes, statesmen &c\. 1858 Curiosities of Science, 1859 Things Not Generally Known, Familiarly Explained, 1859 Stories of Inventors and Discoverers in Science and the Useful Arts. 1860 Popular Errors Explained and Illustrated. 1862 Century of Anecdote from 1760 to 1860. 1864 Romance of London. Supernatural stories, sights and shows, strange adventures, and remarkable persons. 1865 Something for Everybody; and a garland for the year. 1866 Club Life of London, 1866 English Eccentrics and Eccentricities. 1866, in two volumes Curiosities of London. Exhibiting the Most Rare and Remarkable Objects of Interest in the Metropolis; with Nearly Sixty Years Personal Recollections. 1867 Mysteries of Life, Death, and Futurity. 1868 Mountain Adventures in the Various Countries of the World. 1869 Wonderful Inventions: from the mariner's compass to the electric telegraph cable. 1870 Abbeys, Castles, and Ancient Halls of England and Wales. 1872 Thoughts for Times and Seasons. 1872 Doctors and Patients. 1873
References
External links
Works by John Timbs at Google Books