Beyond the authorized editions published by H. Ranger, several spurious and rival publications attempted to capitalize on the success of Harris's List
Full Title: Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies: or, Man of Pleasure's Kalender, For the Year 1793. (Newly revived and carefully Corrected) Containing The Histories And Some Curious Anecdotes Of the most celebrated Ladies now on the Town, Or in keeping, And also many of their Keepers.
Publisher: J. S. (No. 16,) Tooley-Street, Borough, Southwark; and other booksellers, 1793
Status: Not digitized
The phrase "Newly revived and carefully Corrected" in the title suggests this unauthorized edition was attempting to present itself as an improvement or update to Ranger's original publication.
Full Title: Harris's List of Covent-Garden Ladies; or, Man of Pleasure's Calender, for the Year 1794. (Newly revived and carefully Corrected) Containing The Histories and some curious Anecdotes of the most celebrated Ladies now on the Town, or in Keeping, and also many of their Keepers.
Publisher: J. S. (No. 16,) Tooley-Street, Borough, Southwark; and other booksellers, 1794
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Institution: Universitätsbibliothek Kiel
This spurious edition continued the unauthorized series from the previous year, again using the "Newly revived and carefully Corrected" tagline to distinguish itself from Ranger's authorized edition.
Full Title: Kitty's Attalantis.
Publisher: Printed for J. Harrison, near Covent-Garden, 1766?
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Institution: Yale University Library Digital Collections (646 766 K62)
Interestingly, Kitty's Attalantis appears to have been published by "Harris" himself as a rival or alternative to Harris's List. This suggests a complex publication strategy, potentially targeting different markets or audiences.
The title references The New Atalantis (1709) by Delarivier Manley, a scandalous roman Ă clef about prominent political figures. By invoking this tradition, Kitty's Attalantis positioned itself within the genre of revealing "secret histories."
The existence of spurious and rival editions demonstrates the commercial success and cultural impact of Harris's List. By the 1790s, the publication had become lucrative enough to attract unauthorized competitors.
These alternative versions raise several research questions:
Compare the 1794 spurious edition and 1766 Kitty's Attalantis with authorized editions using our IIIF viewer.
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