Joseph William Moss

Moss's Manual of Classical Bibliography, was, he said, sent to the press early in 1823. The work was published in 1825, in two volumes, containing over 1250 closely printed pages. Publicity material made comparisons with works of Guillaume-François Debure, the Manuel of Jacques Charles Brunet and the Introduction to the Knowledge of the Editions of the Classics of Thomas Frognall Dibdin; and claimed improvements over those of Edward Harwood and Michael Maittaire. In spite of omissions and mistakes, the Manual became a standard work of reference. Favourable reviews appeared, but the Literary Gazette (1825), in three articles, severely attacked the book. A reply from Moss was in the Gentleman's Magazine for September 1825: he admitted that he had borrowed the plan of his work from Dibdin. The Literary Magazine published a rejoinder.^[2]

The Manual was reprinted, with a new title-page, but with no corrections, in 1837, by Henry George Bohn. An inconsistent Supplement, compiled by the publisher, brought the lists down to 1836.^[2]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1894). "Moss, Joseph William". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 39. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
• Marchant, E. C.; Banerji, Nilanjana. "Moss, Joseph William (1803–1862)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19402. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)