of debts were all part of the job description. Job printing, the reason he publishes books, pamphlets and ephemera, was the necessary co-conspirator to keep the company solvent. Mr. Potter seems to have more liked to publish books but it may simply be that he didn't always include his indicia on his production. In the 19th century this was a common omission. His work today is both rare and too unimportant to be valuable. He was mainly in the business of reprints and most people are interested in the original edition.
The Poughkeepsie Eagle of February 3, 1858 notes his passing:
"Death of Paraclete Potter - In the Milwaukie [sp] papers we find an account of the death or Paraclete Potter, Esq., formerly of this place, who dies on the 3rd inst.[ant], aged 78.
Mr. Potter was a native of this county, we believe, and one of its most prominent citizens for many years. Being by trade a printer, he commenced the business of printing and bookselling as early as 1806, at which time he also took charge of the Poughkeepsie Journal newspaper, which he purchased of Nicholas Power, its founder. He continued in the same business until 1834, being all that time sole editor of the Journal, a period of twenty-right years. An active politican, he was until 1816 a zealous member of the federal party, then a supporter of Dewitt Clinton and subsequentially of General Jackson."
After he left his editorial labors he became very active in promoting the improvements which for a time marked the progress of Poughkeepsie. In 1841 he removed to Milwaukie, where he remained until death closed his career. With a character above the reach of reproach, he was a man of marked talent, and in general knowledge had few superiors in the country."
In 1873 Historical Magazine had this to say -
"A Poughkeepsie journal revives some historical reminiscences which are of general interest. When Holt's New York Journal was driven our of New York city, by the British, it was, for many years, published by Mr. Holt, in Poughkeepsie. His successor was Nicholas Power, and he, in turn, was followed by Paraclete Potter, brother of the late Bishop Alonzo Potter, of Pennsylvania, and of the late Horatio Potter, of New York. In connection with his newspaper business, Mr. Potter, in 1806, opened a bookstore in which book-publishing and selling were carried on for sixty-four years, till the store was burned down, last winter [1872-1873]. In this store, both Alonzo and Horatio Potter wwere once clerks. Mr. Paraclete Potter published school-books and a variety of miscellaneous works, among them Baron Steuben's Military Tactics. He was a Federalist in politics; and, for a time, his journal was the State-paper. The little reading-room, in the rear of the bookstore, was, for many years, the favorite assembling place of many men whose names are noted in our State history, such as James Kent, afterwards Chancellor, James Tallmadge, N. P. Tallmadge. Philo T. Ruggles, James Duane Livingston, Gulian C. Verplank, Peter R. Livingston, James K. Paulding, Edmond H. Pendleton, Chales H. Ruggles, and many more, who made the place a resort for social, literary, and political intercourse. Bishop Alonzo Potter used to declare that he received his first literary impulse from listening to the animated and interesting discussions in that old reading room. - Albany Argus. Pages 241-2."
He seemed destined to slip quietly into history. Google has somewhat reversed his fortunes and perhaps this project will contribute something toward a pale form of immortality.
Now take a look at Mr. Potter's productions. It's an interactive list that encourages anyone with information to offer it. If in time this experiment proves successful perhaps he will be remembered for his part.
My thanks to Lynn Lucas, Local History Librarian at the Adriance Memorial Library in Poughkeepsie. From personal experience I can say she is responsive to requests for information. If you are interested in 19th century Poughkeepsie, Paraclete Potter or the myriad other subjects attendant to Poughkeepsie' history they are a fine resource.
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 17th July 2025
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 17th July 2025
Forum, July 17: Lucianus Samosatensis. Dialogoi, editio princeps, second issue, Florence, Laurentius Francisci de Alopa, 1496. £10,000 to £15,000.
Forum, July 17: Boccaccio (Giovanni). Il Decamerone, Florence, Philippo di Giunta, 1516. £10,000 to £15,000.
Forum, July 17: Henry VII (King) & Philip the Fair (Duke of Burgundy). [Intercursus Magnus], [Commercial and Political Treaty between Henry VII and Philip Duke of Burgundy], manuscript copy in Latin, original vellum, 1499. £8,000 to £12,000.
Forum, July 17: Bible, English. The Holy Bible, Conteyning the Old Testament, and the New, Robert Barker, 1613. £4,000 to £6,000.
Forum, July 17: Bond (Michael). A Bear Called Paddington, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1958. £4,000 to £6,000.
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 17th July 2025
Forum, July 17: Yeats (William Butler). The Secret Rose, first edition, with extensive autograph corrections, additions and amendments by the author for a new edition, 1897. £6,000 to £8,000.
Forum, July 17: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, bound in dark green morocco elaborately tooled in gilt and with 3 watercolours to fore-edge, by Fazakerley of Liverpool, 1841. £4,000 to £6,000.
Forum, July 17: Miró (Juan), Wassily Kandinsky, John Buckland-Wright, Stanley William Hayter and others.- Spender (Stephen). Fraternity, one of 101 copies, with signed engravings by 9 artists. £6,000 to £8,000.
Forum, July 17: Sowerby (George Brettingham). Album comprising 22 leaves of original watercolour drawings of fossil remains of Cheltenham and Vicinity, [c.1840]. £6,000 to £8,000.
Forum, July 17: Mathematics.- Blue paper copy.- Euclid. De gli Elementi, Urbino, Appresso Domenico Frisolino, 1575. £12,000 to £18,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Book of Hours by the Masters of Otto van Moerdrecht, Use of Sarum, in Latin, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), c.1450. £20,000 to £30,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Albert Einstein. Autograph letter signed, to Attilio Palatino, on his research into General Relativity, 12 May 1929. £12,000 to £18,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: John Gould. The Birds of Europe, [1832-] 1837, 5 volumes, contemporary half morocco, subscriber’s copy. £40,000 to £60,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Ian Fleming. A collection of James Bond first editions, 8 volumes in all. £8,000 to £12,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.R.R. Tolkien. Autograph letter signed, to Amy Ronald, on Pauline Baynes's map of Middle Earth, 1970. £7,000 to £10,000.
DOYLE, July 23: STOKES, I. N. PHELPS. The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909. New York: Robert H. Dodd, 1915-28. Estimate: $3,000-5,000
DOYLE, July 23: [AUTOGRAPH - US PRESIDENT]FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. A signed photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Estimate $500-800
DOYLE, July 23: [ARION PRESS]. ABBOTT, EDWIN A. Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. San Francisco, 1980. Estimate $2,000-3,000.
DOYLE, July 23: TOLSTOY, LYOF N. and NATHAN HASKELL DOLE, translator. Anna Karénina ... in eight parts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., [1886]. Estimate: $400-600
DOYLE, July 23: ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000. Estimate $1,200-1,800
Freeman’s | Hindman Western Manuscripts and Miniatures July 8, 2025
Freeman’s | Hindman Western Manuscripts and Miniatures July 8, 2025
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FRANCESCO PETRARCH (b. Arezzo, 20 July 1304; d. Arqua Petrarca, 19 July 1374). $20,000-30,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF THE VITAE IMPERATORUM (active Milan, 1431-1459). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF ATTAVANTE DEGLI ATTAVANTI (GABRIELLO DI VANTE) (active Florence, c. 1452-c. 1520/25). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FOLLOWER OF HERMAN SCHEERE (active London, c. 1405-1425). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. An exceptionally rare, illuminated music leaf from a Mozarabic Antiphonal with sister leaves mostly in museum collections. $11,500-14,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Exceptional leaf from a prestigious Antiphonary by a leading illuminator of the late Duecento. $11,500-14,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF MS REID 33 and SELWERD ABBEY SCRIPTORIUM (AGNES MARTINI?) (active The Netherlands, Groningen, c. 1468-1510). $10,000-15,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Previously unknown illumination from one of the most renowned Gothic Choir Book sets of the Middle Ages. $6,000-8,000.