John Cronan, acct. 16282

Additional Information on John Cronan:

1855 census erroneously lists his birthplace as England. Cronan owned eclectic bookstore with many rare and extremely old books. According to Publishers Weekly, April 4, 1896, pg. 627: 

BANGS & CO. will sell on the 13th and 14th inst. the library of “Old John Cronin”, the eccentric bookseller of Brooklyn, N. Y., who died a short time ago.  The collection includes besides a number of early printed Bibles a fine copy of Macklin & Bensley’s edition of the Bible in six folio volumes, with a large number of fine engravings on copper after Stothard and other great English artists; some scarce Shakespeariana, including a fine set of the Boydell edition of 1803; a fine copy of the Baldwin & Cradock edition of Hogarth, and a number of other equally interesting items.

Publishers Weekly, October 23, 1897, pg. 681:

THE NEW YORK Herald has discovered that the famous missal of Charles IX of France has been sold by S. B. Luyster to a New York collector.  The missal is the one with poisoned leaves that caused the death of the king, who was addicted to the unkingly, indeed ungentlemanly, vice of wetting his fingers with saliva to aid in turning the leaves.  Another remarkable fact unearthed by the Herald is that the book had formerly belonged to the collection of “Old John Cronin”, the blind bookseller of Brooklyn.