Cluer Dicey was an English newspaper proprietor, publisher of street literature, printseller and patent medicine seller, in London and later in Northampton.
10 Facts About Cluer Dicey
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Cluer Dicey was named after his uncle, John Cluer, a London printer and music publisher.
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In 1732 William Dicey attempted to buy the Stamford Mercury newspaper for his son to manage, following the death of its printer William Thompson, but later pulled out of the deal.
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In 1736 William Dicey took over the London printing, publishing and medicine selling business formerly operated by John Cluer, and sent his son to operate it whilst he managed the business in Northampton.
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William and Cluer Dicey became important publishers of popular prints, concentrating on the lower end of the market, both commissioning new plates and buying up and republishing old ones.
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Cluer Dicey's father owned a third share in the formula for Dr Bateman's Pectoral Drops.
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Cluer Dicey later added more medicines, including Greenough's Tincture, Radcliffe's Purging Elixir, and one of the several versions of Daffy's Elixir.
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Cluer Dicey closed the printing office in Bow Churchyard in 1763, concentrating production in Aldermary Churchyard.
9.
In 1764 William Cluer Dicey's daughters sued their elder brother over the non-payment of their annuities.
10.
Cluer's will, drawn up in 1772 makes it clear that he no longer had any interest in the Aldermary publishing business, Cluer Dicey retired to his estate at Little Claybrook, Leicestershire, whilst his son Thomas ran the medicinal business in London.