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Jacob Tonson

This article is about the eighteenth century bookseller. For the British novelist who reviewed books under this name, see Arnold Bennett.

Jacob Tonson
Portrait of Jacob Tonson by Godfrey Kneller, 1717
Born12 November 1655
Died17 March 1735/6
NationalityEnglish
Occupation(s)Bookseller and publisher
ParentJacob Tonson

Jacob Tonson, sometimes referred to as Jacob Tonson the Elder (1655–1736), was an eighteenth-century English bookseller and publisher.

Tonson published editions of John Dryden and John Milton, and is best known for having obtained a copyright on the plays of William Shakespeare by buying up the rights of the heirs of the publisher of the Fourth Folio after the Statute of Anne went into effect. He was also the founder of the famous Kit-Cat Club. His nephew, Jacob Tonson the Younger (1682–1735), was his business partner. The business was continued by the younger Tonson's son, Jacob Tonson (1714–1767).