Until the late nineteenth century, the printing and distribution of federal government documents was not well regulated. In 1885, John H. Hickcox, Sr. began privately publishing United States Government Publications; a Monthly Catalogue, also known as Hickcox’s Monthly Catalogue, which alerted the public to the availability of recent publications, a function that the government was not then performing. Hickcox’s catalog immediately preceded establishment of the government-published Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications, of which he subsequently was appointed the first compiler. This paper presents information on Hickcox from primary materials and other secondary sources in order to create an awareness of Hickcox and his Catalogue, which have previously been ignored by historians of government information. In addition, some earlier accounts of Hickcox’s activities are clarified and corrected.

In January 1882, John H. Hickcox, a central government documents figure in his time, and the creator of United States Government Publications: A Monthly Catalogue or Hickcox's Monthly Catalogue was arrested in Washington, DC, for taking letters addressed to the Librarian of Congress. Although the charges were eventually dismissed, 1882 is the last year that Hickcox worked for the Library of Congress. In an effort to add to the history of the key players in government documents publishing, this paper explores this strange incident and also documents other details of Hickcox's life and his catalog, which were discovered during the course of this investigation. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.