[PW] Neville, a gentleman's name

[Brian Whatcott]

At 03:02 PM 9/3/2007, you wrote:

>"I am trying to track down a reference by Thomas
>Pynchon on page 438 of
>"Mason & Dixon" to a letter in "Gentlemen's (sic?)
>Magazine" regarding
>  the promotion of Neville Maskelyne to H.M. Astronomer
>. . ."
>
>I believe the Norman Conquest was responsible for
>bringing the name Neville to the British Isles where
>it eventually became (unevenly) Anglicized to Nevil.
>
>...why would Gentlemen's
>Magazine be "Gentlemen's (sic?) Magazine?"
>
>Sylvia, in need of clues
>

The Gentleman's Magazine, then also titled Trader's Monthly Intelligencer,
  began publication in January, 1731
Facsimile pages may be seen here:
<http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/ilej/pbrowse.pl?item=title&id=ilej.3.&title=Gentleman's+Magazine>

I find only pages through volume 20.
Unfortunately Rev. Maskelyne's appointment as assistant
  to the Astronomer Royal occurred in 1757 and as Fifth Astronomer 
Royal in 1765.

  There is a handsome portrait of him shown here:
<http://www.nmm.ac.uk/searchbin/searchs.pl?exhibit=it3370z>


Brian Whatcott    Altus OK    Eureka!