An elegy in a book entitled
Astræa Lacrimans, published anonymously in 1710, was probably written by Coxeter. In 1720 he contributed one or more of the indexes to
John Hudson's edition of
Josephus; and in 1739 he published a new edition of the
Life of Bishop Fisher often attributed to
Richard Hall, its translator into Latin. Coxeter was a collector of old English plays, and allowed the Shakespearean editor,
Theobald, to make use of them. He also assisted
Joseph Ames in the preparation of
Typographical Antiquities. In 1744 he circulated proposals for an annotated edition of the dramatic works of
Thomas May, but the scheme was never carried out. In the prospectus he said that, having determined to "revive the best of our old plays, faithfully collated with all the editions that could be found in a search of above thirty years", he "happened to communicate his scheme to one who now invades it" — the reference being to
Robert Dodsley, whose
Select Collection of Old Plays appeared in 1744. In the same prospectus he promised an edition (which was never published) of the works of
Thomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst. Coxeter's manuscript collections were largely used in
Theophilus Cibber's
Lives of the Poets and in
Thomas Warton's
History of English Poetry. His statements are to be received with caution, for he invented titles of imaginary books. In 1759, a four-volume edition of
Philip Massinger's works appeared, "collated by Mr. Coxeter"; it was criticised by
William Gifford. Others – the
Edinburgh Review in 1808, and contemporary scholars – have been more complimentary. ==References==