Bibliographical Society
Encyclopedia
Founded in 1892, the Bibliographical Society (of London) is the senior learned society
dealing with the study of the book
and its history, based in London
, England
.
The Society holds a monthly lecture between October and May, usually on the third Tuesday of the month at University College London
.
The first fifty years of the Bibliographical Society were documented in the book The Bibliographical Society, 1892–1942: Studies in Retrospect. The Book Encompassed, a volume of essays marking the Society's centenary was published in 1992.
The Library is a quarterly journal and is issued free to members who also receive a copy of all books published by the Society.
medal for distinguished services to bibliography to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the development of the subject and the furtherance of the Society's aims.
in the City of London
but moved to Senate House
in January 2007 where it is now available alongside the resources of the Senate House Libraries.
The Society's archive
is housed at the Bodleian Library
and may be used by scholars and members of the Society.
Learned society
A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline/profession, as well a group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies,...
dealing with the study of the book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
and its history, based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The Society holds a monthly lecture between October and May, usually on the third Tuesday of the month at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
.
The first fifty years of the Bibliographical Society were documented in the book The Bibliographical Society, 1892–1942: Studies in Retrospect. The Book Encompassed, a volume of essays marking the Society's centenary was published in 1992.
Objectives
The objectives of the Society are:- to promote and encourage study and research in the fields of:
- historical, analytical, descriptive and textual bibliographyBibliographyBibliography , as a practice, is the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology...
- the history of printingHistory of printingThe history of printing started around 3000 BC with the duplication of images. The use of round "cylinder seals" for rolling an impress onto clay tablets goes back to early Mesopotamian civilization before 3000 BC, where they are the most common works of art to survive, and feature complex and...
, publishingPublishingPublishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
, booksellingBooksellingBookselling is the commercial trading of books, the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers or bookmen.-Bookstores today:...
, bookbindingBookbindingBookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book from a number of folded or unfolded sheets of paper or other material. It usually involves attaching covers to the resulting text-block.-Origins of the book:...
and collectingBook collectingBook collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given individual collector. The love of books is bibliophilia, and someone who loves to read, admire, and collect...
- historical, analytical, descriptive and textual bibliography
- to hold meetings at which papers are read and discussed
- to print and publish a journalAcademic journalAn academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
(The Library) and books concerned with bibliography - to maintain a bibliographical libraryLibraryIn a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
- from time to time to award a medalMedalA medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
for services to bibliography - to support bibliographical research by awarding grants and bursariesGrant (money)Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...
Publications
The Society has published a journal since 1893, originally entitled Transactions of the Bibliographical Society. In 1920 it took over publication of The Library (issued since 1889) and adopted that as the main title of the Transactions. The different series of the Transactions and The Library are:- Transactions of the Bibliographical Society, vol. 1–15 (1893–1919)
- The Library, vol. 1–10 (1889–1898)
- The Library, Second/New series, vol. 1–10 (1900–1910)
- The Library, Third series, vol. 1–10 (1910–1919)
- The Library, Fourth series, vol. 1–26 (1920–1946)
- The Library, Fifth series, vol. 1–33 (1946–1978)
- The Library, Sixth series, vol. 1–21 (1979–1999)
- The Library, Seventh series, vol. 1– (2000– )
The Library is a quarterly journal and is issued free to members who also receive a copy of all books published by the Society.
Gold medal
The Society occasionally awards a goldGold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
medal for distinguished services to bibliography to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the development of the subject and the furtherance of the Society's aims.
| Year | Recipient |
|---|---|
| 1929 | Eames, Wilberforce |
| 1929 | Haebler, Konrad |
| 1929 | James, Montague Rhodes M. R. James Montague Rhodes James, OM, MA, , who used the publication name M. R. James, was an English mediaeval scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge and of Eton College . He is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are regarded as among the best in the genre... |
| 1929 | McKerrow, Ronald Brunlees Ronald Brunlees McKerrow Ronald Brunlees McKerrow was one of the leading bibliographers and Shakespeare scholars of the 20th century.-Life:R.B... |
| 1929 | Pollard, Alfred W. Alfred W. Pollard Alfred William Pollard was an English bibliographer, widely credited for bringing a higher level of scholarly rigor to the study of Shakespearean texts.... |
| 1932 | Madan, Falconer Falconer Madan Falconer Madan was Librarian of the Bodleian Library of Oxford University.Falconer was the fifth son of George and Harriet Madan. He was educated at Marlborough College and Brasenose College, Oxford, where he took part in Oxford and Cambridge Chess matches in 1873 and 1874, and won the University... |
| 1935 | Kenyon, Frederic G. Frederic G. Kenyon Sir Frederic George Kenyon GBE KCB TD FBA FSA was a British paleographer and biblical and classical scholar. He occupied from 1889 to 1931 a series of posts at the British Museum... |
| 1935 | Greg, Walter Wilson Walter Wilson Greg Sir Walter Wilson Greg was one of the leading bibliographers and Shakespeare scholars of the 20th century.... |
| 1948 | Morison, Stanley Stanley Morison Stanley Morison was an English typographer, designer and historian of printing.Born in Wanstead, Essex, Morison spent most of his childhood and early adult years at the family home in Fairfax Road, Harringay... |
| 1948 | Gibson, Strickland Strickland Gibson Strickland Gibson was an English librarian and bibliographer, who also served as Keeper of the Archives at the University of Oxford from 1927 to 1945.-Life:Gibson was born on 27 January 1877... |
| 1951 | Ferguson, Frederic Sutherland Frederic Sutherland Ferguson Frederic Sutherland Ferguson was an English bibliographer.He was educated at the Grocers' Company's School, Hackney Downs, and at King's College London, but did not take a degree. Ferguson joined the firm of Bernard Quaritch in 1897... |
| 1951 | Scholderer, Victor |
| 1956 | Kronenberg, Maria Elizabeth |
| 1956 | Johnson, Alfred Forbes |
| 1957 | Wroth, Lawrence C. Lawrence C. Wroth Lawrence Counselman Wroth was an American historian and the author of The Colonial Printer, the definitive book on the American printing trade during the period of 1639 through 1800... |
| 1960 | Lowe, Elias Avery Elias Avery Lowe Elias Avery Lowe , original name Elias Avery Loew, was an American palaeographer. His wife was the noted translator H. T... |
| 1960 | Oldham, J. Basil |
| 1965 | Jackson, William Alexander |
| 1969 | Bowers, Fredson Fredson Bowers Fredson Thayer Bowers was an American bibliographer and scholar of textual editing.-Life:Bowers was a graduate of Brown University and Harvard University... |
| 1969 | Pollard, Graham Graham Pollard Henry Graham Pollard was a British bookseller and bibliographer.Pollard was the son of the historian Albert Pollard and was born in Putney, London on 7 March 1903... |
| 1975 | Carter, John John Carter (Author) John Waynflete Carter was an English author, diplomat, bibliographer, book-collector, antiquarian bookseller and Vice-President of the Bibliographical Society of London. After attending Eton College, he studied classics at King's College, Cambridge, where he gained a double first... |
| 1975 | Ker, Neil Ripley Neil Ripley Ker Neil Ripley Ker, FBA, was a scholar of Anglo-Saxon literature. He is known especially for his Catalogue of manuscripts containing Anglo-Saxon, which is praised as a milestone in Anglo-Saxon manuscript study.-Legacy:... |
| 1978 | Nixon, Howard M. |
| 1982 | Bischoff, Bernhard |
| 1982 | Keynes, Geoffrey Geoffrey Keynes Sir Geoffrey Langdon Keynes was an English biographer, surgeon, physician, scholar and bibliophile... |
| 1984 | Foxon, David |
| 1986 | Kristeller, Paul Oskar Paul Oskar Kristeller Paul Oskar Kristeller was an important scholar of Renaissance humanism. He was awarded the Haskins Medal in 1992. He was last active as Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Columbia University in New York, where he mentored both Irving Louis Horowitz and A... |
| 1988 | Pantzer, Katharine |
| 1990 | McKenzie, Donald Francis |
| 1992 | Hobson, Anthony R. A. |
| 1994 | Martin, Henri-Jean Henri-Jean Martin Henri-Jean Martin was a leading authority on the history of the book in Europe, and an expert on the history of writing and printing... |
| 1997 | Alston, Robin |
| 1999 | Barker, Nicolas |
| 1999 | Fabian, Bernhard |
| 2001 | Watson, Andrew G. |
| 2003 | Davison, Peter Hobley |
| 2005 | McKitterick, David |
| 2007 | Rhodes, Dennis |
| 2009 | Hellinga, Lotte |
Library and archives
The Society's library was housed at Stationers' HallWorshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers
The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was founded in 1403; it received a Royal Charter in 1557...
in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
but moved to Senate House
Senate House (University of London)
Senate House is the administrative centre of the University of London, situated in the heart of Bloomsbury, London between the School of Oriental and African Studies to the north, with the British Museum to the south...
in January 2007 where it is now available alongside the resources of the Senate House Libraries.
The Society's archive
Archive
An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
is housed at the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
and may be used by scholars and members of the Society.
See also
- Bibliographical Society of AmericaBibliographical Society of AmericaThe Bibliographical Society of America is the oldest learned society in North America that studies books and manuscripts as physical objects. Established in 1904, the society promotes bibliographical research and issues bibliographical publications...
- Sir Frank FrancisFrank FrancisSir Frank Chalton Francis KCB was an English academic librarian and curator. Almost all his working life was at the British Museum, first as an assistant keeper in the department of printed books, and later as secretary of the museum, keeper of printed books and, between 1959 and 1968, director...
and Julian RobertsJulian RobertsRichard Julian Roberts FSA was a British librarian, bibliographer, and scholar.Julian Roberts was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he started reading Classics, but switched to English in his first year.- Biography :In the early 1950s, Roberts began...
, former joint secretaries of the Society