Edward Edwards (librarian)
Encyclopedia
Edward Edwards was a British
librarian
, library historian
, and biographer. He was an important figure in the establishment of free libraries in the U.K. He died and is buried in Niton on the Isle of Wight
.
on subjects of public interest, and his productions evince considerable information as well as mental activity and intelligence. He wrote on national universities, with especial reference to the university of London
, whose charter was then under discussion; on the British Museum
, at the time undergoing thorough investigation from Benjamin Hawes
' committee; and, at a somewhat later date, on the reform of the Royal Academy
. His attention was probably directed to the latter subject by the work he undertook in 1837, in connection with the patentees of the Collas system of engraving
, on the great seals of England
, and on the medals struck under the French Empire
. His account of the latter extends from 1804 to 1810, but was never completed. He also about this time assisted Mr. W. Macarthur in his account of New South Wales
, though his name did not appear in connection with the work.
in framing the ninety-one rules for the formation of this catalogue, the others being John Winter Jones, afterwards principal librarian; Thomas Watts, afterwards keeper of printed books; and Serjeant Parry, then, like Edwards, a supernumerary assistant. On the commencement of the catalogue Edwards was assigned to the duty of cataloguing the collection of English civil war
tracts, formed under Charles I
and the Commonwealth by the bookseller Thomason, and containing more than thirty thousand separate pieces. These were entirely catalogued by him, and his titles are generally very good, sometimes perhaps overly detailed. The task seems to have absorbed his energies for several years, or any other literary work which he may have produced was anonymous. About 1846 he began to devote great attention to the statistics of libraries, collected returns supplied by foreign librarians or excerpted by himself from foreign publications, and published the results in the Athenaeum. Unfortunately these statistics were frequently fallacious, and Mr. Watts, in a series of letters published in the Athenaeum under the signature "Verificator," easily showed that Edwards's assertions and conclusions were little to be relied on. They had served, however, to make him a popular authority, and he was able to render very valuable service to William Ewart, whose committee on free libraries in 1850 originated the Public Libraries Act
. It was natural that Edwards should be offered the librarianship of the first important free library established under Mr. Ewart's act, which he was the more disposed to accept as his engagement at the museum had from various causes ceased to be satisfactory to himself or the authorities.
, chairman of the library committee. The relations of the librarian of a free library and his committee frequently require tact and forbearance on both sides, and this was certainly wanting on the part of Edwards, whose temper was naturally impatient of control, and who admits in the pamphlet already mentioned that he had been taxed both with indifference to economy and with an undue regard to his own reputation. His position grew more and more uneasy, and in 1858 he was compelled to resign.
, published (1869) a small book on Free Town Libraries; written his Chapters on the Biographical History of the French Academy (1864); edited the Liber Monasterii de Hyda for the Rolls Series; and produced (1865) his biography of Sir Walter Raleigh
. The second volume is particularly valuable, containing for the first time a complete edition of Raleigh's correspondence; the memoir also has considerable merit, but it appeared almost simultaneously with that of James Augustus St. John
; and it was remarked with surprise that each biography appeared to be deficient in whatever gave interest to the other, and that the two would need to be blended to produce a really satisfactory work. After the publication of his history of the museum, Edwards accepted an engagement to catalogue the library of Queen's College, Oxford, which occupied him for several years. On the formation of the Library Association in 1877 he was proposed as its first president, but was unable to carry out the role due to deafness. After the completion of his Oxford engagement he retired to Niton, Isle of Wight
, and occupied himself with projects for a recast of his Memoirs of Libraries, with great alterations and improvements. A prospectus of the intended work was issued by Trübner & Co. Edwards negotiated for the appearance of a portion of it in the Library Chronicle, and was understood to have collected considerable material for it, but it is unknown whether this still exists. His last published book was a Handbook to Lists of Collective Biography, undertaken in conjunction with Mr. C. Hole, the first and only part of which appeared in 1885. He also wrote the greater part of the article Newspapers in the ninth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. He died at Niton, on 10 February 1886.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
librarian
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
, library historian
Library scholar
A library scholar is a researcher or academic who specializes in the history or development of libraries or their internal processes, such as cataloging and knowledge organization .-Examples:* James Duff Brown* Melvil Dewey* Michael Gorman...
, and biographer. He was an important figure in the establishment of free libraries in the U.K. He died and is buried in Niton on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
.
Early life and work
He was born in London, England on 14 December 1812. His father, Anthony Turner Edwards, was a builder. There is no record of Edwards' education and early employments, but in 1836 he appears as a pamphleteerPamphleteer
A pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets. Pamphlets were used to broadcast the writer's opinions on an issue, for example, in order to get people to vote for their favorite politician or to articulate a particular political ideology.A famous pamphleteer...
on subjects of public interest, and his productions evince considerable information as well as mental activity and intelligence. He wrote on national universities, with especial reference to the university of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, whose charter was then under discussion; on the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, at the time undergoing thorough investigation from Benjamin Hawes
Benjamin Hawes
Sir Benjamin Hawes was a British Whig politician. He was born in 1797 to Benjamin Hawes and educated at a private school in Putney. He was a grandson of William Hawes, founder of the Royal Humane Society...
' committee; and, at a somewhat later date, on the reform of the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
. His attention was probably directed to the latter subject by the work he undertook in 1837, in connection with the patentees of the Collas system of engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
, on the great seals of England
Great Seal of the Realm
The Great Seal of the Realm or Great Seal of the United Kingdom is a seal that is used to symbolise the Sovereign's approval of important state documents...
, and on the medals struck under the French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
. His account of the latter extends from 1804 to 1810, but was never completed. He also about this time assisted Mr. W. Macarthur in his account of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, though his name did not appear in connection with the work.
Association with the British Museum
Meanwhile his pamphlet on the museum and the evidence he had given before the museum committee had attracted the attention of the authorities, and in 1839 he became a supernumerary assistant in the printed book department, for especial employment on the new catalogue ordered by the trustees. Edwards was one of the four coadjutors of Anthony PanizziAnthony Panizzi
Sir Antonio Genesio Maria Panizzi , better known as Anthony Panizzi, was a naturalized British librarian of Italian birth and an Italian patriot.-Early life in Italy:...
in framing the ninety-one rules for the formation of this catalogue, the others being John Winter Jones, afterwards principal librarian; Thomas Watts, afterwards keeper of printed books; and Serjeant Parry, then, like Edwards, a supernumerary assistant. On the commencement of the catalogue Edwards was assigned to the duty of cataloguing the collection of English civil war
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
tracts, formed under Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
and the Commonwealth by the bookseller Thomason, and containing more than thirty thousand separate pieces. These were entirely catalogued by him, and his titles are generally very good, sometimes perhaps overly detailed. The task seems to have absorbed his energies for several years, or any other literary work which he may have produced was anonymous. About 1846 he began to devote great attention to the statistics of libraries, collected returns supplied by foreign librarians or excerpted by himself from foreign publications, and published the results in the Athenaeum. Unfortunately these statistics were frequently fallacious, and Mr. Watts, in a series of letters published in the Athenaeum under the signature "Verificator," easily showed that Edwards's assertions and conclusions were little to be relied on. They had served, however, to make him a popular authority, and he was able to render very valuable service to William Ewart, whose committee on free libraries in 1850 originated the Public Libraries Act
Public Libraries Act 1850
The Public Libraries Act 1850 was an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which first gave local boroughs the power to establish free public libraries...
. It was natural that Edwards should be offered the librarianship of the first important free library established under Mr. Ewart's act, which he was the more disposed to accept as his engagement at the museum had from various causes ceased to be satisfactory to himself or the authorities.
Association with the Manchester Free Library
He accordingly became in 1850 the first librarian of the Manchester Free Library (opened 1852), and applied himself with much energy to the management and development of the institution. His project for a classified catalogue was published in 1855 in the form of a letter to Sir John PotterJohn Potter (Liberal politician)
Sir John Potter was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom.- Early life :John was born in April 1815 at Polefield near Prestwich, Lancashire. He was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Potter and his second wife, Esther née Bayley...
, chairman of the library committee. The relations of the librarian of a free library and his committee frequently require tact and forbearance on both sides, and this was certainly wanting on the part of Edwards, whose temper was naturally impatient of control, and who admits in the pamphlet already mentioned that he had been taxed both with indifference to economy and with an undue regard to his own reputation. His position grew more and more uneasy, and in 1858 he was compelled to resign.
Later life
The rest of his life was devoted to the literary labours which will chiefly contribute to preserve his name. In 1859 appeared his Memoirs of Libraries, a work of great value, containing a general history of libraries from the earliest ages, continued and supplemented by his Libraries and their Founders, 1865. By his Lives of the Founders of the British Museum (1870) he made himself the historian of the national library. He had written the article Libraries in the Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
, published (1869) a small book on Free Town Libraries; written his Chapters on the Biographical History of the French Academy (1864); edited the Liber Monasterii de Hyda for the Rolls Series; and produced (1865) his biography of Sir Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
. The second volume is particularly valuable, containing for the first time a complete edition of Raleigh's correspondence; the memoir also has considerable merit, but it appeared almost simultaneously with that of James Augustus St. John
James Augustus St. John
James Augustus St. John , was a British author and traveller. He was born in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, Wales, the son of Gelly John, shoemaker. He recorded that he received instruction from a local clergyman, eventually mastering the classics, and acquiring proficiency in French, Italian,...
; and it was remarked with surprise that each biography appeared to be deficient in whatever gave interest to the other, and that the two would need to be blended to produce a really satisfactory work. After the publication of his history of the museum, Edwards accepted an engagement to catalogue the library of Queen's College, Oxford, which occupied him for several years. On the formation of the Library Association in 1877 he was proposed as its first president, but was unable to carry out the role due to deafness. After the completion of his Oxford engagement he retired to Niton, Isle of Wight
Niton, Isle of Wight
Niton is a village on the Isle of Wight, near Ventnor with a thriving population of 1142, supporting two pubs, several churches,a pottery workshop/shop, a pharmacy and 3 local shops including a post office...
, and occupied himself with projects for a recast of his Memoirs of Libraries, with great alterations and improvements. A prospectus of the intended work was issued by Trübner & Co. Edwards negotiated for the appearance of a portion of it in the Library Chronicle, and was understood to have collected considerable material for it, but it is unknown whether this still exists. His last published book was a Handbook to Lists of Collective Biography, undertaken in conjunction with Mr. C. Hole, the first and only part of which appeared in 1885. He also wrote the greater part of the article Newspapers in the ninth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. He died at Niton, on 10 February 1886.