History Of The Book Lecture Series: “Two 17th-Century Book Collectors: Humphrey Dyson and Richard Smith.”

Event time: 
Tuesday, December 2, 2014 - 11:00am
Location: 
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St., New Haven, CT 06511 See map
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St., New Haven, CT 06511
New Haven, CT 06520
Event description: 

The History Of The Book Lecture Series presents:

Alan H. Nelson, Professor of English Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley: “Two 17th-Century Book Collectors: Humphrey Dyson and Richard Smith.”

Please join us on Tuesday, Dec. 2, for a lecture by Alan H. Nelson, Professor of English Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, about two of the most important private London book collectors of the 17th century: Humphrey Dyson (d. 1633) and Richard Smith (d. 1675).

Because both Dyson and Smith (who purchased Dyson’s library in 1633) compiled catalogs, most of Dyson’s approximately 1,600 titles and Smith’s 20,000 titles can be identified. Many volumes, including intact Sammelbaende (composite volumes), can be traced to modern collections. The Beinecke holds at least seven imprints and one Sammelband formerly owned by Dyson, and perhaps more items formerly owned by Smith. The Beinecke also holds one of Dyson’s many collections of royal proclamations.

Professor Nelson will describe Dyson’s catalog and Smith’s many catalogs; try to account for the idiosyncracies of each collection; and analyze volumes from the Beinecke, concentrating on the Sammelband and on Dyson’s collection of royal proclamations.

Admission: 
Free
Open to: 
General Public