David Pearson (librarian)

David Pearson
David Pearson in 2018
Born	1958
Alma mater	University of Cambridge
Occupation(s)	author, editor, librarian
Known for	History of bookbinding
Notable work	Provenance Research in Book History: A Handbook

David Pearson (born 1955) is an English librarian who served as the Director of Culture, Heritage and Libraries at the City of London Corporation between 2009 and 2017; his brief covered London Metropolitan Archives, Guildhall Library, City Business Library, Guildhall Art Gallery, and other institutions. ^[1] He retired in early 2017 to focus on his work in book history and was a Senior Member of Darwin College, Cambridge until 2024.

He is Honorary Senior Research Associate of the Department of Information Studies, University College London (from 2016); and Distinguished Senior Fellow of the School of Advanced Study, University of London (from 2022). A member of the Faculty of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, he teaches regularly at the London Rare Book School.

Education

Pearson was educated at St Bees School (1967–1973) and is a graduate of the University of Cambridge (1974–1977, MA, PhD), and University of Loughborough (1980–81, Dip.Lib)." ^[2]

Career

Pearson was Director of the University of London Research Library Services (2004–2009), Librarian of the Wellcome Trust (1996–2004), Head of Special Collections at the National Art Library (1992–1996) and a curator in the Eighteenth-Century Short Title Catalogue project at the British Library (1986–1992).

He has lectured and published extensively on aspects of book history, with a particular emphasis on books as artefacts, and the ways in which they have been owned and bound. His books include Provenance Research in Book History (1994, new edition 2019), Oxford Bookbinding 1500-1640 (2000), For the Love of the Binding (ed, 2000), English Bookbinding Styles 1450-1800 (2005, reprinted 2014), Books as History : The importance of books beyond their texts (2008), London: 1000 Years (ed, 2011), Book Ownership in Stuart England (2021), Speaking Volumes: Books with Histories (2022), Cambridge Bookbinding 1450-1770 (2023). In 2020 he launched the online database Book Owners Online.

Pearson was President of the Bibliographical Society, 2010–2012. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

He was J. P. R. Lyell Reader in Bibliography, University of Oxford in 2017–2018. He delivered the Lyell Lectures on the topic “Book Ownership in Stuart England”. ^{[6] [7]}

Pearson held the Sandars Readership in Bibliography at Cambridge University in 2023-2024 and lectured on "Cambridge Bookbinding, 1450–1700." ^[8]

He became editor of The Book Collector in 2025. ^{[9] [10]}

Selected Publications

• Pearson, David. 2023. Cambridge Bookbinding: 1450-1770. Ann Arbor, Michigan: The Legacy Press. ^[11]
• Pearson, David. 2022. Speaking Volumes: Books with Histories. Oxford: Bodleian Library Publishing. ^[12]
• Pearson, David. 2021. Book Ownership in Stuart England. First edition. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ^{[13] [14]}
• Pearson, David. 2019. Provenance Research in Book History: A Handbook. New and revised edition. London, New Castle, Delaware: The Bodleian Library, Oak Knoll Press. ^[15]
• Pearson, David. 2010. “Patterns of Book Ownership in Late Seventeenth-Century England.” The Library: The Transactions of the Bibliographical Society 11 (2): 139–67.
• Pearson, David. 2008. Books as History: The Importance of Books beyond Their Texts. London, New Castle, DE: British Library ; Oak Knoll Press. ^[16]
• Pearson, David. 2005. English Bookbinding Styles, 1450-1800:A Handbook. London, New Castle, DE: British Library ; Oak Knoll Press. ^[17]

References

1. "How we are organised - Who we are". City of London. Archived from the original on 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
2. Faculty Profile: David Pearson." Rare Book School. University of Virginia, 2023. Accessed March 21, 2025.
3. Pearson, David. Books as History: The importance of books beyond their texts. London: British Library; New Castle, Del.: Oak Knoll Press, 2008. ( ISBN   9781584562337)
4. Who's Who 2010
5. "David Pearson". Rare Book School. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
6. "The Lyell Lectures". Centre for the Study of the Book, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
7. McKitterick, David. 2022. “Book Ownership in Stuart England. The Lyell Lectures, 2018 by David Pearson (Review).” The Library: The Transactions of the Bibliographical Society 23 (1): 115–16.
8. Foot, Mirjam. "Cambridge Bookbinding, 1450-1770." The Book Collector 73 (no 1) Spring 2024: 177-181.
9. Our New Editor: David Pearson The Book Collector. March 13,2025.
10. The Book Collector Names David Pearson as New Editor Fine Books & Collections. March 17, 2025.
11. Foot, Mirjam. "Cambridge Bookbinding, 1450-1770." The Book Collector 73 (no 1) Spring 2024: 177-181.
12. Craig, M. H. (2023) Speaking Volumes: Books with Histories, by David Pearson. Oxford: Bodleian Library, 2022. Library and Information History, 39(2), pp. 136 137. (doi: 10.3366/lih.2023.0149)[Book Review].
13. McKitterick, David. “Book Ownership in Stuart England. The Lyell Lectures, 2018. By David Pearson.” Library 2022: 115–116.
14. Samantha Zani; Book Ownership in Stuart England: Lyell Lectures in Bibliography.Libraries: Culture, History, and Society 2 October 2024; 8 (2): 162–164. doi: https://doi.org/10.5325/libraries.8.2.0162
15. Powell, Susan. “Book Review: Provenance Research in Book History: A Handbook by David Pearson. Oxford: Bodleian Library, 2019. Journal of the Early Book Society for the study of manuscripts and printing history 2019: 335–364.
16. Kowalchuk, Kristine. 2012. “Books as History: The Importance of Books Beyond Their Texts.” Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada / Cahiers de La Société Bibliographique Du Canada 50 (1): 90–92.
17. McKitterick, David. English Bookbinding Styles, 1450-1800: A Handbook.TLS. Times literary supplement (1969) 2005: 40-