Beschreibung:

Lawson (John, 1932-2019). A large archive of the antiquarian bookseller John Lawson's professional correspondence and invoices, circa 1950s-2000s, including approximately 250 autograph letters and notecards from his friend the legendary English surgeon, bibliographer and bibliophile Sir Geoffrey Keynes (1887-1982), c. 1958-68, this correspondence largely archived by year in old manila envelopes, the remaining miscellaneous correspondence with book collectors, institutions and librarians partly sorted into folders, and including one further folder relating to the valuation of Geoffrey Keynes's library, plus a small signed photograph of Geoffrey Keynes and a full-length bronze portrait, with green patina, of the seated Keynes with his initials, titled 'Books L---', dated 1982 and numbered 2/12, 26 cm tall, base 21 x 7.5 cm (Qty: 2 cartons & a bronze) John Lawson joined E.M. Lawson & Co., the firm that his father had started at Sutton Coldfield in 1921, after he was demobbed from National Service in the RAF in 1952. For nearly 70 years he traded as a bookseller, issuing hundreds of catalogues on subjects including 17th-century English literature, science, medicine and travel. John travelled widely making book friends nationally and internationally while garnering a reputation for his knowledge, accuracy and fairness. Most notable of his customers was Sir Geoffrey Keynes, whose tastes and enthusiasm as a book collector had a great impact on John's own bookselling interests. John was an active member of the ABA committee and served as its President in 1976-8. A remarkable archive offering insights into the working methods of an erudite bookdealer and the changing patterns of the antiquarian book trade over a 60-year span.