Friends of PUL Small Talk: Terry Seymour "Edmond Malone’s Tempest Theory: An Account of the Creation, Distribution, and Survival"
On Wednesday, February 12, join the Friends for a special talk with Terry Seymour, chair of the Friends Acquisitions Committee and author of “Edmond Malone’s Tempest Theory: An Account of the Creation, Distribution, and Survival.”
Seymour’s book is a census of a pamphlet published by the 18th-century Shakespeare scholar Edmond Malone (1741–1812) “An Account of the Incidents, from which the Title and Part of the Story of Shakespeare’s Tempest Were Derived; and Its True Date Ascertained.” In 1808, Malone privately printed 80 in the edition; each was inscribed and delivered to specific recipients.
Seymour will discuss an extensive search of American and British libraries, as well as in private collections, to locate and personally examine as many of the copies as possible, compiling all known and suspected copies from auction catalogs and other references into this census. As background, the author will provide more biographical information about Edmond Malone, explain his importance, and why he may be under-appreciated today.
Current Friends of PUL members are invited to attend in person. Registration is required.
The presentation will also be available by Zoom for non-members.
Please select the appropriate registration type below. Due to limited capacity, membership status will be checked after registration.
- Date:
- Wednesday, February 12, 2025
- Time:
- 4:00pm - 5:00pm
- Location:
- Center for Modern Aging (formerly PSRC), 101 Poor Farm Road, Princeton, NJ 08540
- Audience:
- Friends of Princeton University Library Student Friends of Princeton University Library
- Categories:
- Friends of the Princeton University Library Event
Biography
Terry Seymour is an Independent Scholar who concentrates on bibliographical topics. He is the author of Boswell’s Books: Four Generations of Collecting and Collectors, published in 2016 by Oak Knoll Press. He is considered the leading authority on the J. M. Dent series, Everyman’s Library and is the author of two books on that subject: A Guide to Collecting Everyman’s Library (2005) and A Printing History of Everyman’s Library 1906-1982 (2010). In 2008 he co-curated an exhibition at the University of North Carolina entitled, “The ABC of Collecting Everyman’s Library, Archives, Books, Collectors.” He presented a paper on the Everyman series at the Books in Series Conference in London, October 2007. The papers from the conference were edited and published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2011.
His piece on Mrs. Piozzi’s Johnson’s Letters appeared in Other People’s Books, published by the Caxton Club in 2011.
In December 2013 he was invited by the Johnson Society of London to perform the annual wreath-laying in Westminster Abbey to honor Dr. Johnson. Following the service he addressed the Society on the subject of Johnson and Boswell as book collectors.
He has served on the Council of the Friends of the Princeton University Library since 1998, and is currently a member of the Executive Committee.
Works in progress include a census of the first edition of Boswell’s Life of Johnson (1791) and a catalogue of the library of Thomas Ruddiman.
Mr. Seymour holds an A.B. degree in English literature from Princeton University, and an M.A. in English literature from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Terry I. Seymour, January, 2025
Books
A Guide to Collecting Everyman’s Library (Author House: 2005)
A Printing History of Everyman’s Library 1906-1982 (Author House: 2010)
Boswell’s Books: Four Generations of Collecting and Collectors (Oak Knoll Press, 2016)
Edmond Malone’s Tempest Theory (Sleepy Zebra Press: 2024)
Major Book Articles
“A Scholar’s Notepad” in Other People’s Books (Caxton Club: 2011)
“Boswell in Broadside” in (Bucknell University Press: 2021)