William King Richardson
1859 - 1951
Person TypeIndividual
Last Updated5/8/24
Terms
Rome, 1846 - 1929, Rome
Calcutta India, 1776 - 1847, London
Villers-Cotterêts, France, 1802 - 1870, Dieppe, France
BiographyWilliam King Richardson (1859–1951) was a member of the Harvard College Class of 1880. Just two years later he earned a double first at Balliol College, Oxford University (purportedly the first American to obtain this distinction at Oxford). His library was begun at the Lord Amherst of Hackney sale in 1908. For more than forty years, Richardson had the opportunity and the means to collect printed books and manuscripts of considerable distinction. He maintained a considerable variety of scholarly interests throughout his life; his library is similarly wide-ranging. Its particular strengths are illuminated manuscripts, illustrated books, and fine bindings. His library also includes 109 incunabula. [http://blogs.harvard.edu/houghton/wkr1/ DJackson 5/18/2021]