Anna Elisabeth Charlotte Harvey-Simoni (1916–2007), Curator of the Dutch section at

The British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

's Department of Printed Books (1950–81), was a bibliographer and research librarian who mainly worked on books printed in the

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and Dutch art, ...

Life

Born Anneliese Simoni to a Jewish family in Leipzig on 30 August 1916, she was educated in Leipzig. She studied Latin and Italian at the universities of Turin and Genoa but was unable to complete her course of studies there when the Italian racial laws came into force, and in 1938 she sought refuge in Britain.E. Cockx-Indestege, "Anna E. C. Harvey-Simoni", '' Quaerendo'', 37 (2007), pp. 1-8. She eventually obtained her degree at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. She joined the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

in 1943 and was demobbed in 1946. Simoni was employed at the British Library at the beginning of 1950, and by the end of that year had been appointed curator of the Dutch section in the Department of Printed Books. She remained in that capacity until her retirement in 1981. On 24 October 1985 she married William Harvey, taking his name but continuing to publish under her own. In 1991 a

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

was published in her honour, ''Across the Narrow Seas: Studies in the history and bibliography of the Low Countries presented to Anna E. C. Simoni'', edited by Susan Roach. Contributors included Lotte Hellinga, Dennis E. Rhodes,

Helen Wallis Helen Margaret Wallis (17 August 1924 – 7 February 1995) was the Map Curator at the British Museum (afterwards the British Library) from 1967 to 1987. Biography Born at Dunkery, Park Road, Barnet on 17 August 1924, Wallis was the daughter o ...

, Jonathan Israel, and

T. A. Birrell Thomas Anthony Clement Birrell (25 July 1924 – 22 May 2011) was Professor of English and American Literature at the Catholic University of Nijmegen (1949–84) and also served as the university's rector. In 1984 a Festschrift was published in his ...

. Simoni died at home in

Gillingham, Dorset Gillingham ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. It lies on the B3095 and B3081 roads, approximately south of the A303 road, A303 trunk road and northwest of Shaftesbury. It is the most northerly town i ...

, on 8 January 2007.

Works

* ''Publish and be Free: A catalogue of clandestine books printed in The Netherlands, 1940–1945, in the British Library'' (1975) * ''Catalogue of Books from the Low Countries, 1601–1621, in the British Library'' (1990) * ''The Ostend Story: Early tales of the great siege and the mediating role of Henrick van Haestens'' (2003)

Awards

* Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion, 1998 * Premio della Citta di Genova, 1999 *

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

University of Genoa The University of Genoa, known also with the acronym UniGe ( it, Università di Genova), is one of the largest universities in Italy. It is located in the city of Genoa and regional Metropolitan City of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Liguri ...

, 2000

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simoni, Anna 1916 births 2007 deaths People from Leipzig Alumni of the University of Glasgow British bibliographers Employees of the British Library Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Women bibliographers Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Women's Auxiliary Air Force airwomen