Augustus Bartholomew
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Augustus Theodore (Theo) Bartholomew (26 August 1882 – 14 March 1933) was a librarian at
Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of over 100 libraries Libraries of the University of Cambridge, within the university. The library is a major scholarly resource for me ...
from 1900 until his death in 1933. He maintained friendships with a number of significant individuals, including
Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World ...
, the novelist
Forrest Reid Forrest Reid (24 June 1875, Belfast, Ireland; 4 January 1947, Warrenpoint, County Down, Northern Ireland) was an Irish novelist, literary critic and translator. He was a leading pre-war novelist of boyhood and is still acclaimed as a noted Ulster ...
and the uranian poet and librarian
Charles Sayle Charles Edward Sayle (6 December 1864 – 4 July 1924) was an English Uranian poetry, Uranian poet, literary scholar and librarian. He was the youngest son of Robert Sayle, the founder of a Cambridge department store, and Priscilla Caroline Say ...
. He was an editor, with
Henry Festing Jones Henry Festing Jones (30 January 1851 – 23 October 1928) was an English solicitor and writer, known as the friend and posthumous biographer of Samuel Butler (novelist), Samuel Butler. Life He was the son of Thomas Jones Queen's Counsel, Q.C., ...
, of the works of Samuel Butler (published 1923–26) and collected materials for a biography of
Frederick Rolfe Frederick William Rolfe (surname pronounced ), better known as Baron Corvo (Italian for "Crow"), and also calling himself Frederick William Serafino Austin Lewis Mary Rolfe (22 July 1860 – 25 October 1913), was an English writer, artist, ph ...
.


Life


Early life and education

Bartholomew was born in Walthamstow, the youngest of eight children to Alice Mary Bartholomew (née Chaplin) and Charles Augustus Bartholomew, his father having died shortly before his birth. His mother moved the family to
Fowlmere Fowlmere is one of the southernmost villages in Cambridgeshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 1,206. It is very close to the Imperial War Museum Duxford, and southwest of the city of Cambridge. History ...
, near Cambridge, and he attended the Nonconformist
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
in
Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the ...
. His mother's lack of funds forced him to leave school at an early age, and seek employment nearby. In spite of his limited education, Bartholomew felt from an early age a definite desire for a career in books. Initial enquiries to Robert Bowes' bookshop in Cambridge and the
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...
in Oxford were unsuccessful, and he spent the summer of 1899 working in the Public Library in Norwich. At the age of 17 he found a job as "Second-Class Assistant" at the University Library at Cambridge (then housed in the mostly medieval
Old Schools The Old Schools are part of the University of Cambridge, in the centre of Cambridge, England. The Old Schools house the Cambridge University Offices, which form the main administration for the University. The building is Grade I listed.
building), and started work on 29 January 1900 earning 10 shillings a week. In 1901 he was able to enter
Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...
, as an undergraduate, graduating in 1904 and moving from lodgings on Lensfield Road in Cambridge to Kellet Lodge on Tennis Court Road. In 1906 he became friends with the novelist
Forrest Reid Forrest Reid (24 June 1875, Belfast, Ireland; 4 January 1947, Warrenpoint, County Down, Northern Ireland) was an Irish novelist, literary critic and translator. He was a leading pre-war novelist of boyhood and is still acclaimed as a noted Ulster ...
, and made his first visit to Venice in 1907, where he met the uranian poet
Horatio Brown Horatio Robert Forbes Brown (16 February 1854 – 19 August 1926) was a Scottish historian who specialized in the Venice#History, history of Venice and history of Italy, Italy. Born in Nice, he grew up in Midlothian, Scotland, was educated in E ...
.


Sexuality

Bartholomew was
homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...
. In his youth, he had been a member of the circle of handsome (and sometimes homosexual) young men who congregated at
Charles Edward Sayle Charles Edward Sayle (6 December 1864 – 4 July 1924) was an English Uranian poet, literary scholar and librarian. He was the youngest son of Robert Sayle, the founder of a Cambridge department store, and Priscilla Caroline Sayle. Educated at ...
's house in Cambridge, including
Rupert Brooke Rupert Chawner Brooke (3 August 1887 – 23 April 1915The date of Brooke's death and burial under the Julian calendar that applied in Greece at the time was 10 April. The Julian calendar was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar.) was an En ...
,
George Mallory George Herbert Leigh-Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an English Mountaineering, mountaineer who participated in the first three British Mount Everest expeditions from the early to mid-1920s. He and climbing partner An ...
and
Geoffrey Keynes Sir Geoffrey Langdon Keynes ( ; 25 March 1887, Cambridge – 5 July 1982, Cambridge) was a British surgeon and author. He began his career as a physician in World War I, before becoming a doctor at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, where he ...
, who remained a close friend throughout his life.
Charles Sayle Charles Edward Sayle (6 December 1864 – 4 July 1924) was an English Uranian poetry, Uranian poet, literary scholar and librarian. He was the youngest son of Robert Sayle, the founder of a Cambridge department store, and Priscilla Caroline Say ...
, employed at Cambridge University Library since 1893, became one of the chief figures in his life, taking the young Bartholomew under his wing. In 1909 they invited Henry James to visit Cambridge, where he stayed at Sayle's house. Sayle soon became insecure about his young friend deserting him (Sayle was 18 years Bartholomew's senior). But they remained friends until Sayle's death in 1924, by which time Bartholomew (now in his early forties) now suffered from similar anxieties of growing old in an ever-youthful university city. He corresponded with authors he admired, including
Edward Carpenter Edward Carpenter (29 August 1844 – 28 June 1929) was an English utopian socialist, poet, philosopher, anthologist, an early activist for gay rights and prison reform whilst advocating vegetarianism and taking a stance against vivise ...
(to whom he wrote about the book
Iolaus
in 1902 and whom he met in 1911),
Magnus Hirschfeld Magnus Hirschfeld (14 May 1868 – 14 May 1935) was a German physician, Sexology, sexologist and LGBTQ advocate, whose German citizenship was later revoked by the Nazi government.David A. Gerstner, ''Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer ...
(whom he met at one of Edward Dent's dinner parties in 1910) and Ralph Chubb (a younger Cambridge poet whose homosexual poems and paintings had inspired Bartholomew's interest).


Librarianship

After graduation he became part of the team tasked with cataloguing
Lord Acton John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, Liberal politician, and writer. A strong advocate for individua ...
's library of 60,000 books, which he had donated to Cambridge. The task took nine years. He became Under-Librarian at Cambridge in 1913, a position he held until his death in 1933. Books were of course one of his primary interests and in 1903 he was among the first members of the university'
Baskerville Club
In 1909 he bought a copy of the
Doves Press The Doves Press was a private press based in Hammersmith, London. During nearly seventeen years of operation, Doves Press produced notable examples of twentieth-century typography. A distinguishing feature of its books was a specially-devised typ ...
''Shakespeare's Sonnets'' at a cost of £1 10s (which he called 'a horrible extravagance') and in November that year was sounded out by
Sydney Cockerell Sir Sydney Carlyle Cockerell (16 July 1867 – 1 May 1962) was an English museum curator and collector. From 1908 to 1937, he was director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England. He was knighted in 1934. Biography Sydney Cockerell m ...
about becoming
Emery Walker Sir Emery Walker FSA (2 April 1851 – 22 July 1933) was an English engraver, photographer and printer. Walker took an active role in many organisations that were at the heart of the Arts and Crafts movement, including the Art Workers Gu ...
's assistant. Through
Geoffrey Keynes Sir Geoffrey Langdon Keynes ( ; 25 March 1887, Cambridge – 5 July 1982, Cambridge) was a British surgeon and author. He began his career as a physician in World War I, before becoming a doctor at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, where he ...
, he became acquainted with
Gwen Gwen may refer to: * Gwen (given name), including a list of people with the name * Gwen (singer), a member of the Filipino Pinoy pop group Bini * ''Gwen, or the Book of Sand'', a 1985 animated film * Gwen (film), a 2018 horror film * Tropical Storm ...
and Jacques Raverat (Gwen, a granddaughter of
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
, was the sister of Keynes' wife Margaret) and acquired a copy of Jacques' edition of
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
's ''The marriage of heaven and hell'' (printed at the
Ashendene Press The Ashendene Press was a small private press founded by St John Hornby (1867–1946). It operated from 1895 to 1915 in Chelsea, London and was revived after the war in 1920. The press closed in 1935. Its peers included the Kelmscott Press and ...
in just 24 copies in 1910). With Keynes Bartholomew worked on
John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's Diary, ...
, the two publishing a handlist of his works in 1916 (in 25 copies), and for a time Bartholomew worked on editing Evelyn's diary for publication until giving it up in 1921. He collected a wide range of books, including many on
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
and
sexology Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, Human sexual activity, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social crit ...
. In 1915 Bartholomew met
Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World ...
and helped with the publication of his poetry, including ''Picture Show'' in 1919. Bartholomew's collection of Sassoon's works, and some of his manuscripts, is now at Cambridge University Library in th
collection
of
Geoffrey Keynes Sir Geoffrey Langdon Keynes ( ; 25 March 1887, Cambridge – 5 July 1982, Cambridge) was a British surgeon and author. He began his career as a physician in World War I, before becoming a doctor at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, where he ...
. In 1917 Bartholomew became friends with the American typographer Bruce Rogers, who had been employed by Cambridge University Press. Rogers went on to design Bartholomew's bookplate along with several publications. Bartholomew also struck up a correspondence with Hilary Pepler (at the St Dominic's Press), and encouraged him to send copies of his private press material to Cambridge University Library. Bartholomew was exempted from military service during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
by reason of his poor eyesight. During the chaotic war years, Bartholomew's sane and precise habits became vital to the smooth functioning of the library. He provided much bibliographical structure for the ''Cambridge History of English Literature'', edited by Sir Adolphus Ward and A. R. Waller.


Literary work

Bartholomew left behind him not only his considerable contributions to the life of the University Library, but also his literary research, of which the most significant were his involvement in editing the works of the Victorian novelist
Samuel Butler (novelist) Samuel Butler (4 December 1835 – 18 June 1902) was an English novelist and critic, best known for the satirical utopian novel ''Erewhon'' (1872) and the semi-autobiographical novel '' The Way of All Flesh'' (published posthumously in 1903 with ...
, and the gathering together of material on the life and work of
Frederick Rolfe Frederick William Rolfe (surname pronounced ), better known as Baron Corvo (Italian for "Crow"), and also calling himself Frederick William Serafino Austin Lewis Mary Rolfe (22 July 1860 – 25 October 1913), was an English writer, artist, ph ...
). His work on Butler began in 1910, when he heard a paper on his life by
Henry Festing Jones Henry Festing Jones (30 January 1851 – 23 October 1928) was an English solicitor and writer, known as the friend and posthumous biographer of Samuel Butler (novelist), Samuel Butler. Life He was the son of Thomas Jones Queen's Counsel, Q.C., ...
. The two soon became friends, a relationship which culminated in Bartholomew's work on ''The Shrewsbury edition of the works of Samuel Butler'', published in twenty volumes between 1923 and 1926. At Festing Jones' death in 1928, Butler's literary executorship passed to Bartholomew. His work on
Frederick Rolfe Frederick William Rolfe (surname pronounced ), better known as Baron Corvo (Italian for "Crow"), and also calling himself Frederick William Serafino Austin Lewis Mary Rolfe (22 July 1860 – 25 October 1913), was an English writer, artist, ph ...
had a somewhat less happy ending. In 1918 he set about gathering material for a possible biography of the eccentric author, who had died in Venice in 1913. He compiled a scrapbook of material from various sources, including Rolfe's publisher Grant Richards, the uranian poet
Horatio Brown Horatio Robert Forbes Brown (16 February 1854 – 19 August 1926) was a Scottish historian who specialized in the Venice#History, history of Venice and history of Italy, Italy. Born in Nice, he grew up in Midlothian, Scotland, was educated in E ...
(who had lived in Venice for much of his life) and Rolfe's family. But
A. J. A. Symons Alphonse James Albert Symons (pronounced ''SIMM-ons''; (16 August 1900 – 26 August 1941) was an English writer and bibliographer. Early life and education Symons was the eldest of four sons and a daughter born to auctioneer Morris (or Maurice) ...
, founder of the First Edition Club, published a piece on Rolfe in 1926 which focused on the more scandalous aspects of his life, and for reasons which are unknown, Bartholomew eventually gave up on his projected biography. At Bartholomew's death his precious scrapbook (now at the Harry Ransom Center in Texas) was lent to Symons, who used it extensively for his 1934 biography of Rolfe, entitled ''Quest for Corvo''.


Later life, and death

In 1926, Bartholomew began to suffer from bouts of depression, which eventually developed into an all-consuming melancholy. This serious affliction was quite satisfactorily cured by a programme of
psychological intervention In applied psychology, interventions are actions performed to bring about change in people. A wide range of intervention strategies exist and they are directed towards various types of issues. Most generally, it means any activities used to modify ...
, to which Bartholomew agreed on condition it did not alter his homosexuality. In the years left to him, Bartholomew applied his characteristic sense of cleanliness and order to his new home in Millington Road. He had inherited good taste in furniture from his family, who came from a long line of cabinet-makers (George Bartholomew & Co. of Finsbury Pavement, London). To this he added his knowledge of books and prints, and with these he decorated his house (including hi
portrait
by John Wells, now hanging in the University Library), and so began to enjoy a well-deserved domestic comfort. His enjoyment was cut short; in 1932 he began to suffer from severe headaches, caused by high blood pressure. Within a year he was dead, at the age of 50. The task of writing Bartholomew's obituary fell to Keynes, one of his executors (along with Brian Hill and
W. J. H. Sprott Walter John Herbert Sprott (19 April 1897 – 2 September 1971), known to friends as 'Sebastian' Sprott, and also known as Jack Sprott, was a British psychologist and writer. Life Sprott was born on 19 April 1897 at Sillwood Place, Crowborough, ...
)Sprott's copy of Bartholomew's will is at King's College Cambridge (King's/PP/WJHS/1/4) who wrote: Bartholomew's diaries (covering the period 1904 to 1925) are housed at Cambridge University Library (MS Add.8786/1/3-14), and he also appears frequently in the diaries of Charles Sayle (CUL MS Add.8501-8510). An article on Bartholomew appeared in the Autumn 2016 issue of ''The Book Collector.''


References


Further reading

* Carey, Hugh, ''Mansfield Forbes and his Cambridge'', Cambridge University Press, 1984, pp. 29–61. * Keynes, Geoffrey, 'Augustus Theodore Bartholomew 1882–1933', in ''The Cambridge Review'', 28 April 1933. * Scoble, Robert, ''The Corvo Cult: The History of an Obsession'', Strange Attractor Press, 2014, pp 207–210. * Sims, Liam, '''Simple and exquisite tastes': A. T. Bartholomew: a life through books'', The Book Collector (Autumn 2016, pp. 387–412) *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartholomew, Augustus Theodore 1882 births 1933 deaths Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge English librarians British bibliographers People from Walthamstow People from Fowlmere English gay men