Charles Alexander Nelson (April 14, 1839 - January 13, 1933) was a United States librarian and bibliographer.
Biography
His parents were Israel Potter and Jane (Capen) Nelson. He attended private schools for his early education, and entered the college class of Cambridge High School when his parents moved to
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most ...
, in December 1855. He matriculated at Harvard in 1857, graduating in 1860. He then spent a year as a Latin and Greek tutor at an academy, and studied
civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...
for a year at
Lawrence Scientific School
The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) is the engineering school within Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, offering degrees in engineering and applied sciences to graduate students admitted ...
. He studied
library science
Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and ...
at the College Library in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
, then engaged in teaching. In 1864/5 he was a civil engineer in government service at New Berne, North Carolina. He afterward engaged in business there, and was several times elected to civil offices. From 1874 until 1881, he was connected with the book trade in Boston, and was employed in literary, library, and editorial work. For six years, he was the Boston correspondent of the ''American Bookseller'', and from 1876 he was on the editorial staff of ''
Zion's Herald
The Progressive Christian was an independent online magazine and social community providing news, commentary, commentary, resources, discussion forums and multimedia for and about the Progressive Christian movement. It was published by TPC Publi ...
''.
Nelson gave special study to library economy, and after 1881 had charge of a continuation catalog of the
Astor Library
The Astor Library was a free public library in the East Village, Manhattan, developed primarily through the collaboration of New York City merchant John Jacob Astor and New England educator and bibliographer Joseph Cogswell. It was primarily me ...
. This work lasted until 1888, and the result was published in four volumes (1886-1888). On the completion of the catalog, he left the Astor Library and became the first librarian of the Howard Memorial Library of
Newberry Library
The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities and located on Washington Square in Chicago, Illinois. It has been free and open to the public since 1887. Its collections encompass a variety of topics rel ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, and until 1909 he was deputy librarian of
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...
. From 1913 to 1926, he was on the staff of the Merchants' Association of New York, where he worked on an index-digest of its activities.
He was one of the founders, and in 1888 secretary, of the New York Library Club. He married Emma Norris, and they had two children.
Weston
Weston may refer to:
Places Australia
* Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra
* Weston, New South Wales
* Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra
* Weston Park, Canberra, a park
Canada
* Weston, Nova Scotia
* ...
" in Samuel A. Drake, ed., ''History of
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Middlesex County is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,632,002, making it the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England and the 22nd most populous cou ...
Samuel Putnam Avery
Samuel Putnam Avery (1822–1904) was an American connoisseur and dealer in art.
Biography
Samuel Putnam Avery was born in New York City on March 17, 1822. where he studied wood and copper engraving and was extensively employed by leading publish ...
collection (1903)
* ''Analytical Index to Volumes 1-25 of the Educational Review'' (1903)
* ''Minutes of the Common Council of the City of New York, 1675-1776'', index (8 vols., 1905-1906)