David Fairweather Foxon, FBA (9 January 1923 – 5 June 2001) was an English bibliographer. Noted for his study of books and literature in 18th-century England, he was the Reader in Textual Criticism at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

from 1968 to 1982.

Early life and education

Born in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

on 9 January 1923, Foxon was the son of a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister from a family of weavers. He studied at

Kingswood School Kingswood School is a private day and boarding school in Bath, Somerset, England. The school is coeducational and educates over 1,000 pupils aged 9 months to 18 years. It was founded by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, in 1748, and is the ...

before winning a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

to read

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

. But, with the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

his move to Oxford was interrupted and the headmaster at his school, A. B. Sackett, recommended him to the

Government Code and Cypher School The Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) was a British signals intelligence agency set up in 1919. During the First World War, the British Army and Royal Navy had separate signals intelligence agencies, MI1b and NID25 (initially known as R ...

. Foxon served in a civilian capacity as a

code breaker Code Breaker was a cheat cartridge, cheat device developed by Pelican Accessories, which were available for PlayStation (console), PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Dreamcast, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. Along with competing prod ...

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...

from 1942 to 1944, when he was transferred to

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. After

demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...

, he resumed his studies at Oxford in 1946, reading English;

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

was one of his tutors. Graduating with a BA in 1948, he initially began studying towards the

BLitt BLitt may refer to: * Bachelor of Letters, a second bachelor's degree awarded in Australia, Brazil, UK, and US * Bachelor of Literature, the statutory bachelor's degree in literature studies awarded in China {{Disam ...

, but opted to join HM Civil Service.Barker and McLaverty (2009), p. 164.

Career, research, honours and retirement

Foxon's civil service career began with a short period in the

Ministry of Town and Country Planning The Ministry of Town and Country Planning was a ministry established in 1943 by the Churchill war ministry, the government of the United Kingdom at the time. Its remit covered England and Wales. It was established to secure "consistency and contin ...

, but in 1950 he was appointed an assistant keeper of printed books at the

British Museum Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

. Remaining there until 1965, he was then a professor of English at Queen's University in Ontario from 1965 to 1967, and then a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

for the 1967–68 year.

Nicolas Barker Nicolas John Barker (born 1932) is a British historian of printing and books. He was Head of Conservation at the British Library from 1976 to 1992. Barker was editor of ''The Book Collector'' from 1965 to 2016 and edited ''The Pleasures of Bib ...

"David Foxon"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 23 February 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2021. Foxon moved to the

in 1968 to be the Reader in

Textual Criticism Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts (mss) or of printed books. Such texts may rang ...

and a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

Wadham College Wadham College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, a ...

. He remained there until retirement in 1982; Foxon was eventually succeeded, in 1986, by Donald McKenzie. In an obituary in ''

Studies in Bibliography Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia is a learned society founded in 1947 at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville to promote interest in books and manuscripts, maps, printing, the graphic arts, and bibliography and textual c ...

'', James McLaverty described Foxon as "perhaps the most distinguished British bibliographer of the second half of the twentieth century." His ''English Verse, 1701–1750: A Catalogue of Separately Printed Poems with Notes on Contemporary Collected Editions'' (1975) was ground-breaking. Foxon's research into English pornography in late 17th- and 18th-century appeared in a series in

The Book Collector ''The Book Collector'' is a London-based journal that deals with all aspects of the book. It is published quarterly and exists in both paper and digital form. It prints independent opinions on subjects ranging from typography to national heritag ...

in 1963 and were published in a limited edition as ''The Origins of Pornography in England.'' These culminated in his book, ''Libertine Literature in England, 1660–1745.'' He wrote ''The Technique of Bibliography'' (1955) and, with James McLaverty, he authored ''Pope and the Early Eighteenth-Century Book Trade'' (1991). For Gregg Press, Foxon edited reprints of 22 entries in the English Bibliographical Sources series from 1964 to 1968, which included 16th- and 17th-century catalogues of printed books, printers' manuals, and catalogues of new publications from 18th-century periodicals. He held the Lyell Readership in Bibliography at the University of Oxford for 1975–76 and the Sandars Readership in Bibliography at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

from 1977 to 1979. In 1978, Foxon was elected a

fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

. He was the president of the

Bibliographical Society Founded in 1892, The Bibliographical Society is the senior learned society in the UK dealing with the study of the book and its history. The Society promotes and encourages study and research in historical, analytical, descriptive and textual ...

for the 1980–81 year and was awarded the society's

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in 1985. Foxon had met his wife June while they were both serving at Bletchley Park; she was the daughter of the cinema proprietor Sir Arthur Jarrett. They divorced in 1963, having had a daughter.Barker and McLaverty (2009), pp. 161, 163–164. Foxon died on 5 June 2001.

Selected publications

*Foxon, David F, and J McLaverty. 1991. ''Pope and the Early Eighteenth-Century Book Trade.'' Oxford England, New York: Clarendon Press ; Oxford University Press. *Foxon, David F. ''English Verse 1701 - 1750: A Catalogue of Separately Printed Poems with Notes on Contemporary Collected Editions Vol''. 1. Catalogue. 1975. London u.a: Cambridge University Press. *Foxon, David F. 1966,1965. ''Libertine Literature in England, 1660-1745.'' New Hyde Park, N.Y: University Books. *Foxon, David F, and Lessing J. Rosenwald Reference Collection (Library of Congress). 1959. ''Thomas J. Wise and the Pre-Restoration Drama: A Study in Theft and Sophistication.'' London: Bibliographical Society. *Foxon, David F. 1955. ''The Technique of Bibliography.'' Cambridge England: Published for the National Book League at the University Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foxon, David 1923 births 2001 deaths English bibliographers Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Fellows of Wadham College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Bibliographers People educated at Kingswood School, Bath