David Pearson (born 1955) is an English librarian who served as the Director of Culture, Heritage and Libraries at the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...

between 2009 and 2017; his brief covered

London Metropolitan Archives The London Archives (previously known as the Greater London Record Office 1965–1997, and London Metropolitan Archives 1997–2024) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London ...

Guildhall Library The Guildhall Library is a public reference library in London, England, specialising in subjects relevant to London and its history. It is administered by the Corporation of London, the government of the City of London, which is the historical ...

, City Business Library,

Guildhall Art Gallery The Guildhall Art Gallery houses the art collection of the City of London, England. The museum is located in the Moorgate area of the City of London. It is a stone building in a semi-Gothic style intended to be sympathetic to the historic Guil ...

, and other institutions. He retired in early 2017 to focus on his work in book history and was a Senior Member of

Darwin College, Cambridge Darwin College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded on 28 July 1964, Darwin was Cambridge University's first graduate-only college, and also the first to admit both men and wo ...

until 2024. He is Honorary Senior Research Associate of the Department of Information Studies, University College London (from 2016); and Distinguished Senior Fellow of the School of Advanced Study, University of London (from 2022). A member of the Faculty of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, he teaches regularly at the London Rare Book School.

Education

Pearson was educated at

St Bees School St Bees School is a co-educational fee-charging school, located in the West Cumbrian village of St Bees, England. In 1583, it was founded by Edmund Grindal, the Archbishop of Canterbury, as a free grammar school for boys. The school remain ...

(1967–1973) and is a graduate of 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 ...

(1974–1977, MA, PhD), and

University of Loughborough Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

(1980–81, Dip.Lib)."

Career

Pearson was Director of the University of London Research Library Services (2004–2009), Librarian of the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

(1996–2004), Head of Special Collections at the

National Art Library The National Art Library (NAL) is a major reference library, situated in the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), a museum of decorative arts in London. The NAL holds the UK's most comprehensive collection of both books as art and books about art, ...

(1992–1996) and a curator in the Eighteenth-Century Short Title Catalogue project at the

British 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 ...

(1986–1992). He has lectured and published extensively on aspects of book history, with a particular emphasis on books as artefacts, and the ways in which they have been owned and

bound Bound or bounds may refer to: Mathematics * Bound variable * Upper and lower bounds, observed limits of mathematical functions Physics * Bound state, a particle that has a tendency to remain localized in one or more regions of space Geography * ...

. His books include ''Provenance Research in Book History'' (1994, new edition 2019), ''Oxford Bookbinding 1500-1640'' (2000), ''For the Love of the Binding'' (ed, 2000), ''English Bookbinding Styles 1450-1800'' (2005, reprinted 2014), ''Books as History : The importance of books beyond their texts'' (2008), ''London: 1000 Years'' (ed, 2011), ''Book Ownership in Stuart England'' (2021), ''Speaking Volumes: Books with Histories'' (2022), ''Cambridge Bookbinding 1450-1770'' (2023). In 2020 he launched the online database ''Book Owners Online''. Pearson was 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 ...

, 2010–2012. He was J. P. R. Lyell Reader in Bibliography,

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 ...

in 2017–2018. He delivered the

Lyell Lectures The Lyell Readership in Bibliography is an endowed annual lecture series given at the University of Oxford. Instituted in 1952 by a bequest from the solicitor, book collector and bibliographer, James Patrick Ronaldson Lyell. After Lyell's death, ...

on the topic “Book Ownership in Stuart England”. Pearson held the

Sandars Readership in Bibliography The Sandars Readership in Bibliography is an annual lecture series given at Cambridge University. Instituted in 1895 at the behest of Samuel Sandars of Trinity College (1837–1894), who left a £2000 bequest to the University, the series has con ...

Cambridge University 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 ...

in 2023-2024 and lectured on "Cambridge Bookbinding, 1450–1700." He became editor of ''

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 2025.

Selected Publications

*Pearson, David. 2023. ''Cambridge Bookbinding: 1450-1770''. Ann Arbor, Michigan: The Legacy Press. *Pearson, David. 2022. ''Speaking Volumes: Books with Histories''. Oxford: Bodleian Library Publishing. *Pearson, David. 2021. ''Book Ownership in Stuart England.'' First edition. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. *Pearson, David. 2019. ''Provenance Research in Book History: A Handbook.'' New and revised edition. London, New Castle, Delaware: The Bodleian Library, Oak Knoll Press. *Pearson, David. 2010. “Patterns of Book Ownership in Late Seventeenth-Century England.” ''The Library: The Transactions of the Bibliographical Society'' 11 (2): 139–67. *Pearson, David. 2008. ''Books as History: The Importance of Books beyond Their Texts''. London, New Castle, DE: British Library ; Oak Knoll Press. *Pearson, David. 2005. ''English Bookbinding Styles, 1450-1800:'' ''A Handbook.'' London, New Castle, DE: British Library ; Oak Knoll Press.McKitterick, David. ''English Bookbinding Styles, 1450-1800: A Handbook.'' ''TLS. Times literary supplement'' (1969) 2005: 40-

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, David English librarians 1955 births Living people Bookbinders Presidents of the Bibliographical Society