Esmond Samuel de Beer(15 September 1895 – 3 October 1990) was a New Zealand scholar, editor, collector,bibliophileand philanthropist. He was born inDunedin,Otago,on 15 September 1895.[1]
De Beer was the grandson of Dunedin businessmanBendix Hallenstein,founder ofHallenstein Bros.,a major New Zealand retailer, and nephew of avid collectorWilli Fels,from whom he developed a love of books. The De Beers moved to London in 1910 when Esmond's father Isidore was made manager of Hallensteins' London office. He was educated atMill Hill School,[2]and in 1914 enteredNew College, Oxford,to read History. After serving on India'sNorthwest Frontierduring theFirst World War,he returned home to gain an MA at theUniversity of Londonin 1923.[3]
De Beer worked as an editor forClarendon Press,working on two massive and time-consuming projects, first the diary ofJohn Evelyn(six volumes, published in 1955) and then the correspondence ofJohn Locke.The latter work, published in eight volumes between 1976 and 1989, was left uncompleted at the time of De Beer's death.[1]In addition, he published more than 150 articles and notices.[4]
Though spending much of their life in England, De Beer and his sisters Mary andDoraalways regarded New Zealand as their home,[5]and were major benefactors of Dunedin's museums and libraries, most notably to theUniversity of OtagoLibrary, which was the recipient of Esmond's collection of rare books.[6]In a paper presented to the Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand,Donald Kerrprovided an overview of the scope of de Beer's book collecting.[7]
The De Beers and cousinCharles Braschwere also driving forces behind the inauguration of the university's three arts fellowships: theRobert Burns Fellowship(writing), theFrances Hodgkins Fellowship(art), and theMozart Fellowship(music). De Beer was instrumental in helping theOtago Museum's quest to acquire much of the art collected by his aunt Agnes Barden. Numerous other gifts were given to both of these institutions and to theDunedin Public Art Gallery.[1]TheDunedin Public Librarywas gifted with over 100 rare books, including many first editions of the works of SirWalter Scott.[3]De Beer also contributed to the library of theUniversity of Essex,theBodleian Libraryand others.[5]
De Beer was a major figure in several notable institutions, including the (British)Historical Association,of which he was vice-president, and theInstitute of Historical Research.He served as president of theHakluyt Society,and was a trustee of theNational Portrait Gallery.He was named a fellow of theBritish Academyin 1965, received a similar honour fromUniversity College, London,two years later, and was awarded honorary doctorates by the Universities ofOtago,OxfordandDurham.[1]
De Beer died in a nursing home inStoke Hammond,Buckinghamshire on 3 October 1990, aged 95.[1]Much of his correspondence, and that of his sisters (who predeceased him during the 1980s), is held by theHocken Collections.[8]
References
edit- ^abcdeNotman, Robyn."Esmond Samuel de Beer".Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.Ministry for Culture and Heritage.Retrieved23 April2017.
- ^Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ab"Esmond Samuel de BeerDunedin Public Library website.
- ^Michael Strachan, ‘’Esmond Samuel de Beer (1895-1990): Scholar and Benefactor. A Personal Memoir with a Bibliography byJ. S. G. Simmons.’’ (Norwich, 1995).
- ^abMcEldowney, W.J. (2002) "Esmond de Beer",University of Otago Library.
- ^"Portrait of a Gentleman Scholar: Celebrating the Life & Legacy of Esmond de Beer".University of Otago Library.University of Otago.Retrieved26 May2015.
- ^Kerr, Donald. (2007). "Esmond de Beer: Portrait of a Bibliophile XXXIX."The Book Collector56 (no3) Autumn: 329-351.
- ^"de Beer family.Community archive.