Henry Guppy CBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (31 December 1861 – 4 August 1948) was Librarian

Librarian

A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...

 of the John Rylands Library

John Rylands Library

The John Rylands Library is a Victorian Gothic building on Deansgate in Manchester, England. The library, which opened to the public in 1900, was founded by Mrs Enriqueta Augustina Rylands in memory of her late husband, John Rylands...

 in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 from 1899 until his death in 1948.

Guppy was born in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and educated at City of London School

City of London School

The City of London School is a boys' independent day school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London, England. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls and the co-educational City of London Freemen's School...

. Before moving to the John Rylands he was Sub-Librarian of Sion College

Sion College

Sion College, in London, is an institution founded by Royal Charter in 1630 as a college, guild of parochial clergy and almshouse, under the 1623 will of Thomas White, vicar of St Dunstan's in the West....

. When appointed librarian in 1899 it was jointly with Edward Gordon Duff

Edward Gordon Duff

Edward Gordon Duff was an English bibliographer and librarian known for his works on early English printing....

; he became sole Librarian from October 1900. He was created Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1937. He was active in the Library Association of Great Britain and among his notable achievements are contributions to the reconstruction of the university library of Louvain between the World Wars and the founding of the Bulletin of the John Rylands Library in 1903. During much of his tenure in Manchester he resided at Buxton

Buxton

Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...

, where he died. He was survived by his wife Matilda, with whom he had one daughter.

Selected works

• Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 1903-08, 1914-48 (editor and contributor)
• The John Rylands Library, Manchester: 1899-1935 (a revised edition of the work first published in 1924)
• A Classified Catalogue of the Works on Architecture and the Allied Arts in the Principal Libraries of Manchester and Salford (editor, with Guthrie Vine). 1909