John Carter (Author)
Encyclopedia
John Waynflete Carter was an English
author, diplomat
, bibliographer, book-collector
, antiquarian bookseller and Vice-President of the Bibliographical Society of London. After attending Eton College
, he studied classics at King's College, Cambridge
, where he gained a double first. His 1934 exposé, An Enquiry into the Nature of Certain Nineteenth Century Pamphlets, co-written with Graham Pollard
, exposed the forgeries
of books and pamphlets by Harry Buxton Forman
, a distinguished executive editor
of Keats and Shelley, and Thomas J. Wise, one of the world's most prominent book collectors
. Forman and Wise's crimes are generally regarded as one of the most notorious literary scandals of the twentieth century. Carter also wrote seminal books on aspects of book-collecting, and served on the board of directors of the influential journal The Book Collector, published by Queen Anne Press
, a company managed by James Bond
creator Ian Fleming
. Carter also edited the prose of the poet A. E. Housman
. He was the husband of the writer and curator Ernestine Carter
and the brother of the printer Will Carter (1912–2001) of the Rampant Lions Press
, at which some of his smaller-scale works were published. He was also a humorist and writer of clerihews, some of which were printed by Will Carter in 1938.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author, diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, bibliographer, book-collector
Book collecting
Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given individual collector. The love of books is bibliophilia, and someone who loves to read, admire, and collect...
, antiquarian bookseller and Vice-President of the Bibliographical Society of London. After attending Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, he studied classics at King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, where he gained a double first. His 1934 exposé, An Enquiry into the Nature of Certain Nineteenth Century Pamphlets, co-written with Graham Pollard
Graham Pollard
Henry Graham Pollard was a British bookseller and bibliographer.Pollard was the son of the historian Albert Pollard and was born in Putney, London on 7 March 1903...
, exposed the forgeries
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
of books and pamphlets by Harry Buxton Forman
Harry Buxton Forman
Henry "Harry" Buxton Forman CB was a Victorian-era bibliographer and antiquarian bookseller whose literary reputation is based on his bibliographies of Percy Shelley and John Keats...
, a distinguished executive editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of Keats and Shelley, and Thomas J. Wise, one of the world's most prominent book collectors
Book collecting
Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given individual collector. The love of books is bibliophilia, and someone who loves to read, admire, and collect...
. Forman and Wise's crimes are generally regarded as one of the most notorious literary scandals of the twentieth century. Carter also wrote seminal books on aspects of book-collecting, and served on the board of directors of the influential journal The Book Collector, published by Queen Anne Press
Queen Anne Press
The Queen Anne Press is a small private press. It was created in 1951 by Lord Kemsley, proprietor of the Sunday Times, to publish the works of comtemporary authors. In 1952, as a wedding present to his then Foreign Editor, Kemsley made Ian Fleming its managing director. The press concentrated on...
, a company managed by James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
creator Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
. Carter also edited the prose of the poet A. E. Housman
A. E. Housman
Alfred Edward Housman , usually known as A. E. Housman, was an English classical scholar and poet, best known to the general public for his cycle of poems A Shropshire Lad. Lyrical and almost epigrammatic in form, the poems were mostly written before 1900...
. He was the husband of the writer and curator Ernestine Carter
Ernestine Carter
Ernestine Carter OBE was a museum curator, journalist, and writer on fashion.-Early history:Ernestine Marie Fantl was born on 10 October 1906 in Savannah, Georgia, where she was brought up. She studied modern and contemporary art and design at Wellesley College, Massachusetts, from which she...
and the brother of the printer Will Carter (1912–2001) of the Rampant Lions Press
Rampant Lions Press
The Rampant Lions Press was a fine letterpress printing firm founded by Will Carter and continued by his son Sebastian . It started life as a private press in 1924, when Will was still a schoolboy. After the war, his interest in printing was such that he decided to try to establish the Press on a...
, at which some of his smaller-scale works were published. He was also a humorist and writer of clerihews, some of which were printed by Will Carter in 1938.
Selected works
- ABC for book collectors. 8th ed. edited by Nicolas Barker. New Castle, Del.: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004. ISBN 0-7123-4822-0 (British Library) ISBN 1-58456-112-2 (Oak Knoll); a classic, first published in 1952.
- Taste and technique in book-collecting, with an epilogue. Pinner, Middlesex: Private Libraries Association, 1970 (The Sandars Lectures in Bibliography, 1947). ISBN 0-900002-30-1
- Binding variants in English publishing: 1820-1900. London: Constable; New York: Ray Long & Richard R. Smith, 1932.
- More binding variants. London: Constable, 1938.
- Publisher's cloth ... 1820-1900. New York: Bowker; London: Constable, 1935. Reprinted 1970.
Other references
- Dickinson, Donald C., John Carter: the taste & technique of a bookman. Oak Knoll Press, New Castle, Del., 2004. ISBN 1-58456-137-8