Alfred Edward Newton (1864–1940) was an American industrialist better known as an author and avid

book collector 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 collector. The love of books is ''bibliophilia'', and someo ...

. He is best known for his book ''Amenities of Book Collecting'' (1918) which sold over 25,000 copies. At the time of his death, it was estimated that he had approximately 10,000 books in his collection, focusing on English and American literary works, the major part of which were auctioned by

Parke-Bernet Galleries Parke-Bernet Galleries was an American auction house, active from 1937 to 1964, when Sotheby's purchased it. The company was founded by a group of employees of the American Art Association, including Otto Bernet, Hiram H. Parke, Leslie A. Hyam, L ...

, New York in April, May, and October 1941. Highlights of the sale included the autographed manuscripts of

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

's novel ''Far From the Madding Crowd'' and

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his ''Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book ''Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764–18 ...

's essay ''Dream Children.'' However, the fall in rare book prices steadily through the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

meant that many sold lots brought only a fraction of prices they would have realized at the time of the

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

sale in 1929. The three volume Newton sale catalogue remains a useful reference for literature collectors.

Newton was a resident of

Daylesford, Pennsylvania Daylesford is an unincorporated community in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States, in the southeastern part of the state, near Philadelphia. Located near the end of the Main Line, it is served by its own stop on the ...

and resided in the home called Oak Knoll. Newton's bookplate referred to his home Oak Knoll and depicted an image of the London Temple Bar. The publisher Oak Knoll Books is named after Oak Knoll.

Selected writings

''The Amenities of Book-Collecting and Kindred Affections''
(1918)
''A Magnificent Farce: and Other Diversions of a Book-collector''
(1921)
Book-Collecting Game''
(1928)

References

External links

* * * * * *

at

Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities and located on Washington Square in Chicago, Illinois. It has been free and open to the public since 1887. Its collections encompass a variety of topics rela ...

Guide to the A. Edward Newton Papers at the University of Denver
Retrieved 2014-09-25.

Material from the library of A. Edward Newton, (94 titles). From th
Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress

A. Edward Newton Collection
finding aid from the

Free Library of Philadelphia The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves Philadelphia. It is the 13th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the City of Philadelphia gove ...

A. Edward Newton Collection
From the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

A. Edward Newton draft and proofs of Bibliography and Pseudo-Bibliography, 1936
From th
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, A. Edward 1864 births 1940 deaths American book and manuscript collectors