Arthur Allan Gomme (1882-1955) was a British librarian, historian of technology and folklorist.

Early life and education

Arthur Allan Gomme was born in 1882, the third son of Sir (George) Laurence Gomme (1853–1916) and his wife, Alice Bertha Gomme, (1853–1938), both of whom had been pioneering folklorists. He was educated at Mercer's School from 1895 to 1900 before training in engineering at the

City and Guilds Central Technical College The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...

(then the

Royal College of Science The Royal College of Science was a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it was a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Still to this day, graduates from th ...

). There Gomme gained a first class diploma and the Siemens Memorial medal for Electrical Engineering.

Career

In 1904 Gomme joined the Patent Office as an Examiner. Gomme served with the 2nd battalion,

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

(university and public schools division) during the First World War. In 1919 he rejoined the Patent Office, and was appointed Librarian to the Patent Office in 1920, a role in which he held until his retirement in 1944. He was awarded the MBE in 1930.

Interests

In 1920 Gomme joined the

Newcomen Society Newcomen may refer to: People *John Newcomen (c.1613–1630), English first white settler murdered by another white settler in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts *Matthew Newcomen (c. 1610–1669), English nonconformist churchman *Thomas Newcomen (1663 ...

, becoming a member of the society's council in 1925. Gomme served for thirty years as a council member was and vice-president in 1953. Gomme contributed papers on the history of patents to ''Transactions of the Newcomen Society'', as well as compiling for the journal, an '''Analytical bibliography of the history of engineering and applied science (written with E. Wyndham Hume, his predecessor at the Patent Office library). In 1948 Gomme published ''Patents of Invention: Origin and Growth of the Patent System in Britain'' and in 1950 co-compiled a catalogue of the designs of the engineer

John Smeaton John Smeaton (8 June 1724 – 28 October 1792) was a British civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist. Smeaton was the fir ...

. Like his parents, Gomme was active in the field of folklore, served on the council of the

Folklore Society The Folklore Society (FLS) is a national association in the United Kingdom for the study of folklore. It was founded in London in 1878 to study traditional vernacular culture, including traditional music, song, dance and drama, narrative, arts an ...

from 1911 until his death, and acting as president between 1952 and 1953. Gomme was closely involved in the history of the theatre: he was a member of the

British Drama League The All-England Theatre Festival ("AETF") organises the only countrywide eliminating One-Act Play Festival, contest for one-act plays in performance throughout England. It provides an opportunity for Amateurs to compete against like-minded group ...

, the

Elizabethan Stage Society The Elizabethan Stage Society was a theatrical society dedicated to putting on productions of drama from the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, particularly (but not exclusively) those of William Shakespeare. It was founded in 1895 by William Poel. It ...

and a founder member of the Society for Theatre Research.

Selected publications

* Gomme, Arthur Allan; British Council (1948). ''Patents of invention: origin and growth of the patent system in Britain''. London: Longmans, Green & Co. for British Council and National Book League.

OCLC OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...

786350743. * Newcomen Society (Great Britain); Dickinson, H. W; Gomme, Arthur Allan; Farey, John; Royal Society (Great Britain); Library (1950). ''A catalogue of the civil and mechanical engineering designs, 1741-1792''. London: Printed by the Courier Press.

28477297. * Gomme, Allan (1952). "The Folk-Lore Society: Whence and Whither". ''Folklore''. 63 (1): 1–18. doi:10.1080/0015587X.1952.9718086.

ISSN An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication, such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs ...

0015-587X. * Gomme, Allan (1953-06-01). "The Collection of English Folklore : Ways and Means". ''Folklore''. 64 (2): 321–333. doi:10.1080/0015587X.1953.9717356.

0015-587X.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomme, Arthur Allan 1882 births 1955 deaths British librarians Presidents of the Folklore Society