Diana Margaret Parikian (née Carbutt, formerly Marriner; 20 October 1926 – 3 April 2012) was a British

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

bookseller.

Early life

Parikian was born in London, the eldest daughter of George Carbutt, a chartered accountant. She grew up in

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and was educated at Francis Holland School for Girls and

North Foreland Lodge (To do good and be happy) , established = 1909 , closed = 2003 , type = Independent , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label = , head = , r_head_label = , r_head ...

. After World War II, she studied cello and piano at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

Career

Parikian started as a bookseller when she found a dusty composite volume of eight

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...

first editions for about £9 in the back room of a bookshop. She sold it to Jacques Vellekoop and asked for £100, who put it in his catalogue for £1,000. Parikian opened her own antiquarian bookshop in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and published some 80 catalogues over 45 years. Her specialist area was European books published before 1650.

Personal life

Her first husband was conductor

Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English violinist and "one of the world's greatest conductors". Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ranks Marriner #14 of th ...

, whom she met while studying at the

. The couple had one son, clarinettist

Andrew Marriner Andrew Marriner (born 25 February 1954MARRINER, Andrew Stephen
''Who's Who 2 ...

, and one daughter, writer Susie Harries. In 1957, she married the violinist and academic

Manoug Parikian Manoug Parikian (15 September 1920 - 24 December 1987) was a British concert violinist and violin professor. Early life Parikian was born in Mersin to Armenian parents. He studied in London. Career Parikian made his solo début in 1947 and led s ...

(1920–1987), with whom she had two sons, Stepan (Step) and Levon (Lev). They lived at the Old Rectory in

Waterstock Waterstock is a village and civil parish on the River Thame about west of the market town of Thame in Oxfordshire. The parish is bounded to the north and west by the river, to the south largely by the A418 main road, and to the east largely by ...

, Oxfordshire. Step Parikian is concerts and orchestra manager for the

London Chamber Orchestra The London Chamber Orchestra (LCO) is a professional chamber orchestra based in London in the United Kingdom. The name has also been used by historical ensembles dating back to 1921. LCO performs at small concert halls across London and has previo ...

. Lev Parikian is a conductor and writer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parikian, Diana 1926 births 2012 deaths People educated at Francis Holland School People educated at North Foreland Lodge English booksellers 20th-century English businesspeople