Seymour de Ricci (1881-1942) was a

bibliographer Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

, who was born in England and raised and became a citizen of France.

Early years

Seymour Montefiore Robert Rosso de Ricci was born in 1881 in

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

, United Kingdom. His parents were Helen

Montefiore Montefiore, Montifiore, and Montefiori is a surname associated with the Montefiore family, Sephardi Jews who were diplomats and bankers all over Europe and who originated from the Iberian Peninsula, namely Spain and Portugal, and also France, Morocc ...

(c. 1860–1931) and James Herman de Ricci (1847–1900). He lived with his mother in Paris after 1890, when his parents divorced. His father was a colonial judge and a lawyer.

Education and early career

Between 1890 and 1898, de Ricci attended the

Lycée Janson de Sailly In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

. He attended and subsequently received his bachelier ès lettres from

École pratique des hautes études The École pratique des hautes études (), abbreviated EPHE, is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is highly selective, and counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions. It is a constituent college o ...

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

in 1897. He went to Côtes-du-Nord,

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

where he studied Roman inscriptions. He met

Salomon Reinach Salomon Reinach (29 August 1858 – 4 November 1932) was a French archaeologist, religious historian and was a major figure in the Franco-Jewish establishment in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was vice president of the mos ...

, who would be a close friend and mentor, and Émile Guimet. He took an inventory of the inscriptions and published his first book about them in 1897. In 1901 he received his licence. He was a private scholar of

epigraphy Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...

and

bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

Personal life and the war

De Ricci became a French citizen in 1901. He married Jenny Gabrielle Thérèse Dreyfus about 1902. She was born about 1886 and died about 1938. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was a

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

second-class chasseur à pied. He was an interpreter for the British later in the war. After the war, de Ricci divorced Jenny and he married Delphine Levy Feher in 1920. She was born about 1886 and died about 1977.

Death

De Ricci died in

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,145 as of 2016. The nearest communes are Nanterre, Puteaux, Rueil-Malmaison, Saint-Cloud an ...

, near Paris, France in 1942.

Publications

A selection of de Ricci's works include the following:

Sole author

* * * * * * *

Co-author

* * * *

Digitized notes

Notes from de Ricci have been digitized for an online database, ''Seymour de Ricci Bibliotheca Britannica Manuscripta Digitized Archive''. The notes, at the University of London's Senate House Library, had been intended for publishing of ''Bibliotheca Britannica Manuscripta'', which was not completed. They had been originally bequeathed to the Historical Research in London in the form of more than 60,000 index cards.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricci, Seymour de 20th-century French historians French bibliographers 1881 births 1942 deaths French Army soldiers French people of World War I French military personnel of World War I French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French male writers