Spencer Hall (6 November 1805 – 21 August 1875) was librarian of the

Athenaeum Club, London The Athenaeum is a private members' club in London, founded in 1824. It is primarily a club for men and women with intellectual interests, and particularly (but not exclusively) for those who have attained some distinction in science, engineerin ...

Life

Hall was born in London in 1805, son of John Hall and his wife Elizabeth. His brother William Hall was a founder of the publisher

Chapman and Hall Chapman & Hall is an imprint owned by CRC Press, originally founded as a British publishing house in London in the first half of the 19th century by Edward Chapman and William Hall. Chapman & Hall were publishers for Charles Dickens (from 1840 ...

. He was articled to John Booth, bookseller, of Duke Street,

Portman Square Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by elegant townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a ground rent by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal garden ...

, London. He lived a short time in Germany, and was afterwards with Hodges and Smith of Dublin. He was appointed librarian of the Athenaeum Club in 1833, on the recommendation of his relative Edward Magrath, who succeeded

Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...

as the first secretary of the club. The members had been only three years in possession of their house in Pall Mall, so that Hall was connected with the early organization of the library. He issued a pamphlet on the classification of the library in 1858, followed three years later by a letter to John Murray suggesting an edition of Shakespeare with literary criticisms. Hall's other publications were mainly of an antiquarian character. He was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1858. Under his management the library of the Athenæum Club gradually became one of the choicest collections of books of reference in London. He retired after forty-two years' service, owing to failing health, in May 1875, when he was elected an honorary member of the club and voted a pension. Hall died on 21 August 1875 at

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

, in his seventieth year. His own library was sold by Sothebys on 26 June 1876.

Publications

Hall published: * "Echyngham of Echyngham" (1850) * "Notices of Sepulchral Memorials at

Etchingham Etchingham is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex in southern England. The village is located approximately southeast of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent and northwest of Hastings, on the A265, half a mile west o ...

, Sussex, and of the Church at that Place" (1851) * "Documents from

Simancas Simancas is a town and municipality of central Spain, located in the province of Valladolid, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated approximately 10 km southwest of the provincial capital Valladolid, on the ro ...

relating to the Reign of Elizabeth (1558–68); translated from the Spanish of Don Tomás Gonzalez, and edited with Notes and an Introduction"(1865) * "Francesca da Rimini" (privately printed, 1874; translated from the "Inferno" of Dante, canto v.) He contributed to ''

The Archaeological Journal ''The Archaeological Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal for archaeological and architectural reports and articles. It was established in 1844 by the British Archaeological Association as a quarterly journal, but was taken over by the ...

'', to the ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries'', as well as to ''

The Art Journal ''The Art Journal'' was the most important British 19th-century magazine on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall, with the title ''Art Union Monthly Journal'' (or ''The Art Union''), the first issue of 7 ...

'' and other periodicals.

References

Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Spencer 1805 births 1875 deaths English librarians Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London