Edmund Pearson
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Edmund Lester Pearson (1880–1937) was an American
librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...
and writer. He was a writer of the "
true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...
" literary genre. He is best known for his account of the notorious
Lizzie Borden Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927) was an American woman tried and acquitted of the August 4, 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. No one else was charged in the murders, and despite ost ...
murder case.


Early life

Pearson was born in
Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...
, on February 11, 1880. He graduated from
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
in 1902. His first publication was in a school periodical,
The Harvard Advocate ''The Harvard Advocate'', the art and literary magazine of Harvard College, is the oldest continuously published college art and literary magazine in the United States. The magazine (published then in newspaper format) was founded by Charles S. ...
. In 1904, he graduated with a Bachelor of Library Science from the
New York State Library School The New York State Library School was a school of library science. Melvil Dewey established the school at Columbia University. Many of the school's records are currently held at Columbia University. In 1889, it was moved to Albany, New York ...
at Albany, which was previously the Columbia School of Library Service. His thesis was a bibliography of
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
.


Career

After graduation he first worked as a librarian at the Washington D.C. Public Library, where he met his wife, then Miss Mary Jane Sellers. They did not have any children. In 1906 he moved to 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 ...
as an assistant in the Copyright Division. In 1908 he became the acting librarian of the Military Information Division of the
War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * Dep ...
. From 1906 to 1920 he wrote a weekly column, "The Librarian", for the newspaper the ''
Boston Evening Transcript The ''Boston Evening Transcript'' was a daily afternoon newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, published from July 24, 1830, to April 30, 1941. Beginnings ''The Transcript'' was founded in 1830 by Henry Dutton and James Wentworth of the firm of D ...
''. The column consisted of humorous essays and stories. The stories often featured the fictional Ezra Beesly Free Public Library of the town of Baxter, as well as other fictional persons and places. In a column from 1907, Pearson printed a paragraph supposedly from an old librarian's almanac. Response from colleagues and friends led him to expand it to a 34-page pamphlet that was published in 1909 as ''The Old Librarian's Almanack.'' On the title page the Almanack is described as "a very rare pamphlet first published in New Haven Connecticut in 1773 and now reprinted for the first time." The pamphlet was reviewed seriously by ''
The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...
'', ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'', ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', and several other publications, before the hoax was generally known. In 1927 the magazine Public Libraries called the hoax "a good piece of foolery, bright, clever, with the verisimilitude of authenticity." Even today, a humorous faux-medieval ''Curse Against Book Stealers'' from the pamphlet continues to be portrayed as real. From 1909 to 1914, Pearson lived in Newburyport and wrote several books. He wrote stories based on his childhood in ''The Believing Years'' and ''The Voyage of the Hoppergrass''. He published some of his columns from the Librarian in ''The Library and the Librarian'', ''The Librarian at Play'', and ''The Secret Book''. During this time he also served on the board of trustees of the Newburyport Public Library. In 1914, Pearson and his wife moved to New York City and from 1914 to 1927 he worked at the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
as the Editor of Publications. Starting in 1914, Pearson wrote a series of columns about books for national periodicals such as ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'' (column name: Books and Men), ''
The Dial ''The Dial'' was an American magazine published intermittently from 1840 to 1929. In its first form, from 1840 to 1844, it served as the chief publication of the Transcendentalists. From the 1880s to 1919 it was revived as a political review and ...
'', the ''Weekly Review'' (later called the ''Independent and Weekly Review'') (column names: Books and the News, New Books and Old), and ''The Outlook'' (column name: The Book Table).L. Hyland, ''An Interpretation of Edmund Lester Pearson - Librarian extraordinary to which is added a bibliography of his works'', 1948 He also wrote book reviews for many publications including ''
The Saturday Review of Literature ''Saturday Review'', previously ''The Saturday Review of Literature'', was an American weekly magazine established in 1924. Norman Cousins was the editor from 1940 to 1971. Under Norman Cousins, it was described as "a compendium of reportage, ess ...
''. He wrote three books about books, ''Books in Black or Red'', ''Queer Books'', and ''Dime Novels''.J. Durnell, & N. D. Stevens, ed., ''The Librarian: Selections from the Column of that Name'', 1976 His work of writing was interrupted briefly during the First World War when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant, but did not serve overseas. In 1924 he published his best-known work, '' Studies in Murder'', with its signature essay on
Lizzie Borden Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927) was an American woman tried and acquitted of the August 4, 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. No one else was charged in the murders, and despite ost ...
of Fall River. In the years to follow, Pearson published other studies on American criminal cases, including ''Murder at Smutty Nose and Other Murders'' and ''Five Murders'' although these had limited popularity in comparison to his first landmark work on American crime. He maintained an extensive personal correspondence with the Scottish crime writer,
William Roughead William Roughead (pronounced ''Ruff-head'') (1870–1952) was a well-known Scottish lawyer and amateur criminologist, as well as an editor and essayist on "matters criminous". He was an important early practitioner of the modern "true crime" ...
, the two writers offering support and encouragement to each other in their chosen field of "matters criminous". In 1934 Pearson went to Hollywood to serve as an uncredited writer for the films ''
Bride of Frankenstein ''Bride of Frankenstein'' is a 1935 American science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film ''Frankenstein''. As with the first film, ''Bride of Frankenstein'' was directed by James Whale starring Boris Karlo ...
'' and ''
Werewolf of London ''Werewolf of London'' is a 1935 horror film directed by Stuart Walker and starring Henry Hull as the titular werewolf. The supporting cast includes Warner Oland, Valerie Hobson, Lester Matthews, and Spring Byington. Jack Pierce, who is best ...
''.


Death and legacy

Pearson died on August 8, 1937 at the
Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center (NYP/CUIMC), also known as the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), is an academic medical center and the largest campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. It includes Co ...
in New York City of
bronchial pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity of ...
. He was buried in the family plot in the Oak Hill Cemetery, in the city of his birth,
Newburyport Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...
. Norman D. Stevens has been active in keeping alive the writings of Edmond Pearson by collecting a portion of the Librarian column in a book of the same name. Stevens is the director of the
Molesworth Institute The Molesworth Institute is a fictional organization started in 1956 with the aim of promoting library humour. It is a combination of real librarians and fictitious people, mostly literary characters. The founder and longtime director, Norman D. ...
which presents the ''Edmund Lester Pearson Library Humor Award'' which has rewarded and encouraged a new generation of library humorists. Professor Jack Matthews, called Pearson "a writer of acknowledged distinction" and "a bibliophile in the grand old manner." He also remarks that Pearson was "ahead of his time in his interest in popular culture and popular fiction." More than this, Matthews says that Pearson "had wit, he knew things, he cared about the world, and he understood language."Matthews, Jack. ''Booking in the Heartland''. p51. Johns Hopkins University Press. 1986. In 2008, the
Library of America The Library of America (LOA) is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature. Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LOA has published over 300 volumes by authors rangi ...
selected Pearson's story "The "Hell Benders" or The Story of a Wayside Tavern"” for inclusion in its two-century retrospective of American True Crime.


Publications

Books written by Pearson * ''The Old Librarian's Almanack'' (1909) * ''The Library and the Librarian'' (1910) * ''The Librarian at Play'' (1911) * ''The Believing Years'' (1912) (autobiography) * ''The Voyage of the Hoppergrass'' (1913) (autobiography) * ''The Secret Book'' (1914) * ''Theodore Roosevelt'' (1920) * ''Books in Black or Red'' (1923) * ''Studies in Murder'' (1924) * ''Murder at Smutty Nose and Other Murders'' (1926) * ''Five Murders, with a final note on the Borden case'' (1928) * ''Queer Books'' (1928) * ''Dime novels; or, Following an old trail in popular literature'' (1929) * ''Instigation of the Devil'' (1930) * ''More Studies in Murder'' (1936) * ''Trial of Lizzie Borden, edited, with a history of the case'' (1937) * ''Masterpieces of murder'' (1963) * ''Murders that Baffled the Experts'' (1967) * ''The Adventure of the Lost Manuscripts & One Other'' (1974) * ''The Librarian: selections from the column of that name'' (1976) Books edited by Pearson * ''Frankenstein: or the modern Prometheus''. by Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Printed with an introduction by Edmund Lester Pearson. New York, Limited Editions Club, 1934. * ''The autobiography of a criminal''. by Tufts, Henry. Edited by Edmund Lester Pearson. New york, Duffield and Company, 1930.


References


External links

* * * *
Edmund Lester Pearson's personal library
at
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

About ''The Old Librarian's Almanack''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Edmund Lester 1880 births 1937 deaths American librarians American non-fiction crime writers New York State Library School alumni Harvard College alumni Writers from Newburyport, Massachusetts