Richard Heber
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Richard Heber (5 January 1773 – 4 October 1833) was an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
book-collector.


Biography

He was born in
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
, as the eldest son of Reginald Heber, who succeeded his eldest brother as lord of the manors of Marton in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
and
Hodnet Hodnet is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The town of Market Drayton lies 5.7 miles (9.2 km) north-east of the village. History Evidence of a Bronze Age burial site was discovered during construction of the bypass in ...
in
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
, and of Mary Baylie, his first wife. He attended
Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...
. At 19 he edited the works of
Silius Italicus Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus (, c. 26 – c. 101 AD) was a Roman senator, orator and Epic poetry, epic poet of the Silver Age of Latin literature. His only surviving work is the 17-book ''Punica (poem), Punica'', an epic poem about th ...
(2 vols. 12mo, 1792), and a year later prepared for the press an edition of ''Claudiani Carmina'' (2 vols., 1793). A taste for book collecting was developed in him in childhood, and as an undergraduate he began to collect a purely classical library. His taste broadening, he became interested in early English drama and literature, and began his collection of rare books in these departments. Succeeding on the death of his father in 1804 to large estates in Yorkshire and Shropshire, which he considerably augmented, he forthwith devoted himself to the purchase of rare books. Heber was one of the 18 founders in 1812 of the
Roxburghe Club The Roxburghe Club is a bibliophilic and publishing society based in the United Kingdom. Origins The spur to the Club's foundation was the sale of the enormous library of the Duke of Roxburghe (who had died in 1804), which took place over 46 days ...
of
bibliophile Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. A bibliophile or bookworm is an individual who loves and frequently reads and/or collects books. Profile The classic bibliophile is one who loves to read, admire and collect books, often ama ...
s. He possessed extensive landed property in Shropshire and Yorkshire, and was
High Sheriff of Shropshire This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of Shropshire The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the high sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibili ...
in 1821, was
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
Oxford University 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 ...
from 1821 to 1826, and in 1822 was made a D.C.L. of that University. He was one of the founders 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 ...
. In 1826 he and
Charles Henry Hartshorne Charles Henry Hartshorne (17 March 1802 – 11 March 1865) was an English cleric and antiquary. Life Born at Broseley in Shropshire on 17 March 1802, he was the only child of John Hartshorne, an ironmaster,. He was educated at Shrewsbury School, ...
, a friend he had made through the Roxburghe Club, encountered gossip and innuendo over the nature of their relationship. ''
John Bull John Bull is a national personification of the United Kingdom in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter- ...
'' hinted over two of its issues at the idea that it was sexual. Heber had abruptly left the country; Hartshorne pursued ''John Bull'' successfully through the courts. After ransacking England for books, Heber travelled extensively on the Continent, purchasing everywhere, and leaving large depots of books in Paris,
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
,
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
,
Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
, and elsewhere in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. At booksales he sometimes purchased single volumes, sometimes whole libraries.
Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
classed Heber's library as "superior to all others in the world";
Thomas Campbell Thomas Campbell may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Thomas Campbell (poet) (1777–1844), Scottish poet * Thomas Campbell (sculptor) (1790–1858), Scottish sculptor * Thomas Campbell (visual artist) (born 1969), California-based visual artist ...
described him as "the fiercest and strongest of all the bibliomaniacs." He did not confine himself to the purchase of a single copy of a work which took his fancy. "No gentleman," he remarked, "can be without three copies of a book, one for show, one for use, and one for borrowers." To such a size did his library grow that it overran eight houses, some in England, some on the Continent. At his death his collection in England was estimated by Dibdin at 105,000 volumes, exclusive of many thousands on the Continent, the whole having cost upward of £180,000. Allibone in his ''Dictionary of Authors'' computes the volumes in England at 113,195, and those in France and Holland at 33,632, making a total of 146,827, to which must be added a large collection of pamphlets. This immense library was disposed of by auction after the owner's death, the sale lasting 216 days and realizing more than £60,000.


Family

He was the half brother of
Reginald Heber Reginald Heber (21 April 1783 – 3 April 1826) was an English Anglican bishop, man of letters and hymn-writer. After 16 years as a country parson, he served as Bishop of Calcutta until his death at the age of 42. The son of a rich lando ...
, a bishop. After he died aged 60 in 1833 there was well-founded gossip that he had been homosexual, however he was very close to another book collector named
Frances Mary Richardson Currer Frances Mary Richardson Currer (3 March 1785 – 28 April 1861) was a British heiress and book collector. Life Frances Mary Richardson Currer was born shortly after the death of her father, Henry Richardson Currer in 1785. Shortly before he died, ...
. Currer helped Heber when he was in financial difficulties and came to aid his reputation after he died.Colin Lee, 'Currer, Frances Mary Richardson (1785–1861)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 1 November 2014
/ref>


Notes


References

* *
"Heber, Richard"
Dictionary of National Biography {{DEFAULTSORT:Heber, Richard 1773 births 1833 deaths People from Westminster Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford English book and manuscript collectors Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the University of Oxford UK MPs 1820–1826 High Sheriffs of Shropshire LGBT politicians from England LGBT members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom 17th-century LGBT people 18th-century LGBT people Collectors from London