Curt Ferdinand Bühler (11 July 1905 – 2 August 1985) was an American

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

and expert of early books who published mainly on the art and history of books printed during the fifteenth century. He took degrees from Yale University (B.A., 1927) and Trinity College, Dublin (Ph.D., 1930). After post-doctoral studies in the University of Munich (1931-1933), he worked as a rare book curator at the

Pierpont Morgan Library The Morgan Library & Museum (originally known as the Pierpont Morgan Library and colloquially known the Morgan) is a museum and research library in New York City, New York, U.S. Completed in 1906 as the private library of the banker J. P. Morg ...

from 1934, was appointed Keeper of Printed Books in 1948, and remained with the Morgan Library until his formal retirement in 1973. His own collection of manuscripts and early printed books was bequeathed to the same library. Bühler served as president of both the

Bibliographical Society of America The Bibliographical Society of America (BSA) is a North American organization that fosters the study of books and manuscripts. It was constituted from the earlier Bibliographical Society of Chicago (created in 1899) as the national membership began ...

(1952-1954) and the

Renaissance Society of America The Renaissance Society of America (RSA) is a nonprofit academic membership association founded in 1954 to promote study of the world during the Renaissance period, 1300–1700. It is a member of the American Council of Learned Societies. The R ...

(1961-1963), and was a member of many other organizations including the

Grolier Club The Grolier Club is a private club and society of bibliophiles in New York City. Founded in January 1884, it is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. The club is named after Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy, T ...

, the

Century Association The Century Association is a private social, arts, and dining club in New York City, founded in 1847. Its clubhouse is located at 7 West 43rd Street near Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. It is primarily a club for men and women with distinctio ...

, the

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "str ...

, the

American Council of Learned Societies The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a private, nonprofit federation of 75 scholarly organizations in the humanities and related social sciences founded in 1919. It is best known for its fellowship competitions which provide a ra ...

, the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. He was Rosenbach Fellow in Bibliography in 1946 at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Personal life

In July 1971, Bühler married Lucy Jane Ford Schoettle.

Bibliography

*1947: ''The Bible, Manuscripts and Printed Bibles from the Fourth to the Nineteenth Century,'' Pierpont Morgan Library, New York *1948: “The First Aldine.” ''The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America'' 42, no. 4 : 269–80. *1949: ''Standards of Bibliographical Description'', University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia *1957. “Literary Research and Bibliographical Training.” ''The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America'' 51, no. 4: 303–11. *1960: ''The Fifteenth-Century Book: the scribes, the printers, the decorators'', University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia *1960: ''William Caxton and His Critics: A Critical Reappraisal of Caxton's Contributions to the Enrichment of the English Language,'' Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, N.Y. *1973: ''Early Books and Manuscripts: forty years of research'', The Grolier Club, New York

References

1905 births 1985 deaths American librarians Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Yale University alumni American expatriates in Ireland American expatriates in Germany Members of the American Philosophical Society Presidents of the Bibliographical Society of America {{Library-bio-stub