William Ready
William Bernard Ready (16 September 1914 - 12 September 1981[1]) was a University Librarian and Professor of Bibliography at McMaster University in Ontario,[2] taking up the position in 1966.[3]
Born in Cardiff, Wales,[1] Ready studied bibliography in England and Wales, and after the Second World War he became an acquisitions librarian at Stanford University.[3] Between 1956 to 1963 he was Director of Libraries at Marquette University.[4]
Ready foresaw the cultural value of Tolkien's writings and, while at Marquette University, he managed to purchase a large selection of original literary manuscripts by Tolkien in 1956-57, including manuscripts of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.[5][4]
According to his own account, Ready had arranged a lecture tour for Tolkien at American universities, but Tolkien was forced to decline because of illness. In order to make amends, Tolkien therefore offered Ready to buy his manuscripts.[3] However, Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond have stated (deriving from archived correspondence) that Tolkien "was directly approached to sell his papers, and did not himself suggest their sale."[4]
Bibliography, selected
Books
- 1958: The Poor Hater
- 1968: The Tolkien Relation
- 1971: The Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit Notes. Toronto: Coles Publishing Co. Ltd.
- 1982: Files on Parade (autobiography)
Reviews
See also
- Letter to William Ready (letter)
- Letter to William Ready (February 1959)
- Letter to Dick Plotz (8 April 1968)
- Locus 1
External link
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "William Ready fonds. 1948-1982", McMaster University Library (accessed 12 February 2012)
- ↑ William Ready, The Tolkien Relation (dustjacket description)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Paul Grescoe, "William Ready is Cunning, Devious, Relentless, Ruthless (and sneaky)" dated 24 April 1971, The Montreal Gazette (Google News Archive) (accessed 12 February 2012)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: II. Reader's Guide, pp. 513-3
- ↑ Douglas A. Anderson, "The Mainstreaming of Fantasy and the Legacy of The Lord of the Rings", in The Lord of the Rings 1954-2004, p. 313 (note 29)
- ↑ "William Ready fonds. 1948-1982 (Box 1-64)", McMaster University Library (accessed 12 February 2012)
- ↑ "William Ready Silmarillion review", google.com Google] (accessed 24 April 2014)