The Book That Changed My Life - with Julian Pooley

A story of how archivist Julian Pooley assembled the archive of one of Georgian London's most prominent publishers, John Nichols

This talk tells the story of how the purchase of an anonymous pocket diary in a London bookshop led Julian Pooley to discover extensive and previously unknown archives of John Nichols (1745-1826), one of Georgian London's most prominent printers and a leading antiquary, whose family for three generations edited and printed The Gentleman's Magazine.

Nichols' History and Antiquities of the Town and County of Leicester transformed the way that English local history was written and illustrated.

The vast archive of family and business papers which he and his successors accumulated inspired his granddaughter to form her own collection of autograph letters, augmented by exchange with other collectors and by purchases in the London and Paris salerooms.

This internationally significant collection is now part of the 20,000 Nichols papers calendared and accessible via the Nichols Archive Database which is available via appointment at Surrey History Centre.

About the Speaker:

Julian Pooley F.S.A. is Public Services and Engagement Manager at Surrey History Centre and Honorary Visiting Fellow of the Centre for English Local History at the University of Leicester.

Julian is preparing an analytical guide to the papers of the Nichols family of printers, literary biographers and antiquaries between the time of John Nichols (1745-1826) and the death of his grandson, John Gough Nichols, in 1873.

His recent publications include articles about the Nichols family for The Journal of Eighteenth Century Studies, the Voltaire Foundation and the British Library website, Picturing Places. He is currently preparing a series of volumes, Surrey in ‘The Gentleman’s Magazine’ for Surrey Record Society.