Lawrence C. Wroth | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 14 January 1884  Baltimore |
| Died | 25 December 1970 (aged 86) |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Librarian,historian, bibliographer, bibliologist, university teacher,writer |
| Employer | |
Lawrence Counselman Wroth (January 14, 1884 – December 25, 1970) was an Americanhistorian and the author ofThe Colonial Printer, the definitive book on the Americanprinting trade during the period of 1639 through 1800.[1] Though he wrote hundreds of articles or books, Wroth was also alibrarian and research professor.
Wroth was born inBaltimore, Maryland in 1884, the son of anEpiscopal clergyman.[2]
In 1905, Wroth graduated fromJohns Hopkins University and wrote his first published article, "Sanitation in the Country House", which appeared in the magazineCountry Life in America.
He served with the110th and 111th Field Artillery inWorld War I during the period of 1917 to 1919 in France.[2]
His first book, published in 1911,Parson Weems; a biographical and critical study, was a biography ofGeorge Washington's biographer.
Though Wroth wrote over 550 pieces, he is most notable for two books on colonial printing:A History of Printing in Colonial Maryland: 1686-1776, published in 1922, a study of printing in colonialMaryland; andThe Colonial Printer, published in 1931, a study in the printing trade during theAmerican colonial period. Both books detailed the first colonialprinting presses, colonial printing houses,typeset, printing ink, paper, journeymen, apprentices, conditions of the trade, andbookbinding. The content and finish of the completed books, pamphlets, and papers of the period are also discussed. Wroth expressly stated that the book was written "as a discussion of certain fundamental aspects of cultural history"[3] and that the book was not intended as an "essay inbibliophilism", though his love of books is evident:[4]
"To love the contents of a book and care nothing about the volume itself, to love the treasure and to be unmindful of the earthen vessel that loyally holds and preserves it, is to be only half a lover, deaf to a whole series of notes in the gamut of emotion. The book lover, more richly endowed, broods over the hand that fashioned the volume he reads, and, like the Tramp-Royal, he goes on until he dies observingthe different ways that different things are done, the materials, the processes, the how and what and why of the ancient mysteries of printing, paper making, type founding, ink making, press building, and binding."[4][5]
In his publications on printing in colonial America, Wroth notably included the history of colonial women printers, such asDinah Nuthead,Anne Catherine Hoof Green,Sarah Updike Goddard,Clementina Rind, andMary Goddard.[6]
Essays Honoring Lawrence C. Wroth was published by the Library of Congress in 1951.[7] His last book, published in 1970,The voyages ofGiovanni da Verrazzano, 1524-1528, was also a biography.
In addition to writing, Wroth had a parallel career as a librarian. He worked at theMaryland Diocesan Library in Baltimore from 1905 to 1912 before becoming assistant librarian at Baltimore'sEnoch Pratt Free Library from 1912 to 1923. While atBrown University inProvidence, Rhode Island, Wroth served as librarian of theJohn Carter Brown Library for 35 years (1924 — 1957), and held a university post as Research Professor of American History (1932–1965).[2]