Ronald Brunlees McKerrow
Encyclopedia
Ronald Brunlees McKerrow (12 December 1872 – 20 January 1940) was one of the leading bibliographers and Shakespeare scholars of the 20th century.
, son of Alexander McKerrow, a civil engineer, and Mary Jane Brunlees, daughter of Sir James Brunlees
, a president of the Institution of Civil Engineers
.
He died at Picket Piece
(Wendover
, Buckinghamshire
) where he was buried.
He was educated at Harrow
, at King's College, London, and at Trinity College, Cambridge
. He then taught English for three years in Tokyo
(1897–1900), where he learnt Japanese.
Following his return to London, he became a director of the publishing house Sidgwick and Jackson (1908). He was awarded a D.Litt. by the University of Cambridge in 1911. In 1912 he became joint Honorary Secretary of the Bibliographical Society
(with A. W. Pollard). The Society became the focus for much of his intellectual activity.
During the First World War he taught in the English Department at King's College, London (until 1919).
He founded the Review of English Studies
in 1925 and remained its editor until his death.
He also edited the Bibliographical Society's journal The Library from 1934 to 1937.
McKerrow received an honorary doctorate from Louvain University in 1927 and was the Sandars Reader in Bibliography at Cambridge University in 1928. The following year he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Bibliographical Society. In 1932 he became a fellow of the British Academy
.
His papers are preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge.
With A. W. Pollard and W. W. Greg
, R. B. McKerrow was one of the three great figures of English bibliography of the first half of the twentieth century.
Life
R.B. McKerrow was born in PutneyPutney
Putney is a district in south-west London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
, son of Alexander McKerrow, a civil engineer, and Mary Jane Brunlees, daughter of Sir James Brunlees
James Brunlees
Sir James Brunlees was a Scottish civil engineer. He was born in Kelso in the Scottish Borders in 1816.In 1850, Brunlees worked on the Londonderry and Coleraine Railway...
, a president of the Institution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
.
He died at Picket Piece
Picket Piece
Picket Piece is a small village and civil parish in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Andover, which lies approximately 2 miles south-west from the village....
(Wendover
Wendover
Wendover is a market town that sits at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
) where he was buried.
He was educated at Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
, at King's College, London, and at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
. He then taught English for three years in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
(1897–1900), where he learnt Japanese.
Following his return to London, he became a director of the publishing house Sidgwick and Jackson (1908). He was awarded a D.Litt. by the University of Cambridge in 1911. In 1912 he became joint Honorary Secretary of the Bibliographical Society
Bibliographical Society
Founded in 1892, the Bibliographical Society is the senior learned society dealing with the study of the book and its history, based in London, England....
(with A. W. Pollard). The Society became the focus for much of his intellectual activity.
During the First World War he taught in the English Department at King's College, London (until 1919).
He founded the Review of English Studies
The Review of English Studies
The Review of English Studies is an academic journal published by Oxford University Press covering English literature and the English language from the earliest period to the present...
in 1925 and remained its editor until his death.
He also edited the Bibliographical Society's journal The Library from 1934 to 1937.
McKerrow received an honorary doctorate from Louvain University in 1927 and was the Sandars Reader in Bibliography at Cambridge University in 1928. The following year he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Bibliographical Society. In 1932 he became a fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
.
His papers are preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Work
McKerrow's work had three main focuses:- the textual study of early English Drama, especially the works of Thomas NashThomas NashThomas Nash was the first husband of William Shakespeare's granddaughter Elizabeth Barnard. He lived most of his life in Stratford-upon-Avon, and was the dominant male figure amongst Shakespeare's senior family line after the death of Dr...
and ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
; he was one of the founder members of the Malone Society. - the history of the English book trade in the early-modern period; he made three substantial contributions in this field: Printers' and Publishers' Devices in England and Scotland, 1485–1640 (1913), Title-Page Borders used in England and Scotland, 1485–1640 (with F. S. FergusonFrederic Sutherland FergusonFrederic Sutherland Ferguson was an English bibliographer.He was educated at the Grocers' Company's School, Hackney Downs, and at King's College London, but did not take a degree. Ferguson joined the firm of Bernard Quaritch in 1897...
) (1932), and under his general editorship the volume for 1557–1640 in the Bibliographical Society's Dictionaries of the printers and booksellers who were at work in England, Scotland and Ireland, 1557–1775 (1910). - the theory and practice of historical and textual bibliography: firstly, his major edition of the works of Thomas Nash (1904); his An Introduction to Bibliography for Literary Students (1927) which remains a standard work (supplemented now by Philip Gaskell's New Introduction to Bibliography, 1972); and the Prolegomena for the Oxford Shakespeare (1939) which was intended to be the introduction for a full scientific critical edition of Shakespeare which was unfinished at his death.
With A. W. Pollard and W. W. Greg
Walter Wilson Greg
Sir Walter Wilson Greg was one of the leading bibliographers and Shakespeare scholars of the 20th century....
, R. B. McKerrow was one of the three great figures of English bibliography of the first half of the twentieth century.
Selected publications
- edition of Thomas NashThomas NashThomas Nash was the first husband of William Shakespeare's granddaughter Elizabeth Barnard. He lived most of his life in Stratford-upon-Avon, and was the dominant male figure amongst Shakespeare's senior family line after the death of Dr...
, The Works of Thomas Nashe. Edited from the original texts, London: A. H. Bullen, 1904 - edition of Thomas Dekker, The gull’s horn-book, London : De la More Press, 1904.
- edition of Barnabe BarnesBarnabe BarnesBarnabe Barnes , was an English poet. He is known for his Petrarchan love sonnets and for his combative personality, involving feuds with other writers and culminating in an alleged attempted murder.-Early life:...
, The Divils Charter: a Tragædie conteining the Life and Death of Pope Alexander the sixt ..., Louvain, 1904. - A Dictionary of printers and booksellers in England, Scotland and Ireland, and of foreign printers of English books 1557–1640., London, 1910 (ed., for the Bibliographical Society); reprinted in Dictionaries of the printers and booksellers who were at work in England, Scotland and Ireland, 1557–1775 (1977).
- Printers' & Publishers' Devices in England & Scotland 1485–1640. London : Printed for the Bibliographical Society at the Chiswick Press, 1913. on-line digitised version
- Title-page Borders used in England & Scotland, 1485–1640, London, 1932 (with F. S. Ferguson).
- An Introduction to Bibliography for Literary Students, Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1927 (reprint, with an introduction by David McKitterick, Oak Knoll Press, 1995).
- Prolegomena for the Oxford Shakespeare : a study in editorial method, Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1939.
- Ronald Brunlees McKerrow : a Selection of his Essays, Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press, 1974. (ed. John Phillip Immroth)