John Holmes (antiquary)
John Holmes | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1800-07-17 Deptford, Kent, England |
| Died | 1854-04-01 Highgate, London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Antiquarian, bookseller |
| Years active | 1829–1854 |
| Known for | Work at the British Museum manuscript department; catalogues of Arundel and Burney manuscripts |
John Holmes (17 July 1800 – 1 April 1854) was a distinguished English antiquarian.
Biography
Born on 17 July 1800 in Deptford, Kent, Holmes was the son of Nathaniel Holmes. He received his training as a bookseller under John Lepard, located at 108 Strand, London, before briefly managing his own bookshop in Derby. In 1830, his catalogues featuring oriental literature and the charters of Battle Abbey, prepared for bookseller John Cochrane, attracted the interest of Lords Bexley and Glenelg. This recognition led to his appointment within the manuscript department of the British Museum on 15 January 1830. Holmes progressed to the role of senior assistant in April 1837 and later became assistant-keeper in May 1850, a position he held until his passing.
Holmes produced several significant scholarly contributions, such as a biographical register of French ambassadors to England published in 1840, an essay titled ‘Libraries and Catalogues’ in 1843, and a detailed report on Venetian ambassadors for the Camden Society in 1847. He also provided expert guidance to Bertram, the fourth earl of Ashburnham, in assembling his celebrated manuscript collection that was eventually sold during 1883–4. Within the Museum, Holmes was responsible for compiling comprehensive catalogues of both the Arundel and Burney manuscript collections. At the time of his death, he was engaged in cataloguing a dispersed collection of manuscript maps and plans.
Holmes died at his residence at 4 Park Terrace, Highgate, on 1 April 1854. His personal library was sold at auction by Puttick & Simpson on 15 June 1854. Married in 1832 to Mary Anne Rivington, the couple had four children. Their second son, Sir Richard Rivington Holmes, K.C.V.O., held the post of royal librarian at Windsor Castle from 1869 and served as keeper of prints and drawings from 1870 until his retirement in 1906.
Among Holmes’s authored or edited works are: 1. ‘A Catalogue of Manuscripts in different Languages’ (1829) 2. ‘Catalogue of the Manuscripts, Maps, Charts in the British Museum’ (1844) 3. ‘The Life of Mrs. Godolphin’ with annotations (1847, 1848) 4. ‘The Life of Cardinal Wolsey’ (1852) 5. ‘Ecclesiastical Biography’ accompanied by notes (1853) 6–7. Correspondence concerning a £1,800 grant to the National School of Highgate (1853)