People from the past 1: Robert Proctor (1868 1903)

People from the past 1: Robert Proctor (1868 1903)

By: Michael Downes
Added: 20 November 2011

Robert George Collier Proctor (1868-1903), bibliographer, was born in Budleigh Salterton. He is chiefly remembered for Proctor order, the method of organising incunabula - books printed before 1500 - first by country, then by town, and then by printer and edition. It was this method, used in his Index to the British Museum and Bodleian collections which earned for him the title of 'the great bibliographer.' In his short life he managed to revolutionise the study of 15th century printing.

Proctor is barely known in his birthplace, and it was only through a chance mention of him by Topsham's Ray Girvan at http://jsbookreader.blogspot.com/2009/06/life-and-death-in-budleigh.html that his achievements have been recently brought to the attention of Budleigh residents.

To read why he deserves to be more fully known click on http://budleighbrewsterunited.blogspot.com/2011/11/robert-proctor.html


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