Lawrence Wallis has donated his collection of printing papers to the St Bride Printing Library.


The print commentator and historians library of books on printing and allied subjects, numbering more than 2,200, has been sold to specialist bookseller Frances Wakeman Books of Oxford.Wallis is dispersing the collection because he is relocating to the south coast.


He amassed the works over more than half a century. I started modestly in 1949 as a first year apprentice, with books I needed for work. It remained a working library until the 70s, when I realised I had become a book collector, not a printer needing books, said Wallis.


His collection of printing papers filled 23 filing cabinet drawers, and charted the period from the mid-60s to the end of the 20th century. The nice thing is St Bride genuinely feels it will serve a purpose for researchers, and will complement their existing collection from John Southward who did a similar thing to me in the 19th century, he added.


St Bride librarian Nigel Roche added: Lawrence was outstandingly fastidious and thats what makes
this unique collection so valuable.


Story by Jo Francis