Beatniffe’s Circulating Library, Norwich


Richard Beatniffe (Norwich, Norfolk) was active in the trade from 1763-1818 as bookseller, bookbinder, printer, music seller, and, during the 1770s, as owner of a circulating library. This label appears on the front pastedown of each volume of The History of Sir William Harrington Written Some Years since [by Thomas Hull] ; and Revised and Corrected by the late Mr. Richardson. London : Printed for J. Bell, at his extensive Circulating Library near Exeter-Exchange in the Strand, and C. Etherington at York, 1771. Call number: (Ex) 3792.95.3455 1771.  ❧ [Type area measures  7.3 cm wide by 12.6 cm tall. Leaf size varies but the norm is  9.7 cm wide by 16.5 cm tall.]  ❧ Earlier in 2012, the Library added a collection of 21 books from early English circulating libraries. Searching the phrase “Libraries, Subscription” in the main catalog returns records for these new additions together with more than 40 others already in the collections. Also searching the phrase “Library copies (Provenance)” returns more than 70 entries, many for books once in a circulating library.

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About Stephen Ferguson

Stephen Ferguson is Librarian Emeritus, Princeton University Library. He came to Princeton in 1975 to be Curator of Rare Books, after several years of professional work at the John Carter Brown Library (Brown University) and the National Heritage Museum (Lexington, Mass.). Between 2014 and 2026, he held various posts as an Associate University Librarian at Princeton. He has degrees from Bowdoin (A.B.) and Rutgers (M.L.S.). His scholarly interests include book history, provenance research, and the history of collecting. He has taught at Drew University on the latter topic.