sad news

[Michael Durgin <HPDurgin@xxxxxxx>]

As I only get the digest of this mail list, I don't know if something has
already been posted, but wanted to pass this along in case not.

Peter VanWingen, of the Library of Congress, passed away on Sunday. While I
did not know him well (we met only once or twice) I know that his passing is
a significant loss to the book arts community.  I'm sure many of you knew him
well.  Here is the text of his obituary from today's Washington Post:

"Peter M. VanWingen, 47, curator of the Rosenwald Collection in the rare book
and special collections division of the Library of Congress, died of a brain
tumor Nov. 26 at his home in Washington.

Mr. VanWingen moved to Washington in 1977 to become head of the reference
section of the library's rare book division.  A specialist in book arts and
printing history, he began his career as a librarian at the New York Public
Library and later worked at the St. Bride Printing Library in London and as
an adjunct professor at Catholic University.

He was a native of Grand Rapids, Mich.  He was a graduate of Hope College in
Michigan and received a master's degree in library science from Columbia
University.

Mr. VanWingen was a member of Hyattsville Mennonite Church and a director of
International Guest House in Washington.

Survivors include his wife of 21 years, Rachel Senner VanWingen, and two
sons, Matthew VanWingen and Jacob VanWingen, all of Washington."

Michael Durgin