Ian Willison's many American friends will be pleased to learn that his name
appears on the Queen's Birthday Honours list for 2005. In a June 11th
announcement by the Prime Minister's office, Willison was named a Commander
of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the history of the
book.
Willison is co-general editor (with John Barnard and David McKitterick) of
the multi-volume Cambridge History of the Book in Britain, published by
the Cambridge University Press. Two volumes in this series have thus far
appeared: volume III (co-edited by Lotte Hellinga and J. B. Trapp) covering
the period 1400-1557, published in 1999; and volume IV (co-edited by John
Barnard, the late D. F. McKenzie, and Maureen Bell) covering the period
1557-1695, published in 2002.
Willison spent most of his professional career at the Library of the
British Museum, later the British Library (BL), where from 1974 he was head
successively of the Rare Books Branch and the English Language Branch; he
retired from the BL in 1987. He was the General Editor of volume IV
(1900-1950) of the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature,
published in 1972. He has given many lectures throughout the
English-speaking world and on the Continent. Currently, he is a Senior
Research Fellow at the Institute of English Studies, School of Advanced
Study, University of London.
British Honours are awarded twice a year, in June and at the New Year. They
are given to people for all types of service, including teachers, nurses,
actors, scientists, diplomats and broadcasters. The largest number of
awards goes to those providing services to their local communities - mainly
volunteers. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister's office said about this
year's list: "A key aim has been to reward those who work and serve at the
sharp end - people who have really changed things, or who have given
outstanding service to others in difficult situations."
Ian Willison's current email address in London is <Ian.Willison@sas.ac.uk>.
Terry Belanger : University Professor : University of Virginia : Rare
Book School
PO 400103 : Charlottesville, VA 22904-4103 : Email belanger@virginia.edu
Telephone 434-924-8851 : Fax 434-924-8824 : URL
<http://www.rarebookschool.org>
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