John Theyer 1597-1673
John THEYER 1597-1673
Biographical Note
Son of John Theyer (d.1631). He entered Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1613, but did not graduate. Practiced common law at New Inn, London. He inherited a collection of manuscripts from Robert Hart, his great-uncle, and a family estate at Cooper Hill, Brockworth at which a library was established and used by his friend Anthony Wood.
Books
His library, including ca.800 manuscripts, was sold after his death to Robert Scot, who in turn sold it to the Royal Library (hence many manuscripts are now in the British Library). List of his manuscripts in BL ms.Royal App.70. Listed in Edward Bernard's catalogi manuscriptorum, 1697, as owning 312 manuscripts.
Characteristic Markings
Theyer commonly inscribed his name on titlepages; a 1623 book in Princeton University Library has his inscription recording it as a gift, 'John Theyer praetiu[m] 4s 6d Meighen ii° May 1635 ex dono Thome Phillipps gen.'
Sources
- Fell-Smith, Charlotte, and Robert J. Haines. "Theyer, John (bap. 1598, d. 1673), antiquary." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- James, M. R. The history of Lambeth Palace Library, Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society, 3 (1959) 1-31.
- Information from Stephen Ferguson.