Morris, John
Owner Id00029930
TypePerson
GenderMale
Biographical dates - Period of existenceca.1580-1658
Other Information"Born in London, the son of a Dutch water engineer Peter Morris, who became wealthy by creating a system of piped water supply for the city. John inherited the London watermills, built near London Bridge in 1580. His education is unknown but may have involved Cambridge and/or Gray’s Inn; he travelled extensively on the continent in the 1610s. His private means allowed him to pursue scholarly interests; he did not publish, beyond a few poems in larger works, but was acquainted with many of the better-known antiquaries of the time. His political opinions have been assessed as those of an orthodox protestant, with moderate parliamentarian and puritan leanings, but opposed to the execution of Charles I.
"Morris’s reputation rests mainly upon the library he assembled, described in his will as “the chiefe pleasure and imployment of my life”, of which a significant proportion was sold by his widow to the Royal Library in 1660-61. A little under 1500 items from his collection are still in the British Library although the full extent of the original is unknown. The contents are wide ranging, covering Morris’s antiquarian and literary interests, noteworthy for the holdings of European, and particularly Italian, vernacular literature. His surviving correspondence reveals an extensive knowledge of the London book trade." (Book Owners Online)
T.A. Birrell, The library of John Morris (London, 1976).
Variant NamesMauritius, Johannes
Maurice, Jean
Other Identifierhttps://bookowners.online/John_Morris_ca.1580-1658
http://thesaurus.cerl.org/record/cnp01330055
Activity
Start (year)1610
End (year)1658
MARC Area Codee-uk-en
Profession / Type of InstitutionScholar
CharacterisationNo characterisation/lay
Last Edit2021-04-15 12:28:06