Alfred W. Pollard
Alfred William Pollard entered the world on the 14th of August 1859 at 1 Brompton Square in Kensington, London. He was the youngest son of physician Edward William Pollard and his wife Emma Louisa. His early education began at a dame school before he moved to King's College School on the Strand in 1870. At age 15, he won the school's scholarship for classics during his seven-year tenure there. During those years, Pollard developed an interest in Chaucer and Shakespeare while befriending the painter Walter Sickert. In November 1876, he sought a scholarship to Balliol College but instead secured one to study literae humaniores at St John's College, Oxford. He graduated with a double first, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1881 and his Master of Arts in 1885. He had attained first classes in classical moderations in 1879 and in literae humaniores in 1881. It was as a student at Oxford that Pollard began his lifelong friendship with A. E. Housman, which he described as "the best thing I got from Oxford".
Unable to teach because of his pronounced stammer, Pollard joined the staff of the British Museum in 1883. He started as assistant in the department of printed books and was promoted to assistant keeper in 1909. By 1919, he became keeper of the same department. That same year, Pollard was appointed professor of English bibliography at the University of London. He served as honorary secretary of the Bibliographical Society from 1893 to 1934. For thirty years between 1903 and 1934, he edited the society's journal The Library. In 1929, he received the society's gold medal for his contributions. His work involved extensive research into early printed materials and their historical significance. This position allowed him to access rare manuscripts and shape the field of bibliographic study through practical experience. The museum environment provided the resources necessary for his groundbreaking investigations into textual history.
Pollard published Shakespeare Folios and Quartos: a Study in the Bibliography of Shakespeare's Plays, 1594, 1685, in 1909. This work remains an important milestone in Shakespearian criticism today. It revolutionized how scholars approached the study of early modern drama texts. Before this publication, many assumptions about Shakespeare's plays lacked rigorous evidence. Pollard applied systematic analysis to determine which versions of the plays were most authentic. His research examined the physical characteristics of quartos and folios to establish reliable editions. The book covered the period from 1594 to 1685, analyzing over four decades of printing history. Later works like A Census of Shakespeare's Plays in Quarto (with Henrietta C. Bartlett) in 1939 expanded on these findings. He also wrote Shakespeare's Fight with the Pirates and the Problems of the Transmission of His Text in 1917. These studies demonstrated that textual transmission involved complex commercial and legal battles beyond simple authorial intent.
Pollard edited Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophel in 1888 and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales for the Globe edition in 1898. He published a collection of Fifteenth Century Poetry and Prose in 1903 alongside Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur between 1910 and 1911. This work appeared in four volumes with illustrations by Sir William Russell Flint and an abridged version illustrated by Arthur Rackham in 1917. With Gilbert Richard Redgrave, he edited the STC, or A short-title catalogue of books printed in England, Scotland, & Ireland and of English books printed abroad, 1475, 1640, released in 1926. Pollard provided a bibliographical introduction to a facsimile print of the 1611 King James Bible produced for its three hundredth anniversary. His contemporary friends included poet A. E. Housman and artist Walter Sickert. He maintained close professional relationships with prominent Shakespeare scholars Edmund Kerchever Chambers and R. B. McKerrow. These collaborations helped establish standards for editing historical texts that persist in modern scholarship.
Pollard married Alice England of Newnham College, Cambridge, in 1887 and they had two sons and a daughter. During World War I, both his sons were lost in action. His oldest son Geoffrey Blemell Pollard was a lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery killed near Le Baseé, France on the 24th of October 1914. Then a year later on the 13th of October 1915, his second son Roger Thompson Pollard, also a lieutenant in the 5th Royal Berkshire Regiment, died in combat. Pollard wrote a memorial titled Two Brothers. Accounts Rendered which was privately printed for friends in 1916. The work was issued by Sidgwick and Jackson a year later. This personal tragedy deeply affected his writing and research focus during the war years. The loss of both children created a profound silence within his household that he attempted to fill through scholarly dedication. His grief became intertwined with his professional output as he sought meaning through textual preservation.
In 1935 Pollard suffered a fall while gardening which seriously affected him but he lived another nine years. He died at Wimbledon Hospital on the 8th of March 1944 aged 85. He is buried with his wife Alice (1857-1925) in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, Wimbledon. Survived only by his daughter, Pollard left behind a vast body of written work spanning over six decades. His influence on English bibliography remains significant despite the passage of time. Scholars continue to reference his methods when examining early modern texts. The British Library holds a portrait of him painted by Frank Brooks. His legacy includes establishing rigorous standards for textual analysis that transformed how historians approach literary history. The field owes much to his systematic approach to cataloging and interpreting rare books. Even after his death, his works remain essential reading for students of English literature and book history.
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Common questions
When and where was Alfred W. Pollard born?
Alfred William Pollard entered the world on the 14th of August 1859 at 1 Brompton Square in Kensington, London.
What caused Alfred W. Pollard to join the British Museum staff instead of teaching?
Pollard joined the staff of the British Museum in 1883 because he had a pronounced stammer that prevented him from teaching.
Which major work did Alfred W. Pollard publish about Shakespeare's plays in 1909?
Pollard published Shakespeare Folios and Quartos: a Study in the Bibliography of Shakespeare's Plays, 1594, 1685, in 1909.
How many sons did Alfred W. Pollard lose during World War I?
Both of his sons were lost in action during World War I with Geoffrey Blemell Pollard killed on the 24th of October 1914 and Roger Thompson Pollard dying on the 13th of October 1915.
When and where did Alfred W. Pollard die?
Alfred William Pollard died at Wimbledon Hospital on the 8th of March 1944 aged 85.