Thomas Dempster Gordon

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Thomas Dempster Gordon Esq. (Born November 1, 1811 in Bath , England ; † December 13, 1894 in Bamberg ) was a Scottish naval officer and book collector who lived in Germany.

Life

Thomas Dempster Gordon came from a wealthy Scottish family who lived in Balmaghie in Kirkcudbrightshire . He was the son of the Rear Admiral of the Red James Murray Gordon (1782-1851) and Sarah Almeria Gordon , nee Caulfeild , widowed Charleton (1772-1821). Gordon served as a captain in the Royal Navy .

His wealth later enabled him to travel frequently as a private citizen, which has taken him to the spa town of Kissingen almost every year since 1849 . Gordon married Anna Hailmann , b. Dürig (1813–1894), widow of a wealthy Kissingen hotelier . The couple later lived in their hometown Bamberg.

meaning

Gordon's library , into which the partly bibliophile book collections of his father and other relatives were entered, showed a wide range of interests. It comprised nearly 1,600 works in over 3,000 volumes from three centuries. European fiction was extensively expanded in it . It also contained a large number of books on European culture , geography and history (including military and maritime history), as well as memoirs and biographies of philosophers, statesmen and military. The linguistic diversity is remarkable: there are books in English , German , French , Italian , Spanish and Russian , but also in ancient Greek and Latin . The books are often presented in gold-decorated covers from England and France . There are numerous rare first prints .

Gordon's library was donated to the Bamberg Royal Library (today Bamberg State Library ), and it has been incorporated into their general holdings. Provenance can be secured by means of ownership markings, including many bookplates , and inventory lists . In 2001 the Bamberg State Library from Bad Kissingen received oil portraits of Thomas Dempster Gordon and his wife Anna, created by the Bamberg painter Hans Kundmüller (1837–1893).

On the occasion of the anniversary congress of the "International Association of University Professors of English" (IAUPE) at the University of Bamberg , the exhibition The bibliophile collection of Thomas Dempster Gordon (1811-1894) was held from July 30th to November 24th 2001 in the Bamberg State Library , Captain of the Royal Navy, in the Bamberg State Library .

literature

  • Bernard Burke: A genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry of Great Britain and Ireland. Fifth edition. Vol. 1. London 1875, p. 520.
  • Werner Taegert: The bibliophile collection of Thomas Dempster Gordon (1811-1894), Captain of the Royal Navy, in the Bamberg State Library , exhibition catalog. (= Small Exhibition Guide No. 76). Bamberg State Library, Bamberg 2001.
  • Edward Walford: The County Families of the United Kingdom . London 1860, p. 757.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Gordon, Thomas Dempster
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish bibliophile
DATE OF BIRTH November 1, 1811
PLACE OF BIRTH Bath , England
DATE OF DEATH December 13, 1894
Place of death Bamberg