Wells, James, 1838-1924

Librarian and printing historian.

Born in 1917 in Charleston , W. Va., and educated at Northwestern and Columbia Universities, James Wells served in the Navy and taught English at Columbia and West Virginia before coming to the Newberry in 1951 as Curator of the John M. Wing Foundation for the History of Printing (1951-1984). In 1963, Wells also became Custodian of the Rare Book Room, a position he vacated in 1964 when Lawrence W. Towner appointed him Associate Director, a newly created post with responsibility for the Newberry Library Bulletin, publications programs, research and fellowships programs, and acquisitions. In 1975, Wells was appointed Vice President and on Sept. 2, 1981, the 30th anniversary of his appointment as Wing Curator, Wells was appointed George Amos Poole III Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts. Wells retired from the Library in 1984.

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