Royce, William Hobart, 1878-

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William Hobart Royce (1878-1963) was a book collector and bibliographer of Brooklyn, N.Y.

From the description of William Hobart Royce papers, 1941-1943. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 86164277

From the guide to the William Hobart Royce papers, 1941-1943, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.)

William Hobart Royce (1878-1963) was an American author, bibliographer, book collector, and founder of the Balzac Society of America.

Born on March 20, 1878, in Springfield, Massachusetts, Royce completed his formal education by graduating from the Springfield High School in 1897. Later he would write that his "only university has been the New York Public Library."

After some bookstore experience in Springfield, Royce entered the booktrade in New York City, spending twelve years with the book department of the American News Company and seven years with the Lexington Book Shop. In 1917 he joined the Gabriel Wells rare book firm, for which he was manager for over 30 years. Wells and Royce shared a deep interest in Balzac (it was Wells who saved Balzac's house at Passy from destruction), and during this time the firm became the center of the sale of Balzaciana. Royce himself assembled a major collection of Balzac material, which was later donated to Syracuse University's Special Collections Research Center.

Royce's published works ran to over a dozen titles. His books on Balzac include Balzac, Immortal (1926), A Balzac Bibliography (1929), Indexes to A Balzac Bibliography (1930), and Balzac as He Should Be Read (1946). Royce published over a half dozen volumes of his own verse; he wrote verse also under the pen name Willie Penmore.

In 1940 Royce founded The Balzac Society of America. For over two decades he served as its president and edited its Bulletin . In recognition of his contributions to Balzac bibliography and collecting, Royce was awarded the Cross of the Legion of Honor in 1935 and was made an honorary citizen of Issoudun, the French provincial town which is the setting of La Rabouilleuse .

Royce was married in 1908 to Eda Maria Wallin. They had two daughters, Eva Allen Qoyce and Abbie Anna Royce, M.D. He died on January 28, 1963.

Royce was the subject of a "Profile" article in The New Yorker, Apr 1, 1933, pp. 18-21. For further biographical and anecdotal material, see Life, Feb 24, 1947, pp. 19-20, 22; and "Brooklyn Balzac" by Stefan Zweig in Who, vol. 1, no. 3 (June 1941), p. 48.

From the guide to the William Hobart Royce Papers, 1901-1962, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Royce, William Hobart, 1878-. Letters, 1942, Brooklyn, N.Y., to Henry B. Van Hoesen. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
referencedIn Letters of sympathy on the death of Edgar H. Wells, 1938. Houghton Library
creatorOf William Hobart Royce papers, 1941-1943 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
creatorOf Royce, William Hobart, 1878-1963. William Hobart Royce papers, 1941-1943. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
creatorOf William Hobart Royce Papers, 1901-1962 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
creatorOf Royce, William Hobart, 1878-. Requiem for the living : poem, 1948, Nov. 28. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
referencedIn Harry Levin papers Houghton Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Balzac, Honoré de, 1799-1850 person
associatedWith Balzac Society of America. corporateBody
associatedWith Bouteron, Marcel, b. 1877 person
associatedWith Brown University Library Harris Collection. corporateBody
associatedWith Dargan, Edwin Preston, 1879-1940 person
associatedWith Levin, Harry, 1912-1994 person
associatedWith Mabbott, Thomas Olive, 1898-1968, person
associatedWith Pinchon, Edgcumb, b. 1883. person
associatedWith Pommier, Jean, 1893-1973 person
associatedWith Sickles, Daniel Edgar, 1819-1914 person
associatedWith Sickles, Daniel Edgar, 1825-1914. person
associatedWith Van Hoesen, Henry Bartlett, 1885-1965, person
associatedWith Zweig, Stefan, 1881-1942 person
Place Name Admin Code Country
United States
Spain
United States
Subject
Authors, American
Bibliographers
Book collectors
Diplomatic and consular service, American
Diplomatic and consular service, American
French literature
Literature
Occupation
Authors
Bibliographers
Book collectors
Activity

Person

Birth 1878-03-20

Death 1963-01-28

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