Eric Quayle
Eric Stanley Quayle was a noted British bibliophile, collector and author.
Career
Quayle's writings were mainly related to the themes of collecting books but he also produced a noted biography of the Victorian adventure story writer, R. M. Ballantyne, and two books of folk tales: one of Cornish tales and one of Japanese tales. These were both illustrated by the prolific Michael Foreman.Over his lifetime he built up a substantial collection of books, which included many "rare and first editions" covering a wide range of topics in "literature and science" and a collection of children's books with "many titles known by only the single copy in his possession". His collection also included literary ephemera amongst which were materials by and about Ballantyne.
Personal life
, the retired British diplomat, was one of Eric's children as was Chrissy Quayle, the musician.He died in August 2001 in a fall from the cliffs at Zennor Head near his home, Carn Cobba, a house noted for its cliffside gardens and "by an old millstream that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean from the edge of rugged cliffs" seven miles from St Ives, Cornwall.
Books by Eric Quayle
- Ballantyne the Brave: A Victorian Writer and His Family. London: Hart-Davis, 1967.
- R. M. Ballantyne: A Bibliography of First Editions. London: Dawsons of Pall Mall, 1968.
- '. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1968; New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1969.
- The Collector's Book of Books. New York: C.N. Potter; London: Studio Vista, 1971.
- The Collector's Book of Children's Books. New York: C. N. Potter; distributed by Crown Publishers, 1971; London: Studio Vista, 1971.
- The Collector's Book of Detective Fiction. London: Studio Vista, 1972.
- The Collector's Book of Boys' Stories. London: Studio Vista, 1973.
- '. New York: Dutton, 1978.
- '. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles; Totowa, NJ: Barnes & Noble Books, 1983.
- '. London: Andersen Press, 1986; London: Macmillan Children's Books, 1988. Illustrated by Michael Foreman.
- '. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987. Illustrated by Michael Foreman.
- '. London: Andersen Press; New York: Arcade Publishing, 1989. Illustrated by Michael Foreman.