Henry Huth (bibliophile)

Henry Huth (1815–1878) was an English merchant banker and prominent bibliophile.

He was the third son of Frederick Huth of Hanover, who settled at Corunna in Spain. Frederick Huth left Spain during the Napoleonic Wars, with his family under convoy of the British squadron, and landed in England in 1809. Here he became a naturalised British subject by act of Parliament, and founded in London a banking firm, Frederick Huth & Co. Henry Huth was born in London. At the age of thirteen he was sent to George Keylock Rusden's school at Leith Hill in Surrey. There, since his father had some idea of putting him in the Indian Civil Service, he learned, in addition to ordinary classics, Persian, Arabic, and Hindustani. In 1833 his father took him into his business.

The drudgery of work in his father's office proved distasteful and he was sent to travel. He first stayed for about two years at Hamburg, occupied at intervals in a business firm: then at Magdeburg for nearly a year. He then made a tour in France for about three months, and in the beginning of 1839 went to the United States, and, after traveling in the south for some time, entered a New York firm as a volunteer. His father, however, arranged that he should join a firm in Mexico in 1840. In 1843 he paid a visit to England, and after marrying in 1844, settled in Hamburg, but rejoined his father's firm in London in 1849.

Huth settled in London and occupied himself in forming his library. He began to call daily on booksellers on his way back from the City of London, a habit which he continued up to the day of his death. He gave commissions at most of the important sales, such as the Utterson, Hawtrey, Gardner, Smith, Slade, Perkins, Tite, and made especially numerous purchases at the Daniel and Corser sales. He confined himself to no particular subject, but bought anything of real interest provided that the book was perfect and in good condition. Imperfect books he called 'the lepers of a library.'

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