Papers of George Parker Winship

George Parker Winship (1871-1952), librarian, educator, and author, was a librarian at Harvard University’s Widener Library from 1915 until his retirement in 1936. He received his BA from Harvard in 1893 and his Master’s degree the following year; for the next two years, Winship worked as an assistant in Harvard’s History department. In 1895, he was hired to catalogue and run the newly established private library of John Carter Brown; he remained at Brown University until 1915, when he left for Harvard. Winship then became Librarian of the Harry Elkins Widener Collection, which had just opened. He was also appointed Lecturer on the History of Printing, and became a pioneer of championing the use of rare books in education. In 1926, he became Assistant Librarian of Widener’s Treasure Room, which held Harvard's most precious rare books and manuscripts. Throughout his career, Winship was a member of several professional organizations, including the American Antiquarian Society and the Bibliographical Society of America. He also edited and published several scholarly works, including the Census of Incunabula in American Libraries. Winship remained at Harvard until his retirement in 1936; he died in 1952.