Bartlett, Gerald (Robert) 1935-2003
BARTLETT, Gerald (Robert) 1935-2003
OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born November 16, 1935, in England; died March 26, 2003. Bookseller and author. Bartlett was the longtime general manager of the Economists' Bookshop in London, England, and is often credited for making the business of selling books a more professional one. He was educated at the City of London School but turned down a scholarship to Trinity College to become a packer at the bookshop in 1954. He was promoted to manager the next year, and when he was given the opportunity to write a series of pamphlets on bookselling he began to gain influence in the industry. Bartlett wrote important pieces about stock control in Stock Control in Bookselling (1965) and mail-order opportunities in Bookselling by Mail (1966), the latter an idea that was new back in the 1960s; his innovative advocacy of the bookselling industry led to him being elected to the office of president of the Booksellers' Association Council in 1974. Bartlett continued to be the general manager of the Economists' Bookshop until 1974, when his staff held a strike against the store that upset him so much he quit his post. He then embarked on a writing career, penning short fiction and poetry, as well as satirical pieces, but never with as much success as his career as a bookseller.
OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:
periodicals
Times (London, England), May 10, 2003.