TRAPP, J.B. 1925-2005

(Joseph Burney Trapp)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born July 16, 1925, in Carterton, New Zealand; died July 13 (one source says July 14), 2005, in London, England. Librarian, educator, and author. Trapp was a former director of the Warburg Institute at the University of London. Interested in the Classics from a young age, he already had a basic knowledge of Latin and Greek before attending the Victoria University of Wellington, where he had earned his M.A. in 1947. He began his library career as an assistant at the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington, New Zealand, for four years. After a year as junior lecturer at Victoria University College, he moved halfway around the world to teach at the University of Reading. By this time, the Warburg Institute, originally established in Germany, had moved to London, where it earned an admirable reputation under the leadership of Fritz Saxl and other German librarians. Not a German himself, Trapp was somewhat surprised when he was invited to join the staff in 1953 as assistant librarian. By 1966 he was made librarian, and from 1976 to 1990 he was the Warburg's director. As such, he helped the institute overcome its German tradition to become fully integrated as part of London University. Meanwhile, he also served as editor, coeditor, or author for a number of scholarly reference works, including The Apology of Sir Thomas More (1979), and The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain, 1400–1557 (1999). After retiring in 1990, Trapp was made honorary fellow of the Warburg. His other honors include being named a fellow of the Society of Antiquities and the British Academy, and a commander of the order of the British Empire.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Daily Telegraph (London, England), August 19, 2005.

Guardian (London, England), July 27, 2005, p. 25.

Independent (London, England), July 21, 2005, p. 53.

Times (London, England), August 3, 2005, p. 54.