Sir Nicholas Goodison Collection of Books Fully Catalogued

In March 2022, Paul Mellon Centre’s (PMC’s) library received a donation of books from Sir Nicholas Goodison’s library. The cataloguing of this material is now complete and the books are available for readers to consult in the Archives & Library’s public study room.

Sir Nicholas Goodison (1934─2021) was Chairman of the London Stock Exchange (1976─86) and the banking group TSB (1989─95). He collected and studied decorative arts for many years and published on the subject. He was president of the Furniture History Society between 1990─2002 and served as chairman of the Courtauld Institute of Art from 1982─2002 and the National Art Collections Fund (now the Art Fund) from 1986─2002. He was knighted in 1982.

The two hundred and fifty books received were selected from those collected by Goodison to support his research and collecting interests in the decorative arts and the history of scientific instruments. They have greatly enriched the PMC’s holdings in these areas.

The majority of the books were published in the twentieth century and relate to the history of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century decorative arts and scientific instruments. Reflecting Goodison’s research interests, the collection is very strong on clocks and watches, barometers and the measurement of longitude. It is also rich in books on Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) and the Soho Mint as well as subjects such as numismatics, metalwork and ceramics, particularly Wedgwood. There are also books on furniture, especially that designed by Thomas Chippendale (1718–79). Many of the books document the manufacturing processes involved. A couple of titles were published in the eighteenth century: An Historical and Philosophical Account of the Barometer, or Weather-glass (1735) and The Description and Use of the Pocket Case of Mathematical Instruments (1788). These, and others, are in the Library’s Special Collections.

In addition to this material, there are also many publications that relate to his interest in twentieth-century decorative arts and crafts. These include material on jewellery, ceramics and furniture and include artists such as Wendy Ramshaw (1939-2018), Walter Keeler (1942-) and Fred Baier (1949-).

The collection was generously donated to the PMC by Goodison’s widow, Judith Goodison, in 2022.

The Centre also holds the Goodison's archive.

For more information on this collection, see the library and photographic archive catalogue.