Marcus A. McCorison
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marcus A. McCorison | |
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| Born | July 17, 1926 |
| Died | February 2, 2013 (aged 86) |
| Occupations | Antiquarian, author, librarian |
| Known for | President of the American Antiquarian Society |
Marcus Allen McCorison (July 17, 1926 – February 2, 2013) was a bibliographer, librarian, and historian of American printing and book history. McCorison was President of the American Antiquarian Society from 1960 to 1992.[1]
McCorison was born in Lancaster, Wisconsin, to Joseph Lyle McCorison Jr., and Ruth Mink McCorison.[2]
He served with the United States Naval Reserve during World War II. He graduated from Ripon College in 1950 and earned master's degrees from the University of Vermont (1951) and Columbia University, School of Library Service (1954). His graduate study was interrupted by U.S. Army service as a first lieutenant in the Korean War in 1951–52.[3]
His first professional position was at the Kellogg Hubbard Library in Montpelier, Vermont. In 1955 he became the chief of rare books at Dartmouth College.[4]
McCorison was appointed librarian at the American Antiquarian Society in 1960.[5] He was sometimes referred to as the “Grand Acquisitor,” as he expanded the Society's holdings by 115,000 items and provided access to the Society's collection with a machine-readable catalogue system. He established a fellowship program for visiting scholars. He grew the AAS endowment.[6] The Wall Street Journal characterized him as tracking down rare books like a hungry wolf.[7] He retired in 1992 and was named president emeritus.
