Eric Quayle

Eric Stanley Quayle (1921–2001) was a noted British bibliophile, collector, historian and author. Over his lifetime he built up a substantial collection of books (16000 volumes at the time of his death) and literary emphemara amongst which were materials by and about R. M. Ballantyne the Victorian adventure story writer. Quayle's own work was mainly related to the themes of collecting books but he also produced a noted biography on Ballantyne (1967) and two books of folk tales; one of Cornish Tales (The Magic Ointment) and one of Japanese Tales (The Shining Princess). These were both illustrated by the prolific Michael Foreman.^[1]

Quinton Quayle, the retired British diplomat, is one of Eric's children^[2] as is Chrissy Quayle (The Mermaid of Zennor) the musician.^[3]

Quayle died in a fall from the cliffs at Zennor Head near to his home, Carn Cobba; a house noted for its cliffside gardens.^[4]

Selected publications

• Quayle, Eric. (1967) Ballantyne the brave: a Victorian writer and his family. London: Hart-Davis.
• Quayle, Eric. (1971) The collector's book of books. New York: C.N. Potter.
• Quayle, Eric. (1971) The collector's book of children's books. New York: C.N. Potter; distributed by Crown Publishers.
• Quayle, Eric. (1973) The collector's book of boys' stories. London: Studio Vista.
• Quayle, Eric. (1978) Old Cook Books: An Illustrated History. Dutton
• Quayle, Eric. (1983) Early children's books: a collector's guide. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles.
• Quayle, Eric. (Illustrated by and Michael Foreman) (1986) The magic ointment: and other Cornish legends. London: Andersen.
• Quayle, Eric. (Illustrated by and Michael Foreman) (1989) The shining princess and other Japanese legends. New York: Arcade Pub.

References