Eric Stanley Quayle (1921–2001) was a noted British bibliophile, collector and author.

Career

Quayle's writings were mainly related to the themes of collecting books but he also produced a noted biography (1967) of the Victorian adventure story writer, R. M. Ballantyne, 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]

Over his lifetime he built up a substantial collection of books (16,000 volumes at the time of his death), which included many "rare and first editions" covering a wide range of topics in "literature and science" and a collection of children's books with "many titles (...) known by only the single copy in his possession".^[2] His collection also included literary ephemera amongst which were materials by and about Ballantyne.

Personal life

Quinton Quayle, the retired British diplomat, was one of Eric's children^[3] as was Chrissy Quayle, the musician (The Mermaid of Zennor).^[4]

He died in August 2001 in a fall from the cliffs at Zennor Head near his home, Carn Cobba, a house noted for its cliffside gardens^[5] and "by an old millstream that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean from the edge of rugged cliffs"^[6] seven miles from St Ives, Cornwall.^[7][8]

Books by Eric Quayle

• Ballantyne the Brave: A Victorian Writer and His Family. London: Hart-Davis, 1967.
• R. M. Ballantyne: A Bibliography of First Editions. London: Dawsons of Pall Mall, 1968.
• The Ruin of Sir Walter Scott. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1968; New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1969.
• The Collector's Book of Books. New York: C.N. Potter; London: Studio Vista, 1971.
• The Collector's Book of Children's Books. New York: C. N. Potter; distributed by Crown Publishers, 1971; London: Studio Vista, 1971.
• The Collector's Book of Detective Fiction. London: Studio Vista, 1972.
• The Collector's Book of Boys' Stories. London: Studio Vista, 1973.
• Old Cook Books: An Illustrated History. New York: Dutton, 1978.
• Early Children's Books: A Collector's Guide. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles; Totowa, NJ: Barnes & Noble Books, 1983.
• The Magic Ointment and other Cornish Legends. London: Andersen Press, 1986; London: Macmillan Children's Books, 1988. Illustrated by Michael Foreman.
• The Little People's Pageant of Cornish Legends. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987 (A Little Simon Book). Illustrated by Michael Foreman.
• The Shining Princess and Other Japanese Legends. London: Andersen Press; New York: Arcade Publishing, 1989. Illustrated by Michael Foreman.