E. K. Muspratt obtains The Were-Wolf through the Times Book Club

Cream-coloured adhesive label with dark grey writing that reads: E. K. Muspratt, Esq., 5, Victoria Terrace, Beaumaris.

The source-text for the COVE edition of Clemence Housman's The Were-Wolf (Bodley Head, 1896) is located in Ryerson University's Special Collections. This copy of the book includes some interesting traces of its provenance. A label pasted into the inside front cover reveals that this book once belonged to E. K. Muspratt, Esq., who was presumably a member of the Times Book Club.

Edmund Knowles Muspratt was born in Seaforth, near Liverpool, England on November 6, 1833 and died September 1, 1923. He was a prominent chemical industrialist and the youngest son of James Muspratt, "the father of the Alkali industry in Lancashire" (Muspratt 3). E. K. Muspratt had a PhD in medicine from the University of Munich and was involved in his father's alkali factory business, operating chemical plants and eventually becoming director and later president of the United Alkali Company. Muspratt fought in court for environmentally-responsible methods of making alkali, and was also a member of the Financial Reform Association where he advocated for free trade.

In 1907, the University of Liverpool presented Muspratt with an honorary law degree of LL.D. Given that "Esq." follows Muspratt's name in the book owner label, and that the book also includes a Times Book Club (1905–1908) label, he must have owned our source copy-text of The Were-Wolf circa 1907. The label includes the address 5, Victoria Terrace, Beaumaris. Given its location in Wales, this may have been a summer home for the Muspratt family. Muspratt published his memoir, My Life and Work, in 1917 with John Lane, co-founder of The Bodley Head and publisher of The Were-Wolf (1896).

Associated Place(s)

Event date:

circa. 1907

Event Source: