author
Charles Evans
1850–1935
Best known for the monumental American Bibliography, this American librarian and bibliographer helped map the earliest printed history of the United States. His career combined practical library work with an unusually ambitious drive to document books, pamphlets, and periodicals in exacting detail.
1 Audiobook
Oaths of Allegiance in Colonial New England
by Charles Evans
About the author
Born in Boston in 1850, Charles Evans built his career in libraries before becoming one of the most respected bibliographers of his era. He worked at the Boston Athenaeum and later held important library posts in Indianapolis, Baltimore, Omaha, and Chicago, gaining a reputation for both organization and deep knowledge of books.
Evans is most closely associated with American Bibliography, his long-running effort to record works printed in what became the United States from 1639 onward. The project was vast and painstaking, and the first twelve volumes were compiled by him, making the series a lasting reference for librarians, booksellers, collectors, and historians.
He died in 1935, but his work continued to shape scholarship long after his lifetime. For readers drawn to the history of books, libraries, and early American print culture, he remains a quietly essential figure.