author
Cornelius Walford
1827–1885
A tireless Victorian researcher, he turned the complicated world of insurance into ambitious reference works that readers and professionals could actually use. His writing ranged widely, but he is best remembered for the vast Insurance Cyclopaedia and for bringing unusual energy to statistics, economics, and social history.
1 Audiobook
Fairs, past and present : A chapter in the history of commerce
by Cornelius Walford
About the author
Born in London on April 2, 1827, Cornelius Walford was an English barrister, statistician, and prolific writer whose career crossed law, finance, and historical research. He became especially known for writing about insurance at a time when the subject was growing rapidly and becoming more technical.
Walford is best remembered for The Insurance Cyclopaedia, a large multi-volume reference work published in the 1870s. He also wrote on topics such as famines, guilds, and fairs, showing a strong taste for big, information-rich projects. Contemporary accounts describe him as an indefatigable worker, and that reputation fits the scale of the books and articles he left behind.
He died on September 28, 1885, in South Hampstead, aged 58. Although he is now a specialist figure rather than a household name, his work still stands out as an impressive example of Victorian scholarship devoted to organizing complex knowledge for practical use.