author
Frank Cundall
1858–1937
A key figure in Jamaica’s cultural and historical life, this English-born librarian and writer spent decades preserving the island’s records and stories. His books helped document Jamaica’s past in a way that still matters to readers and researchers today.
1 Audiobook
Historic Jamaica
by Frank Cundall
About the author
Born in London in 1858, Frank Cundall was the son of writer and publisher Joseph Cundall. Before moving to the Caribbean, he worked in art and museum circles in Britain, including cataloguing the art library at what became the Victoria and Albert Museum.
In 1891 he arrived in Kingston to become Secretary and Librarian of the Institute of Jamaica, a post he held for the rest of his life. Over more than four decades, he helped build the Institute’s library and became one of the most important chroniclers of Jamaican history and culture.
Cundall wrote and edited a wide range of books and reference works, including studies of Jamaica’s history, buildings, printing, and bibliography. He died in 1937, remembered for the care and energy he brought to preserving the documentary heritage of Jamaica and the wider British West Indies.