G. Griffin (George Griffin) Lewis

Born in 1865 and remembered as an American physician, G. Griffin Lewis wrote in a surprisingly wide range of fields. Reference records consistently identify him as George Griffin Lewis (1865–1946), and surviving catalogs show work published under both his full name and the shorter byline "G. Griffin Lewis."

His best-known book is The Practical Book of Oriental Rugs, a popular guide that went through multiple editions in the 1910s and 1920s. In the preface to a 1920 edition, he notes that the book had already been revised several times and had found readers in many parts of the world, suggesting that it was one of those rare specialty books that reached well beyond a narrow expert audience.

Lewis also wrote medical works including The Ophthalmic Nurse (1920) and The Ophthalmic Formulary, which shows his professional grounding in eye care. Taken together, his books reveal a writer who liked to explain things clearly and usefully, whether he was guiding nurses through clinical practice or helping readers understand the beauty and history of handmade rugs.