Sir Jack Westrup (1904 - 1975), was a musicologist, composer, writer and teacher. He received an Hon DMus from Oxford University in 1946 and held the Heather Professorship from 1947-71. Westrup was knighted in 1961 and became Master of the Musicians' Company in 1972. His collection of 4,500 books on music history and musicology became the basis of the Westrup Library at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Click here for a link to the Wikipedia page.
Here are views of the actual library space in the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in its Barbican premises. Access is available to everyone, but by appointment only. Click here for a link to the GSMD website page that references this library. The Musicians' Company saved this collection from being sold and in 1976 donated it on permanent loan. The acquisition was funded from the 'Allcard Fund', established in 1970 by Pastmaster Victor Allcard. Click here for a feature about the library on p.4 of Issue 65 of Preserve Harmony (Autumn 2022).
We are indebted to the Reference Library of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for their kind permission to these images.
The image to the left, is the frontispiece placed inside each volume of the collection. Click the image to download a full version.
Every volume also has a 'W' placed on the spine to indicate its part within the collection (see example to the right).
Here are a few examples from the library:
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