Esmond Samuel de Beer

Who is Esmond Samuel de Beer?

Esmond Samuel de Beer was a New Zealand scholar, editor, collector, bibliophile and philanthropist. He was born in Dunedin, Otago on 15 September 1895.

De Beer was the grandson of Dunedin businessman Bendix Hallenstein, founder of Hallenstein Bros., a major New Zealand retailers, and nephew of avid collector Willi Fels, from whom he developed a love of books. The De Beers moved to London in 1910 when Esmond's father Isidore was made manager of Hallensteins' London office, and in 1914 Esmond enrolled in New College, Oxford to read History. After serving on India's Northwest Frontier during World War I, Esmond returned to gain an MA at the University of London in 1923.

De Beer worked as an editor for Clarendon Press, working on two massive and time-consuming projects, first the diary of John Evelyn and then the correspondence of John Locke. The latter work, published in eight volumes between 1976 and 1989, was left uncompleted at the time of De Beer's death.

Though spending much of their life in England, De Beer and his sisters Mary and Dora always regarded New Zealand as their home, and were major benefactors of Dunedin's museums and libraries, most notably to the University of Otago library, which was the recipient of Esmond's collection of rare books. The De Beers and cousin Charles Brasch were also driving forces behind the inauguration of the university's three arts fellowships: The Robert Burns Fellowship, the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship, and the Mozart Fellowship. De Beer was also instrumental in helping the Otago Museum's quest to acquire much of his aunt, Agnes Barden's, art collection. Numerous other gifts were given to both of these institutions and to the Dunedin Public Art Gallery.Dunedin Public Library was also gifted with over 100 rare books, including many first editions of the works of Sir Walter Scott. De Beer also contributed to the library of the University of Essex and the Bodleian Library, among others.