Professor wins rare award for services to bibliography

A PROFESSOR from Sonning Common has won a rare award for his services to bibliography.

Michael Twyman, of Grove Road, was presented with Bibliographical Society’s gold medal for his “outstanding contribution to the development of the subject”.

He is only the 46th person to receive award since 1929.

Prof Twyman, 88, who is an honorary director of the Centre for Ephemera Studies at Reading University, said: “Obviously I was extremely pleased to be recognised. I don’t think it was specific work that I won it for but rather it was more of a lifetime achievement award.”

He has lived in Sonning Common with his wife Pauline since 1959, when he joined the university. He established a BA course in typography and graphic communication which expanded to become a department in 1974.

Prof Twyman retired from full-time teaching in 1998 but still teaches postgraduate students.

He is president of the Printing Historical Society and the Ephermera Society and is known for his work on the theory of graphic language.

He edited the Encyclopedia of Ephemera by Maurice Rickards, which was published in 2000.

He also wrote A History of Chromolithography: Printed Colour for All, which was published in 2013.

Prof Twyman was awarded the Samuel Pepys Medal for outstanding contribution to ephemera studies in 1983 and the Sir Misha Black Award for distinguished services to design education in 2014. He found out about his latest award last summer.

“It came as a complete surprise,” he said. “It wasn’t really my field and I never really saw myself as a bibliographer as I had been working in other fields like design and education.”

An awards ceremony due to take place in November was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Of course I was pleased and celebrated inwardly,” said Prof Twyman, who has three children and eight grandchildren.

Meanwhile, he is looking for volunteers interested in social history and document to help with work at the Centre for Ephemera Studies on Wednesdays.

For more information call Prof Twyman on 01189 723 767.