H. P. R. Finberg facts for kids

Herbert Patrick Reginald Finberg (born 1900, died 1974) was an English historian, a person who studies the past. He was also a typographer, someone who designs how text looks, and a publisher, who helps create and sell books.

Finberg worked for different publishing companies and even started his own, called Alcuin Press. Later, in 1952, he began teaching at Leicester University. He became the head of a special department that studied the history of local places in England. This department was known as the only place where students could do advanced studies in this subject.

He helped edit a journal called Agricultural History Review. He also edited three books about old Anglo-Saxon documents called charters. These books were Early Charters of Devon and Cornwall (1953), Early Charters of the West Midlands (1961), and Early Charters of Wessex (1964). He also edited a book called Scandinavian England. Some of his other books included Tavistock Abbey (1949) and The Formation of England (1974).

Early Life and School

Herbert Finberg was born on March 21, 1900, in a town called Rickmansworth, in Hertfordshire, England. His father, Alexander Finberg, was also an art historian.

Herbert went to Oxford University, a very famous school. He studied a subject called Lit Hum, which includes ancient history and philosophy.

Career as a Publisher

Between World War I and World War II, Finberg worked as a typographer and publisher. He worked for a company called Shakespeare Head Press. After that, he started his own company, the Alcuin Press.

The Alcuin Press closed down in the late 1930s. Finberg then worked at Broadwater Press and later, in 1944, at Burnes Oates and Washbourne. In the late 1940s and 1950s, he also advised Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. This government office prints important documents. For example, he helped with the official guide for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, which was her crowning ceremony.