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Preface
David L. Vander Meulen
Bruce
Redford
Most of this volume consists of essays designed to honor J. D. Fleeman on the completion of his life's principal endeavour, a comprehensive bibliography of Samuel Johnson. Galvanized by two of David's ardent admirers, Professor Daisuke Nagashima and Professor Howard D. Weinbrot, we as co-editors found ourselves casting a net from—if not China to Peru—then Oxford to Otago. That the field of potential contributors proved so diverse and so distinguished is one measure of David's achievement. Throughout his career, he devoted himself selflessly to the work of others; indeed, several of the articles included in this volume bear his direct imprint. All exemplify one of his most cherished ideals—that of scholarly community. For David, no pains were excessive when it came to teaching, learning, and collaborating. As a consequence, the epigraph to this collection might well be taken (with the change of a single pronoun) from King Alfred's preface to his version of Gregory's Cura Pastoralis: "Her mon maeg giet gesion hiora swaeth."
From its inception David knew of this undertaking and took a discerning, albeit somewhat rueful, interest: his deep humility did not impede an accurate assessment of his own worth, but he had to grow accustomed in stages to seeing himself pushed firmly into the limelight. During the final months of his life, moreover, he was able to read several of the essays collected here. He guided the choice of the photograph that appears as frontispiece, a picture (taken on 10 June 1994) that also serves as the official portrait for Pembroke College, Oxford (from which David officially retired in that month). Within weeks before his death on 20 July 1994, we were able to send him the completed table of contents.
It remains a great grief to us that David did not live to see, in its final form, this testimony to the affection and admiration he inspired in so many. His magnum opus, however, he knew to be in the most capable hands: Dr. James McLaverty had agreed to take primary responsibility for the final editing and proof-reading of the Johnson bibliography, which is to be published by the Oxford University Press.
On 17 February 1994 (at what proved to be his last public appearance) David addressed the Oxford Bibliographical Society on the subject of "A Bibliography of Dr. Johnson." During the course of his talk, he
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