Bibliotheca Staffordiensis

'Bibliotheca Staffordiensis' is a remarkable work compiled by Rupert Simms published in 1894.
The full title is 'Bibliotheca Staffordiensis; or a Bibliographical Account of Books and other Printed Matter relating to, printed or published in, or written by, a native, resident, or person deriving a title from, any portion of the County of Stafford; giving a full collation and biographical notices of authors and printers. together with as full a list as possible of Prints, Engravings, Etchings, &c, of any part thereof; and portraits of persons so connected.'

The author lost both of his hands at the age of eight but learned to write by inserting a pencil in a hole in the leather case he wore on his right arm. He became a tea hawker at the age of 16 but later became a secondhand bookseller. During this career he spent eleven years collecting and collating the information for the book.

'Bibliotheca Staffordiensis' was published in 1894 at Newcastle-under-Lyme by Rupert Simms and printed by AC Lomas, The Johnson's Head, Lichfield.
450 numbered copies only were printed for subscribers whose names are listed in the work.