Raymond Toole Stott (1910–1982) was a bibliographer and historian of the circus and its allied arts.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] He wrote A Bibliography of English Conjuring, 1581-1876, a definitive book on conjuring.[5] [4]
Toole Stott was a friend of Somerset Maugham and wrote a bibliography of Maugham's writings.[4] Aside from his work as a bibliographer, Toole Stott was Librarian and Departmental Records Officer, H.M. Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor.[6]
Toole Stott was born in 1910, the son of a Norfolk vicar.[1] He was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead after which he began a career in journalism.[1]
Toole Stott is best known for his bibliography of publications on the Circus and Allied Arts that were published between 1958 and 1970.[1] [3] He also worked as a press agent for Bertram Mills between 1930 and 1940 before joining the Royal Air Force during World War II.[1] After the war he resumed an earlier collaboration with Somerset Maugham compiling a bibliography of Maugham's writings.[1] [7] Aside from his work as a bibliographer, Toole Stott was Librarian and Departmental Records Officer, H.M. Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor, for which he was made MBE.[6] Toole Stott died on 10 January 1982 at his home in Westminster, London.[1]