CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Alfred Nutt

English publisher and folklorist (1856–1910)

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 29, 2026
Entity authorityQ4723228
Source-derived summary

Alfred Trübner Nutt (22 November 1856 – 21 May 1910) was an English publisher, folklorist, and scholar of Arthurian literature and Celtic studies. Born into a publishing family in London, he succeeded to his father's firm, David Nutt, in 1878. He founded The Folk-Lore Journal, served as president of The Folklore Society, and wrote on the Celtic origins of the Grail legend. He was also involved in the establishment of the Irish Texts Society. Nutt drowned in the Seine in 1910 while trying to rescue his son.

Biography

Early life and education

Alfred Trübner Nutt was born in London on 22 November 1856, the eldest, and only surviving, son of bookseller and publisher David Nutt. His mother, Ellen Nutt (née Carter), was the granddaughter of another publisher, William Miller. His middle name came from his father's publishing partnership with Nicholas Trübner.

Nutt was educated at the University College School, London, and the Collège de Vitry-le-François in Vitry-le-François, France.

Career

Nutt spent three years in a business apprenticeship in Leipzig, Berlin, and Paris before taking over his late father's business in 1878.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Alfred Nutt” as english publisher and folklorist (1856–1910). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Alfred, Nutt and English.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1856, 1910, 1878—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1856-11-22. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Alfred, Nutt and English providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Alfred Nutt”, the useful work is to connect “english publisher and folklorist (1856–1910)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4723228. VIAF identifies the subject as 8629513. The Library of Congress control number is n50023347. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1856, 1910 and 1878.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Alfred Nutt”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Alfred Nutt primary sources, Alfred Nutt archive and Alfred research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Alfred Nutt”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Alfred Nutt” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.