Editing Burke's Peerage

{{short description|British genealogical publisher}}
{{redirect|Burke's||Burke (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox company
| name                = Burke's Peerage Limited
| logo                =
| type                = Private limited company
| industry            = Publishing
| fate                = 
| predecessor         = Burke's Peerage (1826) Limited (2013–2016)
| successor           = <!-- or: | successors = -->
| founded             = {{Start date and age|1826}} in [[London]], England
| founder             = [[John Burke (genealogist)|John Burke]]
| hq_location_city    = [[Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk]]
| hq_location_country = England
| area_served         = <!-- or: | areas_served = -->
| key_people          = 
| products            = 
| owner               = <!-- or: | owners = -->
| num_employees       = 
| num_employees_year  = <!-- Year of num_employees data (if known) -->
| parent              = 
| website             = {{URL|burkespeerage.com}}
}}

'''Burke's Peerage Limited''' is a British [[genealogy|genealogical]] [[publisher]], considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genealogist [[John Burke (genealogist)|John Burke]] began releasing books devoted to the [[ancestry]] and [[heraldry]] of the [[peerage]], [[baronetage]], [[knight]]age and [[landed gentry]] of [[Great Britain]] and [[Ireland]]. His first publication, a ''Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the United Kingdom'', was updated sporadically until 1847, when the company began publishing new editions every year as ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage'' (often shortened and known as ''Burke's Peerage'').

Other books followed, including ''[[Burke's Landed Gentry]]'', ''[[British Empire|Burke's Colonial Gentry]]'', and ''[[Heraldry|Burke's General Armory]]''. In addition to its peerage publications, the ''Burke's'' publishing company produced books on [[royal family|Royal families]] of [[Europe]] and [[Latin America]], [[Heads of former ruling families|ruling families]] of Africa and the Middle East, [[American gentry|distinguished families of the United States]] and [[Irish nobility|historical families of Ireland]].

==History==
[[Image:Burke's Peerage, Sixth Edition (1839), Title Page.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|''A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, Sixth Edition 1839'' (better known simply as ''Burke's Peerage'')]]

The firm was established in 1826 by [[John Burke (genealogist)|John Burke]] (1786–1848), progenitor of a dynasty of [[genealogist]]s and [[herald]]s. His son [[Bernard Burke|Sir John Bernard Burke]] (1814–1892) was [[Ulster King of Arms]] (1853–1892) and his grandson, [[Sir]] [[Henry Farnham Burke]] (1859–1930), was [[Garter Principal King of Arms]] (1919–1930). After his death, ownership passed through a variety of people.

Apart from the Burke family, editors have included [[Arthur Charles Fox-Davies]], [[Alfred Trego Butler]], [[Leslie Gilbert Pine]], [[Peter Townend (editor)|Peter Townend]], and [[Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd]].

From 1974 to 1983, [[Jeremy Norman]] was chairman of the company, taking the role while Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd was [[editor]].<ref>Noel Gerard, [http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/26546/bursting-out-of-the-closet/ "Bursting out of the closet"], ''[[The Spectator]]'', 22 November 2006, accessed 27 January 2021</ref><ref name = Norman>{{Cite book |last=Norman |first=Jeremy |title=No Make-Up |publisher=Elliott & Thompson |year=2006 |isbn=9781904027508 |edition=1st |location=London |pages=131–136 |language=English}}</ref> His fellow directors included [[Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield|Patrick, Lord Lichfield]], and [[John Brooke-Little]], [[Norroy and Ulster King of Arms|Norroy & Ulster King of Arms]].  Under Norman's chairmanship, new volumes were published on royal families, Irish genealogy, and country houses of the [[British Isles]]. In 1984, the ''Burke's Peerage'' titles were separated and sold: ''Burke's Peerage'' itself was acquired by Frederik Jan Gustav Floris, Baron van Pallandt, while ''Burke's Landed Gentry'' and other titles were sold to other buyers.<ref>[http://www.burkespeerage.com/organisation_history.php "Burke's Peerage – History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129152336/http://www.burkespeerage.com/organisation_history.php |date=29 November 2022 }}, ''Burke's Peerage'', accessed 27 January 2021</ref>

==Criticism==
In 1877, the Oxford professor [[Edward Augustus Freeman]] criticised the accuracy of ''Burke's'' and said that it contained [[Genealogy|pedigree]]s that were <blockquote>purely mythical&nbsp;– if indeed mythical is not too respectable a name for what must be in many cases the work of deliberate invention [... and] all but invariably false. As a rule, it is not only false, but impossible [...] not merely fictions, but exactly that kind of fiction which is, in its beginning, deliberate and interested falsehood.<ref>{{citation|article = Pedigrees and Pedigree-Makers |title = Contemporary Review|volume = XXX |pages = 11 to 41|date = June 1877|first = Edward A.|last = Freeman }}</ref></blockquote> [[Oscar Wilde]] in the play ''[[A Woman of No Importance]]'' wrote: "You should study the Peerage, Gerald. It is the one book a young man about town should know thoroughly, and it is the best thing in fiction the English have ever done!" In 1901, the historian [[J. Horace Round]] wrote of Burke's "old fables" and "grotesquely impossible tales".<ref>{{citation|title = Studies in Peerage and Family History|first = J. Horace |last = Round|location = London|year = 1901|isbn = 0-8063-0426-X|url = https://archive.org/details/round1910|access-date = 25 March 2018}}</ref>

More recent editions have been more scrupulously checked and rewritten for accuracy, notably under the chief editorship, from 1949 to 1959, of [[L. G. Pine]] and [[Hugh Massingberd]] (1971–1983).<ref name = Norman /><ref>''Burke's Landed Gentry 18th Edition'' (1972), editorial preface, Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd</ref> Pine was particularly sceptical regarding many families' claims to antiquity, saying: "If everybody who claims to have come over with the Conqueror were right, [[William the Conqueror|William]] must have landed with 200,000 men-at-arms instead of about 12,000."<ref>"Twentieth Century Squires", ''Time'', 10 December 1951</ref>

== See also ==
* ''[[Almanach de Gotha]]''
* ''[[The Complete Peerage]]''
* ''[[Debrett's|Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage]]''
* ''[[Social Register]]''
* ''[[Carnet Mondain]]''
* [[International Register of Arms]], formerly ''Burke's Peerage & Gentry International Register of Arms''

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official|https://www.burkespeerage.com/}}
* [https://www.burkespeerage.com/foundation/ Burke's Peerage Foundation website]

===Online editions===
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433081841102;view=1up;seq=14 1st edition – 1826 – Hathitrust]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.a0011244175;view=1up;seq=9 3rd edition – 1830 – Hathitrust]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044010012300;view=1up;seq=9 4th edition – 1832 – Vol 1 – Hathitrust]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044013671466;view=1up;seq=7 4th edition – 1832 – Vol 2 – Hathitrust]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=seAKAAAAYAAJ 4th edition – 1832 – Vol 2 – Google Books]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b467304;view=1up;seq=9 4th edition – corrected to 1833 – Vol 2 – Hathitrust]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=t99PVFm380UC 5th edition – 1838 – Google Books]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b467303;view=1up;seq=11 6th edition – 1839 – Hathitrust]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924093035024;view=1up;seq=5 7th edition – 1843 – Vol 2 – Hathitrust]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.a0003738259;view=1up;seq=5 10th edition – 1848 – Hathitrust]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.d0001238351;view=1up;seq=9 12th edition – 1850 – Hathitrust]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.ax0004113122;view=1up;seq=9 20th edition – 1858 – Hathitrust]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$c148179;view=1up;seq=9 22nd edition – 1860 – Hathitrust]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015039738771;view=1up;seq=11 23rd edition – 1861 – Hathitrust]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=8phVTmV9ChIC 27th edition – 1865 – Google Books]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=NiVNAQAAMAAJ 30th edition – 1868 – Google Books]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858052743998;view=1up;seq=13 30th edition – 1868 – Vol 1 – Hathitrust]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858052744004;view=1up;seq=13 30th edition – 1868 – Vol 2 – Hathitrust]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$c148180;view=1up;seq=7 31st edition – 1869 – Vol 1 – Hathitrust]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$c148181;view=1up;seq=7 31st edition – 1869 – Vol 2 – Hathitrust]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924093035099;view=1up;seq=7 37th edition – 1875 – Vol 2 – Hathitrust]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.aa0009295478&view=1up&seq=7 40th edition – 1878 – Hathitrust]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951001409926e&seq=9 47th edition - 1885 - Hathitrust] [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951d00184034z&seq=7 also]
* [http://digital.ub.uni-duesseldorf.de/ihd/periodical/structure/8155977 48th edition – 1886 – University of Dusseldorf]
* [http://digital.ub.uni-duesseldorf.de/ihd/periodical/structure/8156083 53rd edition – 1891 – University of Dusseldorf]
* [https://archive.org/details/vol1897genealogi00unse/page/n3/mode/2up?view=theater 59th edition - 1897 - Archive.org]
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.d0001238401&seq=15 60th edition - 1898 - Hathitrust]
* [https://archive.org/details/vol1903genealogi00unse/page/n3/mode/2up?view=theater 65th edition - 1903 - Archive.org]
* [https://archive.org/details/vol1904genealogi00unse/page/n3/mode/2up?view=theater 66th edition - 1904 - Archive.org]
* [https://archive.org/details/vol1912genealogi00unse/page/n3/mode/2up?view=theater 74th edition – 1912 – Archive.org]
* [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Pf8cAAAAYAAJ 76th edition – 1914 (to page 1274) – Archive.org]
* [https://archive.org/details/b3136410x 77th edition – 1915 – Archive.org]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=vpHySDcAmU8C 92nd edition - 1934 - Google Books] - covers to 'Lacon'

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke's Peerage}}
[[Category:Publications established in 1826]]
[[Category:Publishing companies established in 1826]]
[[Category:British biographical dictionaries]]
[[Category:Book series]]
[[Category:Society of England]]
[[Category:Society of Scotland]]
[[Category:Society of Wales]]
[[Category:Family history]]
[[Category:Genealogy publications]]
[[Category:Literature on heraldry]]
[[Category:19th-century history books]]
[[Category:20th-century history books]]
[[Category:21st-century history books]]
[[Category:1826 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Peerages in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Baronetcies]]