King's College London

Dr Smith has been elected to the Society based on two decades of research into the textual heritage of early modern England and Europe, particularly the circulation of writing in manuscript.

His research aims to understand literary writings by thinking about the scribes who copied them out for private circulation, the secretaries who annotated and archived them, and the publishers and printers whose labour turned them into saleable objects.

Dr Smith’s work has sought to understand everything from individual manuscripts – such as play fragments, library catalogues, stage props, unopened sealed letters – to entire collections like the Conway Papers archive, the Brienne trunk of undelivered mail, and the library of Bishop Henry King. His projects include systematising the poetry and prose of John Donne and exploring the centuries-long practice of letterlocking before the invention of gummed envelopes.

The Society of Antiquaries promotes public understanding of heritage and the arts by running events, shaping policy, and advocating for conservation and curation. It is home to the one of the oldest museums in the world and the largest antiquarian library in the country.