Perhaps best known for his bibliographical work on the Mathers, an early American family of clergymen and writers, Thomas James Holmes enjoyed careers as a master bookbinder, librarian, bibliographer, scholar, and author. It is remarkable that such a range of accomplishments was achieved with a minimal amount of formal education.

Holmes was born on 26 December 1874 in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, the son of Elisha and Maryjane Rhodes Holmes. He attended public school, and later, evening school, in his hometown. Once he began his education he never stopped, even though he did not attend a college or university. The description of his reading found in the early pages of The Education of a Bibliographer: An Autobiographical Essay (1957) reveals the substantial depth and breadth of his self-study program.

He was an avid reader of the Bible, notably in the King James version, and he read much in theology and church history...