Hilary Evans Dies

Hilary Evans, who was born in 1929, passed away this morning, July 27, 2011. He was an intellectual British pictorial archivist, author, and researcher into cryptozoological, Fortean, ufological and other undiscovered phenomena.

Hilary and Mary Evans began their archives modestly and it grew to be world-famous.

Evans was born in Shrewsbury, United Kingdom. In 1964 he and his wife Mary Evans founded the Mary Evans Picture Library, an archive of historical illustrations. In 1981 he co-founded the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena.

Evans was an exponent of the Psychosocial Hypothesis of UFOs as culturally shaped visionary experiences.

From 2003: Hilary Evans is seen bidding a farewell to some of his books and magazines before going to Sweden and preservation with AFU. Photo by Clas Svahn.

BAPLA took the opportunity of their 2007 Picture Buyers’ Fair to give a very special award to a very special lady. Mary Evans, co-founder (with husband Hilary) of The Mary Evans Picture Library, was awarded the BAPLA Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her outstanding achievement and her lifelong contribution to our industry. A founder member of BAPLA in 1975, Mary tirelessly worked for the good of the industry, picture researchers, and the preservation of cultural heritage for more than fifty years. From left: Linda Royles, CEO BAPLA, Catherine Draycott, Chairman BAPLA, Mary Evans, Hilary Evans, Valentine Ward-Evans. Photo credit: Paul Brown

With the passing of William Corliss earlier in July 2011, the deaths of two great archivists have been sadly and widely felt throughout the field of Fortean studies.

Loren Coleman About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015. Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.

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