Married to Mary Evans, who passed away last year, Hilary Evans and his wife created the Mary Evans Picture Library, an invaluable London-based resource known to all historians and researchers. As if that achievment was not monumental in itself, Mr. Evans was also a serious UFO researcher and a collector of arcane beers and their brewing methods. Additionally, Evans wrote three novels and two non-fiction books on the Victorian era. In short, Evans, had he lived during the last centuries, would surely have gone down in the history books as one of those unique and quirky personalities we love so well. You can read his full obituary here.
The picture researchers at Reader's Digest — this was long before Google Images! — relied heavily on picture sources from companies like the Mary Evans Picture Library. They were a very successful firm.
This pair sound like people I would have liked to invite to dinner with a half dozen open, inquisitive people. I'd sit back and enjoy the conversations. I trust the Evan's legacy is well looked after.