In 1948, when I was working for Foyle's, sales staff were much aware of him; he was "Mr Perrick" to us. Frequently a small typhoon tracked through the department where I worked - a shortish man, with wiry hair, swept in, fired questions about particular books, smiled genially, swept out. He was never grumpy or discourteous but he needed quick, convincing answers.Decades later I described Perrick, in Publishing News, as a youthful 75, with sparkling eyes, a thick matting of hair, and a waistline the envy of many publicity men half his age Although overdue for retirement, he hung on His hobby was his work. He didn't have a garden or play any sport, although he read avidly and enjoyed travel. But he adored Foyle's and its environs, especially the Gay Hussar restaurant where he met journalists and politicians.Ben Perrick loved people, not least his family - he is survived by his daughter, Penny, a journalist.r's publicist: born London 24 October 1908; married 1939 (one daughter); died London 11 July 1999.Benjamin Perrick, bookselle.

KATE BERTRAM was elected the second President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, in 1970. Her personal qualities and her experience made her an excellent choice for a new college in need of a period of consolidation. She was a Cambridge graduate and already had, as Kate Ricardo, a distinguished academic career in research, being an expert on East African and Palestinian fisheries. She was born in 1912, the daughter of Sir Harry Ricardo, an engineer, and Beatrice Hale, a painter.

She was educated at Hayes Court in Kent, and Newnham College, Cambridge. In 1939 she married Colin Bertram, of St John's College, and returned to Cambridge after the war, where she taught and examined for Newnham and Girton Colleges and had four sons. This put her in the position of so many women in Cambridge in the late 1940s and 1950s. There was teaching to be done, on an hourly basis, but few fellowships and very few university posts There were two women's and no mixed colleges. The predicament of women academics was taken up by a group of women who became the "Dining Group".

Bertram was one of their number, and she played a significant role in the founding of New Hall in 1954 and in pleading the cause, in the university and beyond, of mature women, both teachers and students, whose careers had been interrupted by family responsibilities.This led in 1965 to the establishment of Lucy Cavendish College for graduate students and later for undergraduate mature women. Kate Bertram was the first Tutor and Secretary to the Governing Body. The history of the college has been chronicled by Bertram herself in Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge: a history of the early years (1985) It is a strictly factual book, based on college documents. This is typical of Bertram, who thought that emotion was inappropriate in such an account, and disliked upsetting people. The early development of the college can in considerable part be related to her willingness to seek advice and to her patient negotiations with university authorities.As President, she worked to create a corporate sense; college officers met regularly for coffee (whenever teaching and research commitments permitted) and Bertram invited visitors to talk in an informal way. One such was Joyce Grenfell, who became an honorary Fellow, and the college now has a valuable archive of her papers.Kate Bertram also took a great interest in the graduate and undergraduate students of the college and they liked and respected her. She always appeared at the Senate House at General Admission to greet the new graduates.