Fonds GB 0096 AL293 - Dobson, Henry Austin: scrapbooks

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0096 AL293

Title

Dobson, Henry Austin: scrapbooks

Date(s)

  • c 1786-1914 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

2 volumes

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Henry Austin Dobson, civil servant and poet, was born on 18 January 1840. After leaving school at the age of 16, he joined the Board of Trade where he remained until his retirement as Principal in 1901. He had an enduring enthusiasm for the eighteenth century and for poetry. He composed a large quantity of his own poetry and was well known for his adaptation of old French verses. His earliest volume of poetry was Vignettes in Rhyme, (1873). Later in his life, Dobson turned his attention increasingly to prose, resulting in several volumes of essays including Eighteenth Century Prose (in 3 series; 1892, 1894 and 1896). He died in 1921.

Frances Mary Beardmore was the daughter of the civil engineer Nathaniel Beardmore (1816-1872) and his wife Mary. She married Henry Austin Dobson in 1868 and they had 10 children.

Archival history

See archivist
GB 0096 AL293 c 1786-1914 fonds 2 volumes Dobson , Henry Austin , 1840-1921 , poet and literary biographer

Henry Austin Dobson, civil servant and poet, was born on 18 January 1840. After leaving school at the age of 16, he joined the Board of Trade where he remained until his retirement as Principal in 1901. He had an enduring enthusiasm for the eighteenth century and for poetry. He composed a large quantity of his own poetry and was well known for his adaptation of old French verses. His earliest volume of poetry was Vignettes in Rhyme, (1873). Later in his life, Dobson turned his attention increasingly to prose, resulting in several volumes of essays including Eighteenth Century Prose (in 3 series; 1892, 1894 and 1896). He died in 1921.

Frances Mary Beardmore was the daughter of the civil engineer Nathaniel Beardmore (1816-1872) and his wife Mary. She married Henry Austin Dobson in 1868 and they had 10 children.

See archivist

Purchased as lot 276 in Sotheby's sale, 1960.

2 scrapbooks of letters, fragments of letters, stamped or franked envelopes, and autographs, collected by Henry Austin Dobson and his wife Frances. Selected individuals represented are listed below.

Volume 1 includes letters written by: Sir Walter Besant; Thomas Hall Caine; Sir Edmund Gosse; Sir Mountstuart E Grant-Duff; Coventry Kersey Deighton Patmore; Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington; and Samuel Wesley (the composer).
Additional signatures in volume 1 include: Robert Browning and Bret Harte.
The volume also contains a religious poem by Hannah More (probably not in her own hand).

Volume 2 includes letters written by: Sir George Biddell Airy; Richard Ansdell; Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury; Edward Bickersteth (the evangelical leader); Richard Doddridge Blackmore; Marc Isambard Brunel; Sir Andrew Buchanan; William Carus Wilson; William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, Duke of Portland; William Courtenay, Earl of Devon; Edward John Eyre; John Fane, Earl of Westmorland; Robert FitzRoy; Giuseppe Garibaldi; Sir Mountstuart E Grant-Duff; Kate Greenaway; William Walter Legge, Earl of Dartmouth; Charles Gordon-Lennox, Duke of Richmond; Robert James Mann; Friedrich Max Müller; Florence Nightingale; Clara Novello, Countess Gigliucci; Edward Bouverie Pusey; James Meadows Rendel; Edward Sabine (later Sir Edward); Alfred Tennyson, Lord Tennyson; Frederick Benjamin Twistleton[-Wykeham-Fiennes], Baron Saye and Sele; Rev Christopher Wordsworth (later Bishop of Lincoln); and Charlotte M Yonge.
Additional signatures in volume 2 include: William George Armstrong; Sir Charles Barry, Nathaniel Beardmore (Mrs Dobson's father) and other members of his family; Sir Charles Tilston Bright; Randolph Caldecott; George Canning; Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey; Richard Cobden; Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll); William Eward Gladstone; Benjamin Robert Haydon; William Hilton; Tom Hood (Thomas Hood the younger); Jean Ingelow; Sir William Jenner; Charles Kingsley; Henry Kingsley; Sir Charles Lyell; Giuseppe Mazzini; Horatio Nelson; Sir James Paget; Sir Robert Peel; George Ponsonby; Edward Sieveking (later Sir Edward); Sir William Smith ('Dictionary of the Bible' author); Richard Chevenix Trench, Archbishop of Dublin; Anthony Trollope; Horace Walpole (later Earl of Orford); Willoughby Hunter Weiss; Professor William Whewell.
The volume also contains a hymn written by James Montgomery for a member of the Beardmore family.

Many of the letters and autographs are undated.

See hard copy catalogue

Access to this collection is unrestricted for the purpose of private study and personal research within the supervised environment and restrictions of the Library's Palaeography Room. Access to individual items in Senate House Library archives collections may be restricted under the Data Protection Act or the Freedom of Information Act. Please contact the University Archivist for details. 24 hours notice is required for research visits.

Copies may be made, subject to the condition of the original. Copying must be undertaken by the Palaeography Room staff, who will need a minimum of 24 hours to process requests.
English

Typescript catalogue available in the Library's Palaeography Room.

A photostatic copy and a microfilm copy of the text are held by the University of Viriginia.

Compiled by Anya Turner. Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. July 2008 Nightingale , Florence , 1820-1910 , reformer of hospital nursing More , Hannah , 1745-1833 , writer and philanthropist Gosse , Sir , Edmund William , 1849-1928 , Knight , poet, biographer and literary critic Garibaldi , Giuseppi , 1807-1882 , Italian patriot Dobson , Henry Austin , 1840-1921 , poet and literary biographer Brunel , Sir , Marc Isambard , 1769-1849 , Knight , engineer Browning , Robert , 1812-1889 , poet Blackmore , Richard Doddridge , 1825-1900 , author x Blackmore , R D Airy , Sir , George Biddell , 1801-1892 , Knight , astronomer and mathematician Information sciences Scrapbooks Books Publications Communications media Albums (documents) Autograph albums Sabine , Sir , Edward , 1788-1883 , Knight , General and geophysicist Tennyson , Alfred , 1809-1892 , 1st Baron Tennyson , poet x Tennyson , 1st Baron Wellesley , Arthur , 1769-1852 , 1st Duke of Wellington , Field Marshal and statesman x Wellington , 1st Duke of Wesley , Samuel Sebastian , 1810-1876 , organist and composer

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Purchased as lot 276 in Sotheby's sale, 1960.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

2 scrapbooks of letters, fragments of letters, stamped or franked envelopes, and autographs, collected by Henry Austin Dobson and his wife Frances. Selected individuals represented are listed below.

Volume 1 includes letters written by: Sir Walter Besant; Thomas Hall Caine; Sir Edmund Gosse; Sir Mountstuart E Grant-Duff; Coventry Kersey Deighton Patmore; Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington; and Samuel Wesley (the composer).
Additional signatures in volume 1 include: Robert Browning and Bret Harte.
The volume also contains a religious poem by Hannah More (probably not in her own hand).

Volume 2 includes letters written by: Sir George Biddell Airy; Richard Ansdell; Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury; Edward Bickersteth (the evangelical leader); Richard Doddridge Blackmore; Marc Isambard Brunel; Sir Andrew Buchanan; William Carus Wilson; William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, Duke of Portland; William Courtenay, Earl of Devon; Edward John Eyre; John Fane, Earl of Westmorland; Robert FitzRoy; Giuseppe Garibaldi; Sir Mountstuart E Grant-Duff; Kate Greenaway; William Walter Legge, Earl of Dartmouth; Charles Gordon-Lennox, Duke of Richmond; Robert James Mann; Friedrich Max Müller; Florence Nightingale; Clara Novello, Countess Gigliucci; Edward Bouverie Pusey; James Meadows Rendel; Edward Sabine (later Sir Edward); Alfred Tennyson, Lord Tennyson; Frederick Benjamin Twistleton[-Wykeham-Fiennes], Baron Saye and Sele; Rev Christopher Wordsworth (later Bishop of Lincoln); and Charlotte M Yonge.
Additional signatures in volume 2 include: William George Armstrong; Sir Charles Barry, Nathaniel Beardmore (Mrs Dobson's father) and other members of his family; Sir Charles Tilston Bright; Randolph Caldecott; George Canning; Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey; Richard Cobden; Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll); William Eward Gladstone; Benjamin Robert Haydon; William Hilton; Tom Hood (Thomas Hood the younger); Jean Ingelow; Sir William Jenner; Charles Kingsley; Henry Kingsley; Sir Charles Lyell; Giuseppe Mazzini; Horatio Nelson; Sir James Paget; Sir Robert Peel; George Ponsonby; Edward Sieveking (later Sir Edward); Sir William Smith ('Dictionary of the Bible' author); Richard Chevenix Trench, Archbishop of Dublin; Anthony Trollope; Horace Walpole (later Earl of Orford); Willoughby Hunter Weiss; Professor William Whewell.
The volume also contains a hymn written by James Montgomery for a member of the Beardmore family.

Many of the letters and autographs are undated.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

See hard copy catalogue

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Access to this collection is unrestricted for the purpose of private study and personal research within the supervised environment and restrictions of the Library's Palaeography Room. Access to individual items in Senate House Library archives collections may be restricted under the Data Protection Act or the Freedom of Information Act. Please contact the University Archivist for details. 24 hours notice is required for research visits.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copies may be made, subject to the condition of the original. Copying must be undertaken by the Palaeography Room staff, who will need a minimum of 24 hours to process requests.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Typescript catalogue available in the Library's Palaeography Room.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

A photostatic copy and a microfilm copy of the text are held by the University of Viriginia.

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

Notes area

Note

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Senate House Library, University of London

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area