Showing 56 results

Manuscript of a William Wordsworth sonnet entitled On a portrait of the Duke of Wellington on the Field of Waterloo, by Haydon, suggested by Haydon's 'Picture of the Duke of Wellington upon the field of Waterloo, twenty years after the battle' (painted for St. George's Hall, Liverpool.) It comprises 14 lines of verse, with some alterations in the text.
A note on the page reads 'Composed while ascending Helvellyn. Monday August 31st 1840. Wm Wordsworth. Private at present'. The manuscript appears to be in the hand of Mary Wordsworth.

Letter from Tom Turner of Shawlands, Bank Crest, Baildon, Yorkshire to [Thomas] Sturge Moore, 20 Dec 1943. Covering note accompanying a copy of a book of poems by Lionel Johnson, as 'a little reminder of the 1890's'. Autograph, with signature.

Letter from Frederic Herbert Trench of Villa Viviani, Settignano, Florence, Italy to T Sturge Moore, 7 May 1923. Offering him the loan of his Italian villa; mentions works of Moore's that he is reading. 'I am trying to write a few more plays and poems'. Autograph, with signature.

Holograph manuscripts, 1880-1884. SL V 31 is John Lord Cobham. SL V 32 is The Voyage of Maeldune. SL V 33 is Early Spring and SL V 34 is an edition of Tennyson's Works.

Typescript drafts, 1921-1958, with alterations of several poetical works written by Rabindranath Tagore.

Manuscript of a poem, Catullus, c1900 (manuscript 324) by Arthur William Symons.

A forgery of a sixteen-line song composed in March 1791 by Robert Burns. It is written and signed in imitation of Burn's hand, c1888-1892.

A manuscript of Fireflies (Georgian Parodies), 1920 by Siegfried Sassoon.

Papers of Professor Andrew Rutherford, including material relating to the teaching of literature at University level, such as lectures dating from his time at the University of Aberdeen, and reports to the British Council on his lecturing tours abroad; documents concerning the admission of Goldsmith's College as a School of the University of London; appointment diaries and a file of speeches made while Vice-Chancellor of the University of London; research material compiled by Rutherford relating to his book book The literature of war: five studies in heroic virtue (Macmillan, 1978) and his editorship of seven volumes of Kipling's stories and poetry , most notably Early verse by Rudyard Kipling (Oxford University Press, 1986), comprising working notes, photocopies, correspondence and drafts.

Manuscript volume containing a verse chronicle of the history of England from the legendary Brut up to 1272, [1440], most notably focusing on the barons' rebellion led by Simon de Montfort during the reign of King Henry III. The chronicle is written in rhymed couplets in a south-west Midland dialect, and was copied in a good semi-cursive hand by two, or possibly three, scribes. The chronicle is known in two versions, of which this is the shorter; in the longer version there is a reference to the darkness which fell on the surrounding country following the Battle of Evesham (Aug 1265), and this, as well as local knowledge of the area, has led to the author being traditionally named 'Robert of Gloucester'. On the verso of the second fly-leaf there is a 'Precepts in -ly' (moral or religious counsels) entitled 'A spesiall glasse to loke in daily', which is dated at Holy Rode on 14 Sep 1516. It was possibly written by Richard Whitford (1476-1542), who was chaplain to William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy, and later to Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester, afterwards becoming a monk at Syon Monastery, Isleworth, until the Dissolution. It is unclear if Whitford also undertook the copying of the Richard of Gloucester chronicle. Folio 147 contains 25 lines of miscellaneous Latin, including a section relating to the prophecies of Merlin.

Prose and verse passages including Historica de el duende de Madrid (1757); breve explicacion de la doctrina de Patino por preguntas y respuestas entre Dr. Josef Rodrogo y los muchachos de la cobachuela; el duende politico que la cuenta de los presentes negocios y anuncia los futuros de esta monarchia a 8 de Diciembre de 1735; Melchor de Fonseca - Maxyms de Bacalini recogidas en un romance yntitulado El Sueno Politico...sobre el rreynado de Don Phelippe IV.

Prose and verse on moral and political affairs, some in dialogue form, in several hands.

2 letters from Dorothy Pound of Albergo Italia and Lido Rapallo, Italy to [J H P] Pafford, Goldsmiths' Librarian of University of London Library. (1) Explaining in a reply to a letter from Pafford to her husband, Ezra Pound, asking him to autograph one of his books for the library, Ezra 'is not here at the moment - I never trouble him for autographs ...', 16 February 1965. (2) Covering note enclosing a photograph of Ezra Pound, endorsed in Dorothy's hand '1958 (in Italy)', 4 Mar 1965.

Both letters are autograph, with signatures.

Handwritten research notes, offprints and publications compiled by Constance Mary Pott for her publications and many articles on the Bacon-Shakespeare authorship debate and Francis Bacon in general, including notes on emblems from natural history and other areas in Bacon and Shakespeare's works, along with correspondence with other Baconians, including Sir Edwin Durning-Lawrence and James Cary, and records of the Bacon Society (1679-1949).

Album with leaves of various colours containing poetry, chiefly of a religious nature, hymns and moral aphorisms; a few printed items have been inserted. The volume includes works by Isaac Watts, William Cowper, John Newton, Maria Abdy and James Montgomery, and shares with the last a Sheffield connection. One leaf bears the name 'Reginald Follett Codrington Hedgeland'. Compiled c1841-1846.

Poems by Sir Francis Hubert, Sir Robert Cotton and Ben Jonson: ff 2-147. 'The Deplorable Life and Death of Edward the Second': The first poem [by Sir Francis Hubert] comprises 581 seven line stanzas. Printed in 1628 and 1629. MS. Harleian 2393 in the British Museum has two versions of the poem, the first "imperfect at the end, as wanting all after the 352 stanza ... It is written to Queen Elizabeth"; the second, like the present MS., "revised and corrected ... being now fitted-up for the perusal of King James I ... and, in the whole, consists of 581 stanzas ... the author, at the end, calls himself Infortunio."; ff 150-164: 'A short view of the Raigne of King Henry the third': The second poem is by Sir Robert Cotton and was printed in 1627. ff 276b-278: 'The bodie'. Daniell, poet; 'The minde', the third poem ['Daniell, poet'] is, in fact, by Ben Jonson. It has 8 four line stanzas. 'The minde', the last poem, has 18 four line stanzas.

A 54 line poem entitled 'The ultimum vale or last farewell of Thomas Earle of Strafford written by him selfe a little before his death', not in fact by Strafford, but copied, probably in or soon after 1641, on the verso of the front fly-leaf of the library's copy of The Historie of Philip de Commines (1601).

A book of manuscript poems, composed by John Phillips from 1825 to 1863, lists of honours conferred on him, 1825-1860, lists of lecture engagements 1824-1860 and a manuscript entitled the incidents in the life of John Phillips, 1800-1860.

Papers of Robert G Philip, [c1930-1950], comprising an unpublished work titled A ninth century view of Christ, based on the Anglo-Saxon poem Heliand. The manuscript comprises analysis followed by a translation of the poem.

Manuscript copy of 'Reuben Manasseh. A tragedy', in five acts (and in verse), by 'Alastor', dated December 1843. A letter concerning the identity of the author has been inserted in the volume, which asserts that he may have been James Orton, who published books under that pseudonym.

Research and lecture notes, drafts, library request slips and three unidentified tins of film used and compiled by Nowottny in her work on Shakespeare's sonnets and other poetry, including a typescript copy of her MA thesis (1947-1959).

The material comprises correspondence between Thomas Sturge Moore (TSM) and various members of the Moore, Sturge and Appia families, friends, literary colleagues, including R.C Trevelyan, A.H Fisher, W.B Yeats, Robert Ross, Wyndham Lewis, George Bernard Shaw and Charles Ricketts, publishers and various others; diaries, notebooks and journals; drafts, proofs and published copies of his poems, articles, speeches and lectures; sketches and designs for costumes, book covers and bookplates for both his own work and that of others, most notably W.B Yeats; personal and family papers and photographs. Also included are copies of correspondence between the artist Charles Ricketts and friends, colleagues and various others; copies of his journals and diaries; material relating to his work and art collection; draft notes for a biography of Ricketts by Ursula Bridge and personal papers of the artist Charles Shannon.

Papers of John Masefield comprising brief handwritten passages, which appear to stand on their own rather than being extracts from longer works and are most unlikely unpublished. One is entitled 'The Ong of Highworth Ridden' and a note by the other descibes it as 'Lines for Mosquito Day, and in the Memory of Sir Reginald Ross, a patient observer of little things'. They are accompanied by letters from Geoffrey Handley-Taylor concerning depositing Masefield material at the University of London Library (now Senate House Library).

Letter from Thomas Longman of 39 Paternoster Row, London to [Augustus De Morgan], 20 Apr 1860. Thanking him for information 'about the poem by Lord Macaulay on the London University'.

Autograph, with signature.

Manuscript volume containing a verse play, a prose history, and several songs concerning the Escalade of Geneva undertaken by Duke Charles Emmanuel of Savoy on the 12 Dec 1602.
The play is entitled 'L'Escalade de Genève, Tragi Comèdie Representée pour la prémière fois' 12 Dec 1603. The history is called 'Histoire De la Miraculeuse Délivrance envoyée de Dieu à la Ville de Genève' 12 Dec 1602. The songs, or 'Chansons de L'Escalade', are in French (Savoyard dialect - 4 songs) and English (1 song entitled 'On the Twelfth of December with wicked intent'. The airs of the songs are often given, e.g. 'Sur l'air de la Vendange'. The index to the first lines of the songs is dated 22 Oct 1765.
The front cover of the leather binding is stamped in gold 'Gedeon Macaire Fils MDCCLXIV'.

A volume, 1933-1934, of poetry, in German, by Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by James Blair Leishman. It includes manuscript recommendations by Leishman and comments by Professor Geoffrey Tillotson.

Letter from Richard Thomas Le Gallienne of The Hut Hotel, Wisley, [Surrey] to an unknown lady [?Florence Farr], 28 May 1896. Regretting that he missed meeting her whilst bicycling between Guildford and Wisley: '... and in my knapsack I had brought you the lovliest [sic] edition of Sir John Suckling [poetry] that ever was'.

Autograph, with signature.

Poems and related papers of Frances Khan, 1992-1995.

Papers of Frances Kahn, 1992-1995, comprising poems and related papers.

Papers of William Paton Ker including letters written to and by Ker, 1892-1923, some of Kerr's poems and other miscellany. Also papers relating to John Henry Pyle Pafford's bibliography of Ker, 1939-1955. Letter from W.P. Ker to Dororthy Stoppard, 1915, enclosed in a copy of "Epic and Romance", 1908.

Letter from Jean Ingelow of 15 Holland Park, [London] to Mr Strahan [publisher], [c1860-1897]. 'I hope ... that none of the chapters [of one of her books] copied by hand will be printed at all till after my return when I hope to correct them myself. I leave the whole matter of the American payment to you ...'.

Autograph with signature.

Musical score for the principle theme from the incidental music for John Masfield's Melloney Hotspur (William Heinemann, London, 1922), with an accompanying letter sent by John Hotchkiss to Rev L.H. Clench of Sheringham, 1952.

Letters, notes and poems from George Rostrevor Hamilton to Thomas Sturge Moore and his wife Marie, 1932-1934. Topics covered include Hamilton's poems and other books, about which he solicits Sturge Moore's opinions.

All items are autograph or typescript, with signatures.

Notes and correspondence between Richard Hamer and various British and international libraries and archival institutions concerning Middle English verse, compiled in preparation of his book, An Manuscript Index to the Index of Middle English Verse, published in 1995 (1990-1992).

Comprising photocopies of seven letters to Warwick Gould from H.P.R.Finberg regarding the latter's translation of W.B.Yeats' 'Axel' (July 1971 - February 1972); Photocopy of H.P.R.Finberg's obituary in The Times with a correction letter by Warwick Gould regarding the obituary (November 1974).

An unpublished typescript of an anthology of verse and prose on wild flowers written by Eric Edward Mockler-Ferryman in 1973.

Copy in Ralph Waldo Emerson's hand of his poem 'Concord monument', [1847].

SLV/13 contains four holograph letters written by Ralph Waldo Emerson to his publisher John Chapman. SLV/105/13 is a first edition of Poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson including a manuscript copy of the poem Concord Monument, 1844-1867.

Papers of Alexandre Embiricos, 1943, comprise a letter to André Prudhommeaux, concerning Prudhommeaux's poetry.

Holograph poem writeen by Ebenezer Elliott entitled 'William Cobbett. By the author of Corn Law Rhymes', and dated 23 Jun 1835. In addition there is a letter written from Sheffield by Elliott to Samuel Carter Hall at 4 Piccadilly, London, offering him the poem for publication: 'The poem I now send you is very unworthy of the Amulet, and infinitely so of the subject. But I have done my very best, as I always do...'.
This poem, inspired by the burial of Cobbett (he had died on 18 June 1835), was first published in The New Monthly Magazine, Vol 44 (1835), and reprinted (with the addition of a final verse) as 'Elegy on William Cobbett' in The Poetical Works of Ebenezer Elliott, the Corn-Law Rhymer (1840). A portrait of the poet is enclosed.

A 64-line elegiac poem composed on the occasion of the death of Frederick Cornwallis, Baron Cornwallis of Eye, in January 1661/2. His virtues are recorded:
'... (though there bee
Twixt vulgar Spirits, and Nobilitie
A kind of Antipathie) yet will I
Appeale unto themselves [the Commons] what courtesie
They found in him: what affabilitie,
Humilitie, and sweetness, w[i]th rare parts,
Which (ev'n against their wills) had won their hearts.'
There is a reference to Prester John, and allusion is made to the office Cornwallis had held as Treasurer of the Household to Charles II:
'The King of Kings now meaning to confer
An higher title, made thee Treasurer
In Heaven's great Court, where thou had'st laid up store
Of never fading Treasure [long?] before.'
At the end runs a Latin inscription: 'Ita raptim flevit ex animo R.Wolverton. Eayensis sudor volgorum ex Icenis M.D.'

Manuscript volume containing a metrical chronicle composed by the Chandos Herald in French verse, commemorating the life and feats of arms of Edward the Black Prince, [1385]. The poem is a valuable authority for certain events of the Hundred Years War, and gives a brief description of Edward III's French campaign of 1346, culminating in the Battle of Crecy, and followed by the Battle of Calais, with some details of the plot for the recovery of the latter at the end of 1349. Next comes a very detailed description of the Battle of Poitiers (1356), and an eyewitness account of the Spanish Campaign of the Black Prince on behalf of Don Pedro (Peter) of Castile, culminating in the Battle of Nejera (1367). A brief overview is given of the end of the Black Prince's government in Gascony, and of the war which led to the loss of almost all the possessions gained at Brétigny, followed by a comprehensive account of the last years of the Prince's life. After the poem, the author also gives a list of the chief officers of the Black Prince in Aquitaine, and copy of the epitaph on his tomb in Canterbury Cathedral.

The manuscript contains a full-page miniature illuminated in gold and colours, which is divided into two compartments. The upper compartment contains a representation of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity; God the Father is here portrayed in a blue robe on a background of gold. He is seated on a throne and holds in His extended arms a crucifix, above which a dove is introduced to symbolise the Holy Ghost. In the lower compartment the Black Prince is depicted kneeling in adoration on a red cushion. His hands are joined in prayer, and his special devotion to the Holy Trinity is indicated by a scroll proceeding from his mouth bearing the words 'Et hec tres unum sunt' (1 John v.7). The Prince is clad in armour, covered by a tight-fitting leather jupon without sleeves, finished along the bottom edge with a border of escallops, and emblazoned with the arms of England and France. He wears a sword and dagger, golden elbow and knee cops, and golden spurs. On each side of the kneeling Prince, standing in a golden socket, is a large ostrich feather in silver, his personal badge assumed after the Battle of Crecy, with the motto 'Ich dene' on a scroll below. The text of the poem commences on the next page with a large illuminated initial O, containing the Royal Arms emblazoned, and this leaf is surrounded by a border of strap work and flowers in gold and colours. There are also a number of small initial letters in gold on a coloured background.

This collection, 1869-1966, contains manuscript material and printed volumes of Austin Dobson's work, and correspondence to him. Manuscripts of most of his published prose and poems are represented in the collection; there are also versions of poems that have never been published, leaf manuscripts of articles and essays, together with around one hundred small notebooks. There are also about 2500 items of correspondence.

Biographical scrapbook, compiled by Cecil Frederick Crofton, including the following: correspondence, cuttings, watercolours and exam papers from Crofton's time at Forest School, near Snaresbrook, including cuttings of poems and articles by Crofton in the school magazine, exam papers, watercolours and illustrations of areas surrounding the school and correspondence with the headmaster regarding fees and attendance, 1874-1876; playbills, cuttings, posters, programmes and illustrations from a majority of Crofton's performances both as an opera singer and actor, both amateur and professional, also including dinner and engagement cards and illustrations and small watercolours by Crofton of theatrical scenes and fellow performers, 1877-1913; Cuttings and illustrations regarding the funeral of the Duke of Devonshire, 1908; correspondence, cuttings and illustrations regarding Sir Nevil Macready, 1919.

Letter from P Crewe of Aston, [Birmingham] to an unnamed clergyman 16 Sep 1699. 'I thnk God and Sr W A for my fie, and you for joyning us togather: excuse a trifle sent you on the occasion as thus - The unrepented yeare is past, / The parsons gloves are sent att last: / What Witam had, att Oxford are / On that account another paire. / On ye other side is ye originall and ye cause of this mean rime.' The writer tells the story of Mr Hodges, the Parson of Wytham, near Oxford, who had asked couples that he married to send him a pair of gloves if they had never regretted their marriage during its first year; he received only one pair in 40 years. Including short verses in Latin and English reportedly written by Hodges.

Autograph, with signature.

Broadside ballad, sold at the time of the coronation of King George VI, printed and published by The Raven Press, Middlesex (1937).

Manuscript Commonplace Book of English poetry and prose, dating from the 19th century, containing the second half of a long poem on early biblical history 'continued from the book in white forrel', and other items. Inserted is a folded leaf containing two poems, one dated 1834, by W. C. Yonge, who may have been the compiler of the volume.

Commonplace book, written in the early 19th century, containing copies of poems by various authors, including Mrs. R. Wilmot, the Reverend John Chetwood, and Eward Wilmot. The poems include 'To Miss Wilmot, now Mrs. Bradford, on her arrival from Russia' by F.S.I. (p.135), and 'Prologue written for the opening of the Lyceum at Madras 1782, spoken by Major Maule, by Eyles Irwin, Esq.' (p.245). A few poems are dated, 1782, 1788, 1802-1816.

Manuscript volume, originally used as a stock book for haberdashery, belonging to John Clark [of Bridgewater, Somerset], containing lists of hosiery, thread, pins, ribbons, laces, tapes, bobbins, blankets, flannel and other cloths, furs, tippets, muffs, capes, silk cloaks, cambric handkerchiefs, pasteboard, paper and umbrellas, 1832-1837. Many pages have had pasted on to them newspaper cuttings and illustrations from popular magazines, [1838-1852], including plans for the new parish church of Paddington, 1840. From folio 18, the volume has interspersed on previously blank pages a draft continuation by Clark of Byron's Don Juan (i.e. cantos xvii-xxiv), described by the author as 'rough copy - incorrect' (each leaf being cancelled presumably as the fair copy was made) and signed by himself as 'completed 1842 September 1, at X a.m. clk. struck, & flute playing in the street'.. There are also some notes on Byron's original poem, his life and literary style accompanying the continuation, which date from later in the 1840s. The vellum cover is inscribed 'John Clark's first copy of his poem'.

Two holograph manuscripts, 1830-1. The first is a six verse poem written for The Metropolitan. The second is a draft of an article, 'Notices of the Life of Lord Byron by Mr Moore, and remarks on those notices by Lady Byron', published without significant alteration in The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal, Vol. 28 (1830), pp. 33.