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Thomas Wright Scrapbooks on William Blake

 Collection
Identifier: MS166

  • Staff Only
  • No requestable containers

Scope and Contents

This collection of the Thomas Wright Scrapbooks on William Blake consists of eight scrapbooks containing clippings, correspondence, several bibliographies and catalogs, writings, and a photograph. Items are primarily pasted into each scrapbook, but some materials are loose. The scrapbook titles that follow are all Wright's.

The first scrapbook, "The Blake Society," includes programs for the first sixteen annual meetings of the Blake Society, extending from 1912 through 1927. It also contains various printed communications to the members of the Society, and some related correspondence from members and publishers, including one from Frederick Hollyer who produced some Blake facsimiles.  Newsclippings in this scrapbook relating to the Blake Society range from 1913-1928. Of note here is a printed communication reporting permission for the Blake memorial at Bunhill Fields.

"Blake," the second scrapbook, contains additional newspaper clippings on the formation of the Blake Society. Also included here is a copy of a manuscript plan of the street where Blake lived in Lambeth, as well as a catalog of Hollyer's Colour Prints and an invitation card to a Hollyer exhibition of works by Blake, Turner, and Rossetti.

The third scrapbook, "William Blake," contains press clippings of the Tate Gallery Exhibition of William Blake in 1913.

"William Blake Scraps," the fourth scrapbook, contains newsclippings and correspondence on the Blake centenary celebrations in London and throughout England. Also here is the written and corrected manuscript of Wright's speech given at the unveiling of the Bunhill Fields Memorial, as well as a photograph of Wright delivering the speech.

The fifth scrapbook, "Lambeth," contains a typed catalog of the Lambeth Library Blake Centenary Exhibition, held October 15-29, 1927.

"Letters re The Life of William Blake" is the sixth scrapbook, and contains only a few letters, one of them from A.J. Roberts. Also here are auction catalogs of the Algernon Methuen library and the Linnell William Blake Collections, as well as lists referring to Blake works owned by Sydney Morse.

"Life of Blake Clippings," the seventh scrapbook, contains numerous reviews of Wright's work, particularly of his Life of William Blake (Olney, 1929). Also present is a small number of letters from Phillip Morrell, Osbert Burdett, Laurence Housman, C.E. Lawrence, and D.W. Leaks concerning Wright's book.

The eighth scrapbook, "31 Golden Sayings of William Blake," contains passages from Blake's work written out by Wright.

Dates

  • 1912-1936
  • Other: Date acquired: 01/01/2011

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on use of the materials in the department for research; all patrons must comply with federal copyright regulations.

Extent

2.00 Boxes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Thomas Wright was born May 16, 1859 in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England. He was educated at Buxton College, a boys' school in Buxton, Derbyshire, and married Angelina Edwards on January 1, 1884. He was the principal of Cowper School in Olney, which he founded himself in 1882 at the age of 23. This collection of the Thomas Wright Scrapbooks on William Blake consists of eight scrapbooks containing clippings, correspondence, several bibliographies and catalogs, writings, and a photograph.  Items are primarily pasted into each scrapbook, but some materials are loose. The scrapbook titles are all Wright's.

Arrangement

The scrapbooks are listed in chronological order.

Method of Acquisition

Purchase.

Separated Materials

None.

Title
Guide to the Thomas Wright Scrapbooks on William Blake
Author
Benn P. Joseph
Date
02/06/2011
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Library Details

Part of the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Deering Library, Level 3
1970 Campus Drive
Evanston IL 60208-2300 US
847-491-3635