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Manuscripts

Anna Margaretta Larpent diaries

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    [Collection of published articles tracking the racing career of William Clift, English jockey, from 1803 to 1826]

    Rare Books

    Collection is comprised of 6 volumes of published English racing periodicals which chronologically track the racing career of William Clift. Each volume covers 3 years: 1803 to 1806, 1807 to 1810, 1811 to 1814, 1815 to 1818, 1819 to 1822, and 1823 to 1826, respectively. The first 5 volumes contain excerpts from William Pick's Annual racing calendar, and the last volume contains excerpts from J. Hodgson's The pocket racing calendar and Weatherby's The racing calendar.

    615556

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    John Larpent Plays

    Manuscripts

    This collection consists of official manuscript copies of plays submitted for licensing between 1737 and 1824 that were in the possession of John Larpent, the examiner of plays, at the time of his death in 1824. These copies were later owned by John Payne Collier before being purchased by the Bridgewater House Library. The collection includes 2,399 identified plays as well as an additional 104 unidentified pieces including addresses, prologues, epilogues, etc. These copies of plays, generally, were clearly written by professional copyists attached to the theaters, though some are partly, or entirely, in the authors' handwriting. Most copies are accompanied by a formal application for license to perform, signed by the manager of the theater. The name of the author only rarely appears upon the play, except on title-pages of printed copies, submitted instead of manuscripts. Presumably, all new plays performed between June 24, 1737, and January 18, 1824, were licensed as the law required, but Larpent's collection is not entirely complete. The most conspicuous of the plays not now in the Huntington's collection (e.g., The Clandestine Marriage and The School for Scandal) are also not listed in the manuscript Alphabetical Catalogue with Notes of Theatrical representations &ca Submitted for Licensing From The Year 1737, to the Year 1787 inclusive in the handwriting of Larpent and of his second wife (now held by the New York Public Library). Their omission in Larpent's list suggest that these plays were removed from the Examiners' papers before Larpent took office. Others appear to have been either returned to the managers or given away by Larpent or by Collier. Note though that the Alphabetical Catalogue is incomplete and lacks a large number of titles held in this collection. A manuscript catalogue, Larpent dramatic manuscripts catalogue, 1737-1824 (call number: EL 26/B/11), was presumably made under Collier's direction, and it sometimes conveys information not found upon the copy itself, though the catalogue is incomplete and at times inaccurate. Originally, the manuscripts were bound in a rough whity-brown paper covers, upon which the Examiner often made notes. Before Larpent took office, the mark of an "X" on the paper cover seems to have indicated that the play had been examined; but Larpent usually entered the name of the theater submitting the play and a date, presumably when Larpent licensed the play and generally a day or two after the date of the application. Sometimes, though, the date is considerably after the first performance. On some copies, the marks of the Examiners indicate objectionable passages, and most suppressed plays bear endorsements stating that the license was not granted. While Collier had access to the collection, he inscribed many of the copies with notes, most of them partly in shorthand, recording his opinions on matters such as authorship, handwriting, or date. Though many of these notes are correct, others are mistaken or unintelligible. The fact that these plays are official copies sent to the office of the Examiner by the managers of the theaters, not the authors, places them in a different category from that of most literary texts. Their relation on the one hand to the acted version and on the other to the published work raises complicated problems that can be solved only individually. What liberties actors took with the text after it had been approved, one cannot say, but it seems likely that in general the licensed text was presented on the stage. The printed play, however, was generally set from copy provided by the author; and in it he had the opportunity to restore what the manager had eliminated, or to revise the piece in the light of its reception. The Larpent text, thus, may represent a state of composition either later or earlier than the first acted version. An examination of the manuscripts will show that the Examiner's copy seldom conforms entirely to the published text.

    mssLA 1-2503

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    John Adams speech to the King of England :

    Manuscripts

    Draft of John Adams's speech on the occasion of presenting of his letter of credence to George III on June 1, 1785. With a note by James G. Palfrey dated January 7, 1854, attesting that the manuscript "was given to me on this day by his grandson, Charles Francis Adams." Includes engraved portrait of John Adams, approximately 1830-1833; "drawn & printed by Childs & Inman, Philadelphia" and "Pub'd by Peabody & Co., New York." Speech is hinged to mounting paper; bound in full green Morocco; gilt stamped cover and spine. Cover title: "John Adams. Holograph Manuscript of his Speech on Being Presented to the King of England as American Ambassador. 1785." Spine title: "John Adams. Original Manuscript."

    mssHM 783

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    Anna Dorothy Mason Bronson papers

    Manuscripts

    The letters in the collection cover the period of Anna (Mason) Bronson's schooling at the Thetford Academy in Vermont and her employment in the cotton mills of Manchester. The letters from Thetford provide an interesting perspective on a situation that was probably not all that common in the 1840s - a young woman attending a college preparatory school and boarding away from home. The majority of the letters were written by Anna to her parents during her six years in the mills. They are full of information on hours, wages, and working and living conditions. Because personal accounts of workers are not that common, the letters should also be helpful in resolving questions about the adjustment of young farm women to the factory regimen and the impact of industrial work upon family life. Also discussed are family affairs, including news of a brother in the California mines; evangelical religious belief; and events in and around Manchester, including fires, lyceum lectures, fairs, exhibits, etc.

    mssHM 50177-50216

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    Diary

    Manuscripts

    A collection of 99 items from 1841 to 1967; the collection consists of diaries, letters, documents and manuscripts primarily by John Doyle Lee. There is a letter by William W. Bishop that includes a list of names of persons in and present at the Mountain Meadows Massacre (mssHM 31237). There are also letters by and to several of John D. Lee's wives. There are six volumes of diaries by John D. Lee which span the years 1846 to 1876, as well as several facsimiles of Lee's diaries dating 1841 to 1860, and one diary of his wife, Rachel Andora Woolsey Lee, from 1856 to 1860. Many of the items in the collection are contemporary copies or facsimiles.

    mssHM 26337 (Volume 1)

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    Diary (Bound facsimile)

    Manuscripts

    A collection of 99 items from 1841 to 1967; the collection consists of diaries, letters, documents and manuscripts primarily by John Doyle Lee. There is a letter by William W. Bishop that includes a list of names of persons in and present at the Mountain Meadows Massacre (mssHM 31237). There are also letters by and to several of John D. Lee's wives. There are six volumes of diaries by John D. Lee which span the years 1846 to 1876, as well as several facsimiles of Lee's diaries dating 1841 to 1860, and one diary of his wife, Rachel Andora Woolsey Lee, from 1856 to 1860. Many of the items in the collection are contemporary copies or facsimiles.

    mssHM 26337 (Volume 1 FAC)