Collection ID: LMC 2095
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Wordsworth, William, 1770-1850
Abstract:
The Wordsworth mss. II, 1848-1909, consist of letters and papers of the family of William Wordsworth, 1770-1850, and their friends. They are concerned chiefly with family matters, financial accounts, and the welfare of Dora Wordsworth, 1858-1934, his granddaughter, after the death of her mother.
Extent:
4 Boxes (1 standard, 3 custom)
Language:
Materials are in English .
Preferred citation:

[Item], Wordsworth mss. II, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Poet and author William Wordsworth was born on April 7, 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumberland, England. He began attending St. John's College, Cambridge the same year he published his first poem, in 1787, and he earned his B.A. in 1791. Along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Wordsworth is credited with originating the Romantic Age of English Literature with the joint publication Lyrical Ballads (1798). He was England's Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death in 1850. Wordsworth's most famous work, The Prelude, was published posthumously in 1850.

Scope and Content:

Included in the collection are an Account book of Dora Wordsworth for 1876-1885, ink sketches of cats on the verso of a letter dated August 6, 1872, an invitation to William Wordsworth from the Queen to attend a ball at Buckingham Palace, a rosewood lap desk that was owned by Mary (Hutchinson) Wordsworth, the wife of the poet, a lock of hair of William Wordsworth and a poem fragment with his signature on verso, a photograph of Dora Wordsworth, poems by F. A[rnold?], B. Buonomini (in honor of Dora), and Bennet Christian Huntington Calcraft Kennedy, a piece of yew tree planted by William Wordsworth in 1819, and a folder of printed materials.

Correspondents include: Edmund Phillips; Edward Quillinan; Dora Wordsworth; John Wordsworth (1803-1875); John Wordsworth (1837-1927); Mary Harriet (Gamble) Wordsworth; Mary (Hutchinson) Wordsworth.

The contents of the collection were formerly housed by Dora Kennedy in the rosewood lap desk bequeathed to her in 1932.

Acquisition information:
Acquired: 1961
Processing information:

Processed by Staff.

Completed in 2013

Arrangement:

Items are arranged chronologically.

Physical location:
Lilly - Stacks

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is open for research.

Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[Item], Wordsworth mss. II, Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
1200 East Seventh Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
(812) 855-2452
liblilly@indiana.edu