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COLLECTION Identifier: HEW 12.12.6

William Makepeace Thackeray drawings for Adventures of a French count

Overview

An album containing a series of 26 original drawings by British novelist William Makepeace Thackeray.

Dates

  • Creation: 1830-1839

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.

Conditions Governing Use

Images linked to this finding aid are intended for public access and educational use. This material is owned and/or held by the Houghton Library, and is provided solely for the purpose of teaching or individual research. Any other use, including commercial reuse, mounting on other systems, or other forms of redistribution requires the permission of the curator.

Extent

.2 linear feet (1 volume) ; (26 x 34 cm.)

Drawings in pencil and ink in an album. This album belonged to the family of Eyre Evans Crowe (1799-1868) while they were living in Paris, in the late 1830s. Thackeray was a cousin who would visit in the evening and, to amuse the children, he would tell stories while sketching. The drawings apparently poke fun at Thackery's friend, artist John Grant Brine. The album reportedly remained in the hands of the Crowe family from that time on. [See item (27) for detailed information].

Inside album cover is annotated (in unidentified hand): "Adventures of a French Count, unpublished story in 19 pictures, with text, by W.M. Thackeray. From the collection of Eyre Crowe. One of the finest Thackeray items in existence! This should be published as it is one of the most humorous works."

Biographical / Historical

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) was a British novelist.

Eyre Crowe (1824-1910) was a British painter of historical subjects, domestic genre and portraits. He was the elder brother of the art historian J. A. Crowe and cousin to Thackeray. His father was Eyre Evans Crowe.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Part of the Harry Elkins Widener Collection.

Formerly part of the collection of Eyre Crowe.

Processing Information

Processed by: Bonnie B. Salt

Title
Thackeray, William Makepeace, 1811-1863. William Makepeace Thackeray drawings for Adventures of a French count : Guide.
Author
Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hou00206

Repository Details

Part of the Houghton Library Repository

Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

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