William Makepeace Thackeray collection
Overview
Drawings, writings, some correspondence, and address book of British novelist, William Makepeace Thackeray.
Dates
- Creation: 1832-1897
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.
Conditions Governing Use
Images linked to the finding aid describing this collection 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 (28 volumes)Includes pen-and-ink and watercolor drawings, costume sketches, notes, compositions, poems, correspondence, and Thackeray's address book. Writings include a lecture on George I and George IV and an essay on Napoleon. Drawings by Thackeray include a self-portrait, caricature of Napoleon, and illustrations for many of his books including The Book of Snobs (1845-1846), The Virginians, and for The Kickleburys on the Rhine, among others. Also included are illustrations by J. Clayton Clarke ("Kyd") for Yellowplush Papers and A Shabby Genteel Story.
Biographical / Historical
Thackeray was a British novelist, satirist, and illustrator.
Arrangement
Arranged in call-number order.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection primarily gift of Herbert L. Carlebach; received 1944-1959; and other donors. See items for full acquisition information.
Separated Materials
Two sets of material were separated and processed as their own collections: William Makepeace Thackeray lecture on George III and other papers (MS Eng 951.2) and Letters concerning William Makepeace Thackeray (MS Eng 951.24), Houghton Library, Harvard University.
Processing Information
This finding aid was revised in April 2024 to address outdated and harmful descriptive language. During that revision, contextualizing processing notes were added to the description of one item. For more information on reparative archival description at Harvard, see Harvard Library’s Statement on Harmful Language in Archival Description.
- Title
- Thackeray, William Makepeace, 1811-1863. William Makepeace Thackeray collection: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou00229
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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