Overview
Manuscripts and documents of biographer James Boswell, including drafts and proofs of his literary works, diary entries, and other papers.
Dates
- 1772-1795
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.
Extent
2 linear feet (.5 box and 17 volumes)
This collection consists of items in Boswell's hand, other than his letters (cataloged separately as MS Hyde 2). Highlights include notes, drafts, and proofs of The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (including a complete set of second page proofs); Boswell's response to Hester Lynch Piozzi's published comments on his Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides; a detailed book of visitors kept by Boswell at Auchinleck from 1782 to 1795; the manuscript and page proofs of A letter to the people of Scotland on the alarming attempt to infringe the articles of the Union; a volume of collected anecdotes and aphorisms titled Boswelliana; and three diary fragments.
Biographical / Historical
James Boswell (1740-1795) was the author of one of the most influential biographies in the English language, The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. He also wrote two successful travel books: An Account of Corsica, and The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides. In 1782, he succeeded his father as Laird of Auchinleck in Scotland. He worked intermittently as a lawyer, and served as Recorder of Carlisle (England) from 1788 to 1790.
Physical Location
b (shelved with bMS Hyde 50), Hyde Case 9
Immediate Source of Acquisition
*2003JM-55, *2003JM-108, *2003JM-130-144(f). All material from *2003JM-55 unless otherwise noted. Bequest of Mary Hyde Eccles, Four Oaks Farm, Somerville, New Jersey; received: 2004.
Separated Materials
Other Boswell manuscript material in the Hyde Collection includes: Boswell's annotations on many of the items in the Samuel Johnson Letters, MS Hyde 1, particularly items (9), (13), (26), (40), (63), (87), (92), and (97); a collection of James Boswell Letters, MS Hyde 2; a transcript of a Boswell manuscript in the R.B. Adam Extra-Illustrated Edition of the Life of Samuel Johnson, MS Hyde 9, Volume II, Part 4, page 310; annotations and transcriptions in the Samuel Johnson Manuscripts, MS Hyde 50, items (4), (59), (67), (68), (69), and (70); and two items annotated by Boswell in the Boswell Family Papers, MS Hyde 52, items (11) and (12). Boswell also annotated several printed works that were cited from the Hyde Collection in IELM, BoJ 107, 109, 147, 152, 153, and 158.
The main reference used is Margaret M. Smith, et al., Index of English Literary Manuscripts, Volume III, Part 1 (London: Mansell, 1986), pp. 39-58 (cited as IELM). See also George Birkbeck Norman Hill and Lawrence Fitzroy Powell, eds., Boswell's Life of Johnson (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1934).
- Title
- Boswell, James, 1740-1795. James Boswell manuscripts: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- EAD ID
- hou00260
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, literary and performing arts archives, and more. The library's holdings of primary source material are managed by an expert staff and shared with scholars, students and the public in the reading room.
Contact:
Harvard Yard
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2440
Houghton_Library@harvard.edu
Harvard Yard
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2440
Houghton_Library@harvard.edu