Emily Dickinson letters to various correspondents
Overview
Letters from the poet Emily Dickinson to her sister-in-law Susan Huntington Dickinson and other correspondents.
Dates
- Creation: 1842-1886
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Access to the originals requires the permission of the curator.
Copyright:
For permission to quote from or reproduce from manuscript material of Dickinson, contact the Curator of Modern Books and Manuscripts, Houghton Library. For permission to quote from published editions of Dickinson's work that are still in copyright (such as the Johnson and Franklin editions of the poems) and for all commercial uses of Emily Dickinson texts, write to the Permissions Department, Harvard University Press, 79 Garden St., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, 02138-1499 or use their online form (HUP does not accept permissions requests by email or fax): http://www.hup.harvard.edu/rights/permissions.html
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
.3 linear feet (1 case)Letters are primarily to Susan Huntington Dickinson. Also includes letters to Martha Gilbert Smith, Sarah Maria Eaton (married to Jonathan Leavitt Jenkins), and Abiah Palmer Root Strong, among others, as well as Dickinson's last will and testament.
Biographical / Historical
Dickinson was a poet of Amherst, Mass.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Alfred Leete Hampson; received: 1950 May, with funds given by Gilbert H. Montague, class of 1901, in happy memory of Amy Angel Collier Montague.
Some of the letters (six) to Abiah Root Strong were "Sent by Miss Claribel Smith," according to an envelope housed with (L64).
Existence and Location of Copies
Readers are expected to use the facsimiles available.
Bibliography
- JL = Johnson, Thomas, ed. The letters of Emily Dickinson. Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1958.
- J = Johnson, Thomas, ed.. The poems of Emily Dickinson : including variant readings critically compared with all known manuscripts. Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1955.
- Fr = Franklin, Ralph, ed. The poems of Emily Dickinson, variorum edition. Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1998.
Processing Information
Processed by: William H. McCarthy. Updated by Leslie A. Morris, 2005.
These numbers correspond to Johnson's "HCL L" numbers (e.g. MS Am 1118.4 (L1) is the same as HCL L1). It also includes, as (L55) - (L64) the letters to Abiah Root cited by Johnson as HCL ARS; and, (L65), a letter to Jane Humphrey cited as HCL JH1.
Processing Information
In 2020-2021, as part of a conscious and inclusive re-description effort, entries were updated to include a woman’s full name when identified.
- Title
- Dickinson, Emily, 1830-1886. Emily Dickinson letters to various correspondents, 1842-1886: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou01525
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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