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Roscoe (William and Jane Griffies) Collection
MS.2008.023
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Contributing Institution:
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
Title: William Roscoe and Jane Griffies Roscoe Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MS.2008.023
Physical Description:
2.5 Linear Feet
3 boxes and 4 bound volumes
Date (inclusive): 1774-1974
Abstract: Contains correspondence to and from William Roscoe and commonplace books compiled by his wife Jane Griffies Roscoe, as well
as portrait engravings and ephemera, dating 1774-1887.
Physical Location: Clark Library
Language of Material:
English
.
Collection is open for research.
Gift of Professor David H. Weinglass and Marilyn Carbonell, 2008.
William Roscoe was born in 1753 in Liverpool. Although he trained to become an attorney and worked in that capacity for 20
years, his true passion was literature and the arts, particularly the study of Italy. In 1781, he married Jane Griffies, the
daughter of linen draper William Griffies and his wife Ann Lace. Jane was also born in Liverpool in 1757 and was an amateur
poet whose original work is collected in some of the commonplace books described in this collection. William and Jane had
10 children together between 1782 and 1800.
Beginning when he was around 16, William had published and circulated some poetry that was well-received by the critics, but
it was the Life of Lorenzo published in 1796 that earned him his reputation as a writer and historian. This was followed by
a Life of Leo X in 1805, which was not as well-received. He retired from his career in the law soon after the publication
of the Life of Lorenzo and dedicated his time to writing and the arts, as well as farming, abolition and politics. In 1816,
a bank in which he was a partner failed and he was forced to sell his home, Allerton Hall, as well as his sizeable collections
of books, paintings and manuscripts.
Though William continued working as a writer and as an advocate for culture in Liverpool, his family moved often because of
financial worries. Jane Griffies Roscoe died in 1824 and William Roscoe himself died at 78, in 1831.
[Identification of item], William Roscoe and Jane Griffies Roscoe Collection, MS.2008.023, William Andrews Clark Memorial
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
The William Roscoe and Jane Griffies Roscoe collection, dating 1774-1887, consists primarily of correspondence between William
Roscoe, his family circle and various friends, booksellers and professional colleagues. The other major component of this
collection are the 4 volumes of commonplace books compiled by his wife, Jane Griffies Roscoe.
The majority of the correspondence collected here consists of outgoing letters written by Roscoe to his sons and to colleagues
and friends in the worlds of publishing, art and politics, as do incoming letters sent to Roscoe and to others. Some letters
are brief notes regarding social engagements, while others contain more substantive discussions of topics ranging from slavery
to bookselling and art collecting. Frequent correspondents include sons Robert, Richard, Thomas and Henry as well as booksellers
Cadell & Davies and artist Martin Archer Shee.
The four volumes of commonplace books, dating 1774-1790, compiled by Jane Griffies Roscoe contain autograph contributions
by William Roscoe, as well as works by him written in Jane's hand. The volumes also contain what appear to be Jane's original
compositions in addition to works by poets such as William Collins, Thomas Gray, Phillis Wheatley and Anna Laetitia Barbauld.
Ephemera and images, dating 1805-1853 and undated, include portrait engravings of William and of his residence at Allerton
Hall, as well as related newspapers and other clippings. A medal issued on his centenary in 1853 by Joseph Mayer, Liverpool
arts patron and possible former owner of parts of this collection, is also included.
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1. Correspondence, 1796-1833, 1887
- Series 2. Poetical commonplace book, 1774-1790. 4 volumes
- Series 3. Images, ephemera and Roscoeiana, 1805-1974.
Copyright has not been assigned to the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA. All requests for permission to publish
or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of
the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Digitized surrogates of the commonplace books of Jane Griffies Roscoe are accessible via
Calisphere .
Related Materials at the Clark Library
Additional books by or related to William Roscoe from the collection of David Weinglass are cataloged as a part of the Clark
Library's print collections. To find these books, search the UC Library Search catalog for "William Roscoe Collection of D.H.
Weinglass & M. Carbonell."
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ephemera -- England -- 19th century
Letters -- England -- 19th century
Commonplace books -- England -- 19th century
Authors, English -- 18th century -- Archives
Engravings (prints)