Finding Aid for the Robert Harborough Sherard Collection, 1881-1987

Series 1. Glennyth M. Woods collection on Robert Sherard 1895, 1937-1944

Physical Description: .25 linear feet

Scope and Content Note

This series contains all papers acquired through a donation from Glennyth M. Woods. Included is correspondence to and from Robert Sherard, correspondence between other individuals (including Lord Alfred Douglas), and ephemera related to Robert Sherard. A large portion of the correspondence is comprised of letters to and from Glennyth M. Woods.

Arrangement

This series is divided into four subseries: Subseries 1.1. Incoming correspondence; Subseries 1.2. Outgoing correspondence; Subseries 1.3. Other correspondence; and Subseries 1.4. Ephemera.

Subseries 1. Incoming Correspondence 1895, 1937-1940

Arrangement

This subseries is arranged alphabetically by sender, and then chronologically by the date the letter was sent.

Scope and Content Note

This subseries includes correspondence (letters and copies of letters) to Robert Sherard from various individuals. Many of the letters are praise of or reactions to Sherard's books, or discuss Oscar Wilde.

Folder 1, Item 1

Boland, Edward S. March 9, 1940

Physical Description: 1 page, letter copy

Folder 1, Item 2

Christie, Mamie Ella January 22, 1937

Physical Description: 1 page, letter copy

Folder 1, Item 3

Hirai, Hirosi October 17, 1938

Physical Description: 1 page, letter copy

Folder 1, Item 4

Kingsmill, Hugh February 5, 1937

Physical Description: 1 page, letter copy

Folder 1, Item 5

Kingsmill, Hugh July 20, 1938

Physical Description: 1 page, letter copy

Folder 1, Item 6

Maxwell, Henry 9. v. 1939 [September 5th?]

Physical Description: 1 page, letter copy

Folder 1, Item 7

Milier, Irene

Physical Description: 1 page, letter copy

Folder 1, Item 8

Murray, David Leslie October 21, 1939

Physical Description: 1 page, letter copy

Note

Includes letter copy and short biography of David Leslie Murray.

Folder 1, Item 9

Turner, Reginald June 22, 1939

Physical Description: 1 page, letter copy

Folder 1, Item 10

Wilde, Constance September 21, 1895

Physical Description: 1 page, letter copy

Note

Includes on the same page a letter from Constance Wilde (nee Lloyd) to Oscar Wilde "probably written in the winter of 1883". The letter from Constance to Oscar is a love letter. The letter from Constance to Robert Sherard asks Mr. Sherard to see her before he goes to see Oscar Wilde in jail and thanks him for his kindness to Oscar Wilde.

Folder 1, Item 11

Williamson, George C. February 3, 1937

Physical Description: 1 page, letter copy

Folder 2, Item 1

Woods, Glennyth M. January 23, 1939

Physical Description: 5 pages, letter copy

Folder 2, Item 2

Woods, Glennyth M. March 16, 1939

Physical Description: 4 pages, letter copy

Folder 2, Item 3

Woods, Glennyth M. May 24, 1939

Physical Description: 3 pages, letter copy

Folder 2, Item 4

Woods, Glennyth M. July 7, 1939

Physical Description: 3 pages, letter copy

Folder 2, Item 5

Woods, Glennyth M. September 6, 1939

Physical Description: 2 pages, letter copy

Folder 2, Item 6

Woods, Glennyth M. December 11, 1939

Physical Description: 2 pages, letter copy

Folder 2, Item 7

Woods, Glennyth M. October 3, 1939

Physical Description: 3 pages, letter copy

Subseries 2. Outgoing Correspondence 1939-1940

Arrangement

This subseries is arranged alphabetically by sender, and then chronologically by the date the letter was sent.

Scope and Content Note

This subseries includes letters, postcards, and envelopes from Robert Sherard to other individuals. All but one of the pieces of correspondence are addressed to Glennyth M. Woods. The letters discuss books about Oscar Wilde, praise of Oscar Wilde, and copies of books and articles sent between Woods and Sherard. There is some mention of Sherard's thoughts on World War II.

Folder 3, Item 1

Gloux, Madame Vve.

Physical Description: Postcard

Folder 3, Item 2

Woods, Glennyth M. February 11, 1939

Physical Description: Envelope

Folder 3, Item 3

Woods, Glennyth M. February 11, 1939

Physical Description: Envelope

Folder 3, Item 4

Woods, Glennyth M. February 11, 1939

Physical Description: Postcard

Note

With "a facsimile of Andre Gide's answer to the challenge thrown down to him in R.H. Sherard's pamphlet on the Algiers incident, in which he is accused of lying."

Folder 3, Item 5

Woods, Glennyth M. February 14, 1939

Physical Description: Envelope

Folder 3, Item 6

Woods, Glennyth M. February 14, 1939

Physical Description: 1 sheet

Folder 3, Item 7

Woods, Glennyth M. March 27, 1939

Physical Description: Envelope

Folder 3, Item 8

Woods, Glennyth M. March 27, 1939

Physical Description: 1 sheet

Folder 3, Item 9

Woods, Glennyth M. May 11, 1939

Physical Description: Envelope

Folder 3, Item 10

Woods, Glennyth M. May 11, 1939

Physical Description: 1 sheet

Folder 4, Item 1

Woods, Glennyth M. June 2, 1939

Physical Description: Envelope

Folder 4, Item 2

Woods, Glennyth M. June 2, [1939]

Physical Description: 1 sheet

Folder 4, Item 3

Woods, Glennyth M. July 17, 1939

Physical Description: Envelope

Folder 4, Item 4

Woods, Glennyth M. July 17, 1939

Physical Description: 1 sheet

Folder 4, Item 5

Woods, Glennyth M. July 20, 1939

Physical Description: Envelope

Folder 4, Item 6

Woods, Glennyth M. July 20, 1939

Physical Description: 1 sheet

Folder 4, Item 7

Woods, Glennyth M. September 17, 1939

Physical Description: 1 sheet

Folder 4, Item 8

Woods, Glennyth M. October 13, 1939

Physical Description: Envelope

Note

On verso: "Written in ENGLISH".

Folder 4, Item 9

Woods, Glennyth M. October 13, 1939

Physical Description: 2 sheets

Folder 4, Item 10

Woods, Glennyth M. November 27, 1940

Physical Description: Postcard

Folder 4, Item 11

Woods, Glennyth M.

Physical Description: 2 sheets

Folder 4, Item 12

Woods, Glennyth M.

Physical Description: Envelope

Note

On verso: "Written in ENGLISH".

Subseries 3. Other Correspondence 1939,1944

Arrangement

This subseries is arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content Note

This subseries contains letters to and from individuals who also sent letters to Robert Sherard. The majority of the letters are between Glennyth M. Woods and Lord Alfred Douglas, but there are two letters from Robert Sherard's wife, A. Muriel Sherard, to Glennyth M. Woods after Sherard's death. Woods tries to convince Lord Douglas to conduct a lecture tour in the United States, and other letters discuss literature that the two have exchanged.

Folder 5, Item 1

Copy of a letter from Glennyth M. Woods to Lord Alfred Douglas. March 6, 1939

Physical Description: 3 sheets

Folder 5, Item 2

Letter from Lord Alfred Douglas to Glennyth M. Woods. March 18, 1939

Physical Description: 3 sheets

Folder 5, Item 3

Envelope from Lord Alfred Douglas to Glennyth M. Woods. March 18, 1939

Physical Description: Envelope

Folder 5, Item 4

Copy of a letter from Glennyth M. Woods to Lord Alfred Douglas. May 21, 1939

Physical Description: 4 sheets

Folder 5, Item 5

Envelope from Lord Alfred Douglas to Glennyth M. Woods. May 31, 1939

Physical Description: Envelope

Folder 5, Item 6

Copy of a letter from Glennyth M. Woods to Lord Alfred Douglas. July 27, 1939

Physical Description: 1 sheet

Folder 5, Item 7

Letter from Lord Alfred Douglas to Glennyth M. Woods. August 8, 1939

Physical Description: 1 sheet

Folder 5, Item 8

Envelope from Lord Alfred Douglas to Glennyth M. Woods. August 9, 1939

Physical Description: Envelope

Folder 5, Item 9

Copy of a letter from Glennyth M. Woods to Lord Alfred Douglas. September 6, 1939

Physical Description: 1 sheet

Folder 5, Item 10

Letter from A. Muriel Sherard to Glennyth M. Woods. March 23, 1944

Physical Description: 1 sheet

Folder 5, Item 11

Envelope from A. Muriel Sherard to Glennyth M. Woods. May 16, 1944

Physical Description: Envelope

Folder 5, Item 12

Letter from A. Muriel Sherard to Glennyth M. Woods. May 15, 1944

Physical Description: 3 sheets

Subseries 4. Ephemera 1933-1943

Arrangement

This subseries is arranged thematically.

Scope and Content Note

This subseries contains postcard advertisements of a work by Robert Sherard, Sherard family pedigrees, two pamphlets by Robert Sherard published by Vindex, papers about "A Last Illusion" (a play adaptation), and a copy of a short story entitled "Metempsychosis a la Sylvia".

Folder 6, Item 1-4

Advertisement postcard July, 1939

Physical Description: Postcard

Note

Mentions Sherard's book "Bernard Shaw, Frank Harris, and Oscar Wilde".

Folder 6, Item 5

Curwen Pedigree (family tree)

Physical Description: 2 large sheets

Note

Sherard's name can be seen on the second sheet. The original is oversized and housed separately in the "oversized broadside and manuscript" drawer. A photocopy is available in folder 6.

Folder 6, Item 6

"Andre Gide's Wicked Lies about the late Mr. Oscar Wilde in Algiers in January 1895, as Translated from the French And Broadcast by Dr. G.J. Renier, Minutely examined & Commented upon by Robert Harborough Sherard, Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur, With a Frontispiece by Fernand Mouren." [1933]

Physical Description: Pamphlet

Folder 6, Item 7

"Oscar Wilde 'Drunkard and Swindler': A Reply To George Bernard Shaw, Dr. G.J. Renier, Frank Harris, etc. By Robert Harborough Sherard, Knight of the Legion of Honour, With an Interview with G.B. Shaw by Hugh Kingsmill." [1933]

Physical Description: Pamphlet

Folder 6, Item 8

Wordsworth Pedigree (family tree)

Physical Description: 1 sheet

Note

The poet William Wordsworth was Sherard's great-grandfather.

Folder 6, Item 9

Newspaper article reproduction -- "Theater Intime at Ealing" July 30, 1943

Physical Description: 1 sheet

Note

A reproduction of a newspaper article from the West London Observer about presentations of four of Sherard's short stories with "living illustrations" performed by Beatrice and Mabel Siddons-Downe and Arthur Summerfield.

Folder 7, Item 1

A Last Illusion, by Oliver Quaintrell

Physical Description: 9 sheets

Note

"A Last Illusion" is a short story by Oliver Quaintrell, presumably adapted by Sherard into a play.

Folder 7, Item 2

A Last Illusion, dramatic interpretation

Physical Description: 3 sheets

Note

A note to the editor explaining the story, and two pages of a scene adapted to a play format.

Folder 7, Item 3

A Last Illusion, drafts

Physical Description: 2 sheets

Note

Two sheets of drafted story by either Oliver Quaintrell or Sherard that fits the plot and characters of "A Last Illusion", but has no other notes or page numbers.

Folder 7, Item 4

Metempsychosis a la Sylvia

Physical Description: 4 sheets

Note

A typed copy of the short story "Metempsychosis a la Sylvia".

Folder 7, Item 5

Opinion of Sherard by William Stevens (photocopy)

Physical Description: 1 sheet

Series 2. Francis Watson collection on Robert Sherard 1933-1938, 1977-1987

Physical Description: .25 linear feet

Scope and Content Note

This series includes correspondence between Francis Watson and Robert Sherard, papers related to the radio program 'The Man Who Thought of Nenuphar' (written by Francis Watson), and miscellaneous ephemera and letters.

Arrangement

This series is divided into three subseries: Subseries 2.1. Correspondence; Subseries 2.2. 'The Man Who Thought of Nenuphar'; Subseries 2.3 Miscellaneous.

Subseries 1. Correspondence 1933-1938

Arrangement

This subseries is arranged chronologically by the date the letter was sent.

Scope and Content Note

This subseries includes letters and envelopes from Robert Sherard to Francis Watson. The letters discuss books and articles shared between the two, discussions on Oscar Wilde and other authors, and fan-mail sent to Sherard.

Folder 8, Item 1

Letter to Francis Watson December 20, 1933

Physical Description: TLS, 1 sheet

Note

Sherard's first letter to Watson, outraged by Watson's critique of the Wilde bibliography and enclosing his pamphlet rebutting the calumnies.

Folder 8, Item 2

Letter to Francis Watson January 19, 1934

Physical Description: TLS, 2 sheets

Note

He is 'overjoyed' that he has convinced Watson that Gide is a 'mendacious fabricator'; he defines the difference between masochist and sodomite; and describes how he is trying to undermine Gide's reputation in the USA.

Folder 8, Item 3

Letter to Francis Watson February 11, 1934

Physical Description: TLS, 1 sheet

Note

He is glad he did not shock Watson; he refers to various enterprises including his defense of Wordsworth (his great-grandfather) and his sister Dorothy.

Folder 8, Item 4

Letter to Francis Watson September 24, 1936

Physical Description: TLS and TL, cc, 1 sheet

Note

Short note (TLS) enclosing copy of letter from Madame Jacquemaire, daughter of Clemenceau, accepting his dedication of a book to her.

Folder 8, Item 5

Letter to Francis Watson September 26, 1936

Physical Description: TLS, 1 sheet

Note

Short note including invitation to tea.

Folder 8, Item 6

Letter to Francis Watson October 3, 1936

Physical Description: TLS, 1 sheet plus envelope

Note

Short note about an article by Watson and mentioning that there is a long waiting list at the library for his biography of Wilde, published 30 years before.

Folder 8, Item 7

Letter to Francis Watson December 17, 1936

Physical Description: TLS, 1 sheet

Note

Short note about publication of his book in the USA.

Folder 8, Item 8

Letter to Francis Watson January 13, 1937

Physical Description: TLS and TL, cc, 1 sheet

Note

Short note (TLS) enclosing a copy of a fan letter from a young man, who remembered Wilde in his prayers every night.

Folder 8, Item 9

Letter to Francis Watson February 15, 1937

Physical Description: TLS, 2 sheets

Note

He thanks Watson for a letter about his recent book; comments on a review which describes it as 'flogging a dead horse'; and refers to Watson's own books.

Folder 8, Item 10

Letter to Francis Watson March 29, 1938

Physical Description: TLS, 2 sheets and TL, cc, 1 sheet

Note

Letter (TLS, 2 sheets) enclosing a copy of a letter he had received from Lord Alfred Douglas describing the problems he was having over the publication of his own book 'Without Apology'; also quoting from a second letter from Lord Alfred Douglas describing Shaw's response to Sherard's book in a preface to a new edition of Harris's book.

Folder 8, Item 11

Letter to Francis Watson April 29, 1938

Physical Description: TLS, 1 sheet

Note

He comments on the sparsity of reviews of Lord Alfred Douglas's book, the continuing row between Souglas and the ex-publishers, and Shaw's present view about Frank Harris. He also quotes from H.L. Mencken's letter that 'in this whole business Shaw has managed himself with great foolishness'.

Subseries 2. The Man Who Thought of Nenuphar 1977-1987

Arrangement

This subseries is arranged thematically.

Scope and Content Note

This subseries contains items related to Francis Watson's radio program "The Man Who Thought of Nenuphar" (about Sherard), including a transcript of the program, correspondence about the program, and a small collection of press clippings and notes about the program.

Folder 9, Item 1

Script and Sources

Note

Script for the radio program 'The Man Who Thought of Nenuphar' about Sherard, by Watson. Also includes a list of sources used.

Folder 10, Item 1

Letter from Montgomery Hyde September 14, 1977

Physical Description: TLS, 1 sheet

Folder 10, Item 2

Letter from Kevin O'Brien April 1, 1987, June 3, 1987

Physical Description: TLS and ALS, 3 sheets

Note

A letter from Kevin O'Brien, writing a biography of Sherard and interested to hear about more Sherard material. Encloses 2 typescript pages from his biography on Sherard's marriage to Irene Osgood. Thanks Watson for Sherard material and information, and asks him for his impression of Sherard and 'how much of his defence of Wilde was a pose.'

Folder 10, Item 3

Letter to Francis Watson September 1, 1977

Physical Description: TLS, 1 sheet

Note

Letter reporting a story by Lord Alfred Douglas about a meeting with Wilde and Sherard in Paris.

Folder 10, Item 4

Correspondence with the BBC about the radio program 1980-1987

Folder 11, Item 1

Research material

Note

A small collection of press cuttings and notes compiled for the radio program.

Subseries 3. Miscellaneous 1933, undated

Arrangement

This series is arranged thematically.

Scope and Content Note

This subseries contains miscellaneous ephemera, including a flyer for a book by Sherard, a copy of a letter to the ex-Kaiser, notes about Sherard's correspondence with Sir John Henneker Heaton, and photocopies of original material already contained in the collection.

Folder 12, Item 1

Flyer advertisement for "Bernard Shaw, Frank Harris, & Oscar Wilde; a complete exposure of Frank Harris's Life of Oscar Wilde", by Robert Harborough Sherard.

Physical Description: 1 sheet

Folder 12, Item 2

Copy of a letter from Sherard to the ex-Kaiser enclosing an article by him and recalling occasions when he had seen the Kaiser. June 1, 1933

Physical Description: TL, cc, 2 sheets

Folder 12, Item 3

Notes from the correspondence of Robert Harborough Sherard with Sir John Henneker Heaton

Physical Description: TL, cc, 3 sheets

Folder 13

Photocopies of original material

Note

This folder contains photocopies of materials; the originals can be found in other folders in the collection.

Container List