John Forster papers: Finding Aid mssForster
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Note
Finding aid updated by Brooke M. Black in June 2023.
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: John Forster papers
Creator:
Forster, John, 1812-1876.
Identifier/Call Number: mssForster
Physical Description:
2.34 Linear Feet
(2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1828-1894
Abstract: This collection consists of correspondence and literary manuscripts by English authors and friends of English editor and Charles
Dickens biographer John Forster (1812-1876) and his second wife, Eliza Ann Crosbie Colburn Forster.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. John Forster papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Purchased from Sotheby's (Lot 180), December 10, 1964.
English writer and editor John Forster (1812-1876) was born April 2, 1812, in Newcastle, England. At the age of 15, in June
1827, he wrote a paper, "A Few Thoughts in Vindication of the Stage." Entering University College in London in 1828 as a law
student, Forster became friends with such fellow students as James Emerson Tennent and James Whiteside. He was admitted to
the bar in 1843, but seldom practiced law thereafter.
Forster was an editor and a contributor to many magazines and newspapers including
The Examiner, Foreign Quarterly Review, Daily News, and the
Edinburgh Review. In 1836, the first of his five volumes of
Lives of the Statesmen of the Commonwealth was published as part of
Lardner's Cyclopaedia. This set included a biography of Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford which would cause a controversy concerning authorship
after Forster's death. He also published biographies of such notables as Oliver Goldsmith (1854), Landor (1869), and the first
volume of a biography of Jonathan Swift (1876). Perhaps his most famous biography, however, was that of his friend Charles
Dickens which appeared in three volumes in 1872, 1873, and 1874.
First married to poet L. E. Landon, Forster became estranged from his wife and on September 12, 1856, married Eliza Ann (Crosbie)
Colburn. Eliza was the daughter of Captain Robert Crosbie, R.N., and widow of Henry Colburn, a well-known publisher. There
were no children as the result of either marriage.
John Forster died on February 2, 1876. He had been working on the first volume of
Life of Jonathan Swift at the time.
The collection consists of correspondence and literary manuscripts by English authors and friends of both John Forster and
his second wife, Eliza Ann Crosbie Colburn Forster. The literary manuscripts include essays, poems, and diary and text extracts
both by and about John Forster. The correspondence deals with the personal life and business dealings of Forster. There is
also detailed genealogical information in the collection.
Correspondents include: Julius Althaus, Robert Barrett Browning, Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton, Thomas Carlyle, Sir John Duke
Coleridge, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Fanny Crosbie, Charles Dickens, Benjamin Disraeli, Whitwell Elwin, Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell,
Eliza Lynn Linton, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Bryan Waller Procter, Henry E. Rawlins, Sir James Emerson Tennent, and James
Whiteside.
Persons represented by 5 or more pieces:
- Althaus, Julius (1883-1900) physician. 7 autograph letters to John Forster dated 1871-1873. HM 52443-52449
- Bulwer-Lytton, Edward Robert, 1st Earl Lytton (1831-1891) statesman and poet. 1 manuscript dedication to John Forster from Poems by Owen Meredith, 1894. Dated 1857. HM 52455 6 autograph letters to Eliza Ann (Crosbie) Colburn Forster dated 1860-1880. HM 52456-52461
- Carlyle, Thomas (1795-1881) essayist and historian. 11 letters to John Forster dated 1847-1876. HM 52464-52474
- Cooper, Anthony Ashley, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (1801-1885) philanthropist. 5 autograph letters to Eliza Ann (Crosbie) Colburn Forster dated 1869-1881. HM 52477-52481
- Rawlins, Henry E. personal friend and employee. 2 manuscripts, one compilation of extracts of letters of condolence to Mrs. Forster on the occasion of John Forster's death, and one memoir of John Forster. HM 52545-52546 5 autograph letters to Whitwell Elwin (Forster's biographer) dated 1876-1880. HM 52547-52551
Some notable items include:
- Crosbie, Fanny. To Whitwell Elwin, 1893, Apr. 22. Letter covers the controversy over authorship of Life of Strafford between John Forster and Robert Browning following Forster's death. HM 52487
- Elwin, Whitwell. To Eliza Ann (Crosbie) Colburn Forster, 1879. Discusses the controversy concerning authorship of Life of Strafford between John Forster and Robert Browning following Forster's death. HM 52496
- Bulwer-Lytton, Edward Robert, 1st Earl Lytton. Dedication to John Forster, dated 1857. Printed poems with autograph corrections in the hand of John Forster. HM 52455
- Forster, John. A Few Thoughts in Vindication of the Stage, June, 1827. A contemporary copy of the first elaborate paper written by John Forster. Written at the age of 15 (see biographical note). HM 52506
- Whiteside, James. Journal: extract. Recounts the death of John Forster form the point of view of an old friend. HM 52568
Mostly letters. Primarily autograph, but with many contemporary copies. Also includes 10 manuscripts, and a large amount of
genealogical material. Papers in good condition (three requiring repair).
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssHM 52437-52572.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Authors -- 19th century -- Correspondence
Authors, English -- 19th century -- Correspondence
Editors -- Great Britain -- Correspondence
Letters (correspondence) -- 19th century
Manuscripts -- 19th century
Althaus, Julius, 1833-1900
Browning, Robert Barrett, 1846-1912
Carlyle, Thomas, 1795-1881
Coleridge, John Duke Coleridge, Baron, 1820-1894
Cornwall, Barry, 1787-1874
Crosbie, Fanny.
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870
Disraeli, Benjamin, 1804-1881
Elwin, Whitwell, 1816-1900
Forster, Eliza.
Forster, John, 1812-1876
Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn, 1810-1865
Linton, E. Lynn (Elizabeth Lynn), 1822-1898
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882
Lytton, Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton, Earl of, 1831-1891
Rawlins, Henry E.
Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of, 1801-1885
Tennent, James Emerson, Sir, 1804-1869
Whiteside, James, 1804-1876
Box 1
Althaus-Forster
Box 2
Frith-Worth; Anonymous; Ephemera