William Ewart Gladstone Collection, 1833-1915

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Creators:
Gladstone, W. E. (William Ewart), 1809-1898.
Abstract:
This collection consists of correspondence and a small number of manuscripts by and about British Prime Minister and author William E. Gladstone (1809-1898), as well as photographs, engravings, prints and ephemera. The bulk of the collection is made up of letters by Gladstone, which deal mainly with British politics and business; there is also a small amount of personal letters by various other members of the Gladstone family.
Extent:
913 pieces in 16 boxes.
Language:
English.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of correspondence and a small number of manuscripts by and about British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, as well as photographs, engravings, prints and ephemera, collected by Professor John A. Schultz (1919-2005). The bulk of the collection is made up of letters by Gladstone, which deal mainly with British politics and business; there is also a small amount of personal letters by various other members of the Gladstone family. Other correspondents represented in the collection include: A.J.B Beresford Hope, Patrick William Campbell, Sir John Cowan, John Nielson Gladstone, Abraham Hayward, Henry and Catherine Holiday, Stafford Henry Northcote (Earl of Iddesleigh), George Cornewall Lewis, Henry William Primrose, Archibald Philip Primrose (Earl of Rosebery), and Robert Lowe (Viscount Sherbrooke).

The papers consist of the following series:

1. Manuscripts (Box 1) are arranged alphabetically by author and title. This series includes a small number of miscellaneous manuscripts by Gladstone, as well as a few manuscripts about Gladstone by other authors. This series also includes seven printed items (with autograph annotations) and two sets of Captain’s Orders for the H.M.S. Tyne, the ship on which Gladstone’s brother John Neilson Gladstone served.

2. Correspondence (Boxes 2-14) is arranged alphabetically by author. This series includes a small number of personal letters by Gladstone but the majority of the letters concern British politics and business. The political letters deal with campaign management, many addressed to Gladstone’s Scottish campaign manager, Patrick William Campbell, government policies and appointments, Parliamentary bills and business; other important addressees include: A.J.B. Beresford Hope, George Cornewall Lewis, and Robert Lowe, Viscount Sherbrooke. There are also letters regarding Gladstone’s writing, scholarly interests, and the running of the Hawarden estate and other properties.

This series also includes letters by various other members of the Gladstone family, including Gladstone’s father, brothers, wife and children. This series also includes a group of letters written to his brother John Neilson Gladstone, mainly when he was away at sea; as well as a large amount of letters addressed to Henry and Catherine Holiday, by various Gladstone family members. There are also letters by other important authors, including: Sir John Cowan, Stafford Henry Northcote, Earl of Iddesleigh, Henry William Primrose, and Archibald Philip Primrose, Earl of Rosebery.

3. Photographs, Engravings, Prints (Box 15) are arranged chronologically. All of the photographs, engravings, and prints are of W.E. Gladstone from [ca. 1865]-[ca. 1890].

4. Ephemera (Box 15) is arranged by subject, then chronologically and alphabetically by author and title. This series includes later reproductions of printed engravings of Gladstone, misc. material concerning Catherine Glynne Gladstone, John Neilson Gladstone, and Catherine and Henry Holiday. Also included are the provenance records retained by John A. Schutz during the acquisition of his collections; please note, these acquisition records include both Gladstone and Henry Cabot Lodge material.

5. Red Gilt Album (Box 16) is a bound volume, by Wallis; it was bound originally for Weetman Pearson, Viscount Cowdray, 1856-1927. The volume was then obtained by Joseph P. Kennedy. Sr., while he was Ambassador to England, to give to his son, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., supposedly to help him develop an interest in English history; the volume remained in the Kennedy family until 1996, when it was sold after the death of Rose Kennedy.

The material in the album is arranged in chronological order, beginning with manuscripts and letters by W.E. Gladstone, then followed by letters by various Gladstone family members. The remaining letters are by various authors, mainly addressed to Gladstone, but also include letters with Gladstone as the subject. The other important authors and addressees include: A. (Abraham) Hayward, A.J.B. Beresford Hope, Edward Cardwell, Viscount Cardwell, George Hamilton Gordon, Earl of Aberdeen, Edward Henry Stanley, Earl of Derby, and Samuel Wilberforce.

Biographical / historical:

John A. Schutz (1919-2005), was a professor, author and long-time Huntington Library reader in colonial American history. Schutz began his teaching career in 1945 at the California Institute of Technology, followed by Whittier College, and, from 1965 to 1991, at the University of Southern California. After Schutz's death, the material he had collected over the years was donated to the Huntington Library, on May 5, 2006, as part of the John A. Schutz Bequest. The Bequest included the William Ewart Gladstone Collection, Henry Cabot Lodge Collection, and the John A. Schutz Miscellany Collection.

William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), prime minister and author, was born in Liverpool, England, on December 29, 1809; the fifth child and youngest son of Sir John Gladstone and Anne Mackenzie Gladstone. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, in preparation for a future in the British political world. He married Catherine Glynne, whom he met in Rome, in 1839, and together they had eight children. Gladstone was first elected to Parliament in January 1833, and over the next sixty years was involved in the political life of Great Britain as an M.P., Chancellor of the Exchequer, Leader of the Opposition, and, four times as Prime Minister (1868-1874, 1880-1885, 1886, 1892-1894). He retired from politics on Mar. 3, 1894, to live mainly at his home, Hawarden Castle in Flintshire (now Clwyd), Wales, as well as to travel and write. In March 1898, Gladstone was diagnosed with cancer of the palate, and on May 19, 1898, he died from the disease at Hawarden.

Acquisition information:
Gift of John A. Schutz, May 5, 2006.
Arrangement:

Organized in the following manner:

  • 1. Manuscripts (Box 1)
  • 2. Correspondence (Boxes 2-14)
  • 3. Photographs, Engravings, Prints (Box 15)
  • 4. Ephemera (Box 15)
  • 5. Red Gilt Album (Box 16)
Arranged alphabetically and chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Website