Longfellow (Henry Wadsworth) Collection, 1824-1880

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Title:
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow collection
Dates:
1824-1880
Creators:
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882
Abstract:
A collection of letters and manuscripts related to American poet and educator Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Extent:
3.20 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

A collection of manuscripts, poems, and correspondence related to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The manuscripts include the lectures "Literature of the Middle Ages" and "Each day is a branch of the tree of life...;" the poems include "Autumnal Nightfall," "A Song of Savoy," and "Woods in Winter." The correspondence deals with Longfellow's poems and publishing, and some letters are in response to requests for his autograph. Correspondents include, among others, Francis Fauvel-Gouraud, Ferdinand Freiligrath, George Washington Greene, Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, James Riley Osgood, Theophilus Parsons, Thomas Buchanan Read, William Winter, and Robert C. Winthrop.

Biographical / historical:

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was an American poet and educator. Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine, and graduated from Bowdoin College in 1825; after traveling and studying in Europe, he became a professor at Bowdoin College and, later, Harvard College. Longfellow began publishing poems at the age of 13 and also published novels, plays, translations, and anthologies during his career. He is probably best known for the poems "Evangeline" (1847), "The Song of Hiawatha" (1855), and "Paul Revere's Ride" (1860).

Acquisition information:
mssHM 7109-7110, mssHM 7754, purchased from William K. Bixby sale, 1916-1917; mssHM 7105-7106, purchased from Anderson Sale, 1917; mssHM 13018-13019, purchased from American Art Association sale, February 1920; mssHM 7103, provenance unknown, in library as of, 1929; mssHM 7102, mssHM 7104, mssHM 7107-7108, mssHM 10460-10470, mssHM 11885, mssHM 13017, provenance unknown, in library as of, 1931; mssHM 766, removed from rare book 16609, 1933; msssHM 18897, removed from rare book 110386, September 1955; mssHM 19717, purchased from Alfred R. Goldman, July 1957; mssHM 24721, gift of Ruth A. Child, approximately 1960; mssHM 47547, gift of Marcia Capps, January 1980; mssHM 52155, removed from rare book 55302, May 1986; mssHM 53216, removed from rare book 110383, March 1988.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington Library staff from 1918 to 1988; in June 2025, Gayle M. Richardson created the finding aid. This collection includes multiple acquisitions acquired and assembled by Huntington Library staff over many years.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Gayle M. Richardson
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-12-04 08:23:23 -0800 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

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