Charles Dickens Collection: Finding Aid mssDickens
Gayle M. Richardson
The Huntington Library
February 2023
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Charles Dickens collection
Creator:
Dickens, Charles,
1812-1870
Identifier/Call Number: mssDickens
Physical Description:
21 Linear Feet
(18 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1831-1905
Abstract: A collection of Charles Dickens
letters, manuscripts, and ephemera.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
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]. Charles Dickens collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Anderson Galleries, Coggeshall sale, April-May 1916; purchased from Geo. D.
Smith, April 1916; purchased from William K. Bixby, 1918; purchased from Charles Sessler,
1916-1918. A small number of items may have different provenances; source of acquisition is
noted on item folders, when known.
Biographical / Historical
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was a British writer during the Victorian era, perhaps the most
celebrated writer of his time; he used his writing to entertain but to also expose the ills
of Victorian society. Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England, and was forced by family
circumstances to leave school at the age of 12 for three years. After some additional
schooling, he began his writing career as a journalist; over the following decades, he was
also a journal editor, publisher, critic, and a writer of novels, short stories, and
articles. Dickens also gave many lectures and reading performances throughout England and
America. He used his writings to campaign for social reform for children and education among
other issues. In 1836, he married Catherine Thomson Hogarth; together they had 10 children.
On June 8, 1870, Dickens had a second stroke at his home; he never regained consciousness
and, the next day, he died at Gads Hill Place.
Scope and Contents
A collection of letters, manuscripts, and ephemera related to Charles Dickens. The majority
of the material is written by Dickens and covers the most productive years of his writing
career. The letters are written from Devonshire Terrace, Broadstairs, and Tavistock House,
as well as letters from various cities in England, Europe, and America. The collection also
includes letters by Dickens' family members, friends, and business associates; there is also
one forgery (mssHM 18751) and many of the letters include envelopes. Correspondents in the
collection include, among others, Maria Beadnell, Hablot Knight Browne, George Cruikshank,
Frederick Dickens, Georgina Hogarth, Charles Kent, William Charles Macready, Thomas Mitton,
Frederic Ouvry, Richard Watson, Livinia Jane Watson, William Henry Wills, and the publisher
Chapman and Hall. The collection also includes a small amount of ephemera.
Processing Information
The items in the Charles Dickens collection were processed and added to the collection over
time by the Huntington Library staff, largely as they were acquired in the twentieth
century. More detailed information about the individual items is noted on their folders and
as well as on cards in the chronological and alphabetical sections of the Manuscripts card
catalog. Previously assigned item-level call numbers have been retained and appear on the
item folders. Many of the letters contain numbers, notes, and markings of earlier owners and
dealers. In 2023, Gayle M. Richardson created a finding aid.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
General
Individual call numbers included in the collection: Various; see items for more
information.
Related Materials
Charles Dickens letters, mssHM 72776-72810, 78780-78794; a volume of letters, mssHM
17946-17957; A Souvenir of Charles Dickens Last Visit to America, mssHM 18584-18746.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Authors, English -- 19th century
Poets, English -- 19th century
Publishers and publishing -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th
century
Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 19th century
Great Britain -– social life and customs -– 19th century
Ephemera -- Great Britain -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- Great Britain -- 19th century
Manuscripts -- Great Britain -- 19th century
Ainsworth, William Harrison, 1805-1882
Beadnell, Maria, 1811 or 1812-1886
Browne, Hablot Knight, 1815-1882
Browning, Robert, 1812-1889
Burdett-Coutts, Angela Georgina,
1814-1906
Cattermole, George, 1800-1868
Cruikshank, George, 1792-1878
Dickens, Frederick William, 1820-1868
Hall, Basil, 1788-1844
Harley, John Pritt, 1786-1858
Hogarth, Georgina, 1827-1917
Hunt, Leigh, 1784-1859
Jeffrey, Francis Jeffrey, Lord, 1773-1850
Kent, Charles, 1823-1902
Landor, Walter Savage, 1775-1864
Lewes, George Henry,
1817-1878
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton,
Baron, 1803-1873
Maclise, Daniel, 1806-1870
Macready, William Charles, 1793-1873
Mitton, Thomas
Napier, Macvey, 1776-1847
Orsay, Alfred Guillaume Gabriel, comte d', 1801-1852
Ouvry, Frederic, 1814-1881
Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of,
1801-1885
Stanfield, Clarkson, 1793-1867
Talfourd, Thomas Noon, 1795-1854
Townshend, Chauncy Hare, 1798-1868
Watson, Livinia Jane, 1816-1888
Watson, Richard, 1800-1852
Wills, W. Henry (William Henry), 1810-1880
Chapman and Hall
Box 4, Folder 1-58
1841 December 22-1843 June
Box 18, Folder 1-57
1869 April-1905; Ephemera
Scope and Contents
Ephemera includes miscellaneous envelopes, calling card, autograph note, copy of Burial
Record for Arthur Beetham
