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Dickens (Charles) Papers
mssHM 72776-72810
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Charles Dickens papers
Creator:
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 72776-72810
Physical Description:
1.25 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1837-1869
Abstract: A collection of letters by Charles
Dickens which also includes manuscripts, and printed material.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
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]. Charles Dickens papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased for the Huntington from Charles Apfelbaum by the Library Collectors' Council,
January 2010.
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 writing 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.
The collection consists of letters and manuscripts by Charles Dickens; the letters are
written to, among others, Hablot Knight Browne, Peter Cunningham, Sir Alexander Cornewall
Duff-Gordon, John Forster, Frances Maria Kelly, Charles Kent, Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton,
Earl of Lytton, and Mary Sargeant Gove Nichols. The letters cover a range of topics
including Dickens' novels Nicholas Nickleby, Little Dorrit and A Christmas Carol, as well as
Dickens' comments on the American Civil War and the poems of a young girl sent to Dickens by
her father. The collection also includes a signed print of Dickens, an inscribed printed
photograph, and a print by Phiz (Hablot Knight Browne). A small number of letters also have
typewritten transcriptions and catalogue descriptions.
Processed by Gayle M. Richardson in 2010; in December 2023, a finding aid was created. This
collection was formerly titled: Letters of Charles Dickens, 1837-1869.
Arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Authors, English -- 19th century
Theater -- Great Britain -- 19th century
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Letters (correspondence)
Manuscripts
Browne, Hablot Knight, 1815-1882
Cunningham, Peter,
1816-1869
Duff-Gordon, Alexander Cornewall, Sir,
1811-1872
Forster, John, 1812-1876
Kelly, Frances Maria, 1790-1882
Kent, Charles, 1823-1902
Lytton, Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton, Earl of, 1831-1891
Nichols, Mary Sargeant Gove,
1810-1884