Rocco Verrilli Collection of Frederick Rolfe Correspondence and Manuscripts, 1880-1975
GLC 97
Finding aid prepared by Tim Wilson
James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA, 94102
(415) 557-4400
info@sfpl.org
May 2015
Title: Rocco Verrilli Collection of Frederick Rolfe Correspondence and Manuscripts,
Date (inclusive): 1880-1975
Date (bulk): 1897-1912
Collection Identifier: GLC 97
Creator:
Rolfe, Frederick, 1860-1913
Physical Description:
1.0 box
(24 folders)
Contributing Institution:
James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA, 94102
(415) 557-4400
info@sfpl.org
Abstract: Letters, a book, manuscript notes and drafts written by gay English author Frederick Rolfe, also known as Baron Corvo. The
letters address the publication and reception of his work, his financial difficulties, Catholics and Catholicism, photography,
and the Order of Sanctissima Sophia.
Physical Location: The collection is stored onsite.
Languages represented: Collection materials are primarily in English with one item in Latin and two items in Italian.
Access
The collection is available for use during San Francisco History Center hours.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Rocco Verrilli Collection of Frederick Rolfe Correspondence and Manuscripts (GLC 97), Gay and Lesbian
Center, San Francisco Public Library.
Provenance
Donated by Barbara (Mrs. Rocco) Verrilli, December 16, 2014. Collection acquired by Rocco Verrilli during his lifetime of
work as an antiquarian book dealer and collector.
Biographical note
Frederick William Rolfe, also known as Baron Corvo, was a gay English writer, artist, and photographer. He was born in London
on July 22, 1860. He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1886 and felt himself called to the priesthood. Though he was never
ordained a priest, the desire persisted throughout his life.
Rolfe spent most of his life as a freelance writer and relied on benefactors for support. In a number of his stories and novels
he himself is the thinly-disguised protagonist. His better known works include:
Stories Toto Told Me (1898), later republished as
In His Own Image (1901);
Hadrian the Seventh (1904); and
The Desire and Pursuit of the Whole (written 1910–1913, published 1934). Other works include the
Chronicles of the House of Borgia (1901), and two books in collaboration with Harry Pirie-Gordon.
From 1895 to 1899 Rolfe lived in Holywell in North Wales, where he painted a number of processional banners for the church.
The banners are mentioned in one letter. Rolfe died in Venice, Italy on October 25, 1913. His life provided the basis for
The Quest for Corvo (1934) by A.J.A. Symons.
Dr. Rocco Verrilli (1923-2008) was a urologist by profession; he was also a collector of books and manuscripts. He purchased
material from both American and British booksellers and at auction in New York and London. Some of the Corvo books and papers
were purchased directly from Corvo biographer Donald Weeks; other books were purchased from bookseller Timothy D'Arch Smith.
The majority of Verrilli's Corvo book collection was sold at auction in June 2014 in London.
Scope and Contents
Letters, a book, manuscript notes and drafts written by gay English author Frederick Rolfe, also known as Baron Corvo. The
letters address the publication and reception of his work, his financial difficulties, Catholics and Catholicism, photography,
and the Order of Sanctissima Sophia. The collection includes a few letters from James Walsh to Rolfe biographer A. J. A. Symons.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Kains-Jackson, Charles Philip--Correspondence
Rolfe, Frederick, 1860-1913--Archives
Scott-Hall, W. E.--Correspondence
Symons, A. J. A., (Alphonse James Albert), 1900-1941--Correspondence
Verrilli, Rocco A., 1923-2008
Walsh, James J., (James Joseph), 1865-1942--Correspondence
Authors, English--19th century--Correspondence
Authors, English--20th century--Correspondence
Folder 1
Tarcissus: The Boy Martyr of Rome (Saffron Walden, Essex),
1880
General note
First edition. Printed in an edition of probably more than 50 copies.
Folder 2
ALS: Corvo, [Christchurch] to [Charles] Kains-Jackson,
June 1, 1891
General note
Corvo sends examples of his photographs to Kains-Jackson [no photos included], complaining that he had run out of photo paper.
He also returns to Kains-Jackson his (Kains-Jackson's) photographs of some boys. Corvo seeks advice on how to get his photos
and writing produced. He also notes that Corvo and Rev. F. W. Rolfe are different "people" with regard to specific pieces
of work.
Folder 3
ALS?: holograph fragment of an autograph letter subscribed "Your faithful son in Xt / F. Austin,"
mid-1897-1898
General note
Mentions the
Holywell Record and a Mr. Hochheimer.
Folder 4
ALS: Frederick William Rolfe, Hotel Victoria, Holywell to the Rev. W. E. Scott-Hall, Staverton Fields, Oxford,
Dec[ember] 28, 1898
General note
Declining an invitation from Scott-Hall to spend a week with him in Wales, due in part to his impoverished state. Discusses
his desire for literary fame and feeling towards Catholicism. "I have no quarrel with the Catholic faith. It is that only
which has kept me from slitting my gizzard in sheer despair of solitude."
Folder 5
ALS: [Frederick William] R[olfe], Hotel Victoria, Holywell to the Rev. W. E. Scott-Hall, Staverton Fields, Oxford,
Jan[uary] 2, 1899
General note
Rails against his detractors and the poverty of his position. Speaks of an unnamed "Jesuit" who has "sworn to prevent me from
making a living."
Folder 6
ALS: Frederick William Rolfe to the Rev. W. E. Scott-Hall,
Jan[uary] 9, 1899
General note
Asks Scott-Hall to address future correspondence to F. Austin at the Holywell Workhouse.
Folder 7
ALS: Frederick Baron Corvo to Grant Richards, Esq.,
Nov[ember] 1, 1900
General note
Asks for return of material sent to Richards.
Folder 8
ALS: Fred[erick] Will[iam] Rolfe, 69, Broadhurst Gardens, Hampstead, to J. J. Walsh, Esq.,
Jan[uary] 28, 1903
General note
Regarding Catholics, Pope Alexander VI, the Borgia family, Rolfe's genealogy of the Borgias, and Grant Richards.
Folder 9
ALS: Fred[erick] Will[iam] Rolfe, 69, Broadhurst Gardens, Hampstead, to unidentified recipient [James Walsh],
March 13, 1903
General note
Mentions Catholics, his love of the 13th and 15th centuries, his "Sestina in Honour of Lytel Seynt Hugh," and his Borgia manuscript.
Folder 10
ALS: [Frederick William] Rolfe, 69, Broadhurst Gardens, Hampstead, to Dr. [James] Walsh,
Jul[y] 6, 1903
General note
On his book "In His Own Image," his published books and unpublished manuscripts, his health, and the "Review of Unwritten
Books" that appeared in
The Monthly Review.
Folder 11
AL: [Frederick William Rolfe], 69, Broadhurst Gardens, Hampstead, to Dr. [James] Walsh,
Aug[ust] 17, 1903
General note
Describes his situation and requests financial assistance.
Folder 12
ALS: Fr[ederick William] Rolfe, 15 Cheniston Gardens, Kensington, to Messrs. Barnard & Taylor,
Aug[ust] 22, 1904
General note
Seeks advice on how to proceed with several manuscripts, including
The Agricultural and Pastoral Prospects of South Africa with Owen Thomas.
Folder 13
ALS: Fr[ederick William] Rolfe, 15 Cheniston Gardens, Kensington, to Dear Sirs [Messrs. Barnard & Taylor?],
Aug[ust] 27, 1904
General note
Mentions [Owen] Thomas. Seeks financial damages for his work on an unnamed book, probably
The Agricultural and Pastoral Prospects of South Africa.
Folder 14
ALS: Fr[ederick William] Rolfe, S. Alphege, Broadstairs, Isle of Thanet, to Dr. J[ames] J. Walsh, 110 West 74th Street, New
York,
Nov[ember] 3, 1904
General note
Explains his situation with regards to the publication of
The Agricultural and Pastoral Prospects in South Africa, money owed to him, his living situation with his mother and sister who keep a girls' school, and his completed but unpublished
work. He asks Walsh to read
Hadrian the Seventh and send a "psychiatric prognosis" of Hadrian.
Folder 15
ALS: Fr[ederick William] Rolfe, S. Alphege, Broadstairs, to Mr. Taylor [of Barnard & Taylor],
Nov[ember] 25, 1904
General note
Asks Mr. Taylor to show certain Rolfe manuscripts to his literary agent, Mr. Gale Pedrick, and to Mr. Moring of the Delamore
Press. Notes a favorable review of Agricultural and Pastoral Prospects in the P.M.G. Thanks Taylor for his research on Vernon
Herford, and makes reference to Christians of St. Thomas on the Malabar Coast.
Folder 16
ALS: Fr[ederick William] Rolfe, Station Abergavenny. Gwernvale, Crickhowel, to Dr. S. J. Reid, Blackwell Cliffe, East Grinstead,
Jul[y] 21, 1907
General note
Refers to a meeting requested by Reid and Mr. Duckworth, and Rolfe's action of sending Mr. Pirie-Gordon, his collaborator,
instead.
Folder 17
AMs: Frederick, Knight Founder...document admitting James [Walsh] to the "Novitiate of our Order of Sanctissima Sophia,"
May 12, 1908
General note
A certificate for James Walsh.
Folder 18
AMs: Autograph notes on events in the Medici family in 1478 (in latin and Italian), with typed translations of text,
circa 1910, 1971
Languages represented: Materials are in Latin, English, and Italian.
General note
Also includes: 1) a description of the Corvo pages "text of a document, copied by Andrea the notary from the original writing
of Johannas Baptista di Monte Sicco...the account tells of certain conspirators who plot the overthrow of the State of Florence
through the attempted murder of Cardinal Raphael and two Medici brothers;" and, 2) a photocopy of a letter from Kenneth W.
Rendell, autograph dealer, Somerville, Massachussetts, October 15, 1971, regarding the Corvo pages and Corvo's papers.
Folder 19
AMs: "Autobiographical manuscript, possibly prepared for James Walsh, including a list of Rolfe's published works, contributions
to journals, and other particulars regarding a lawsuit, presumably against his agent, as well as a detailed personal account
covering several years of his life,"
circa 1910
General note
Refers to Owen Thomas, Barnard and Taylor, the Reverend Robert Hugh Benson, C.H.C. Pirie-Gordon, and their efforts, or lack
thereof, on Rolfe's behalf. Rolfe gives a brief account of his life in Venice (1908-1910) and the writing of
The Desire and Pursuit of the Whole.
Folder 20
ALS: James J. Walsh to Mr. [Frederick William] Rolfe, with AL reply written by Rolfe to Walsh,
August 16, 1910; Aug[ust] 28, 1910
General note
Dealer description: "Two page autograph letter dated August 28, 1910 from Rolfe to James Walsh, not signed, but in the hand
of Frederick Rolfe, in reply to, and interlined within, a typed letter by Walsh to Rolfe (Dated August 16, 1910). Rolfe expresses
his anger and disappointment that Walsh has not done enough to help him." Walsh's letter details his efforts to locate a literary
agent for Rolfe, and notes that he has read the manuscript and has a crisis of conscience because he finds it to be a negative
account of his and Rolfe's mutual friends.
Folder 21
ALS: Fr[ederick] Rolfe to Sir James Walsh, M.D.,
May 14, 1911
General note
Postcard sent from the British Consulate in Venice. Dealer descriptions: "Brief note to reinforce his break with Walsh over
money and what Rolfe considered the betrayal of his friendship." Mentions the Grand-Master of the Order of Sanctissima Sophia,
R. H. Benson.
Folder 22
ALS: [Frederick] R[olfe] to Ralph Shirley, Esq., c/o Messrs. Rider & Sons, 164 Aldersgate St., London,
postmarked [June 1, 19]12
General note
Picture postcard of Venice's lagoon. Dealer's description: "Thanking Shirley, who was with the publishing firm of Rider &
Son, for sending page proofs. Rolfe contracted with Rider to entirely rewrite
The Weird of the Wanderer (1912), a "collaboration" by Rolfe and Harry Pirie-Gordon ["Prospero & Caliban"]."
Folder 23
AMs: "Deinon to Thely" Italian translation. Eleven page autograph manuscript, circa 1912, signed "Fr. Rolfe" comprising an
apparently unpublished translation by Corvo into Italian of his story "Deinon to Thely" with corrections in ink and several
manuscript variants in pencil in the margins. Housed in a specially decorated folding case with the bookplate of J. Maundy-Gregory,
circa 1912; 1975
Languages represented: Materials are in English and Italian.
General note
Includes several small loose pages: 1) bookplate "Ex Libris A. J. A. Symons"; 2) G. F. Sims (Rare Books) note, dated May 15,
1975, regarding Corvo manuscript with two page description.
Folder 24
Letters from James Walsh to A. J. A. Symons,
1929-1933
General note
All the letters are in regards to Rolfe and Walsh's relationship with him. He mentions Monsignor Benson, the Knights of Malta
Commander. There are two typed pages of a manuscript initialed "J. J. W." no place, no date, in part on Corvo and his design
of millinery for a knighthood order, probably the Order of Sanctissima Sophia; these pages may have been an enclosure with
the letter dated July 26, 1933.
