Lever (Charles James) Papers, 1835-1918, bulk 1844-1872

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Summary

Title:
Charles James Lever papers
Dates:
1835-1918, bulk 1844-1872
Creators:
Lever, Charles, 1806-1872
Abstract:
A collection of personal and business correspondence, notebooks, and ephemera for the author and editor Charles James Lever.
Extent:
7 Linear Feet (7 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Charles James Lever papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of 332 items covering 1835 to 1918; it includes one manuscript by Lever, an untitled political essay, a small number of Lever family letters, as well as a few letters dealing with Lever's political and civil service careers. The majority of the letters are from Lever to his wife, Kate Lever, and his oldest daughter, Julia Lever Nevill. Of these, Lever's letters written during his visits to London and Dublin are of the most interest as he tells of meeting Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, and Wilkie Collins; he also discusses his latest literary work and his dealings with his publishers. The family letters are principally concerned with the ill-health of Kate Lever, the state of the family's finances (usually bad) and living arrangements. Also, before the death of his son Charles in 1863, the family letters deal with the debts incurred by "Charley," his disreputable living and Lever's search for some sort of gainful employment for Charley. There is also one folder of ephemera containing clipped signatures, miscellaneous envelopes, clipped catalogue descriptions, cancelled checks, and a printed death notice; and one box containing five small notebooks and one post book, which include some personal information, literary notes, newspaper clippings of book reviews, and lists of letters sent.

Biographical / historical:

Charles James Lever (1806-1872) was born in Dublin, Ireland. He graduated from Trinity College with a B. A. in 1827 and, in 1831, obtained the degree of Bachelor's of medicine; he did not practice medicine for many years before embarking on a fulltime literary career in 1842. He left Ireland in 1845 to live on the Continent, settling first in Brussels and then in Florence; he would never live in Ireland again and made only short visits to Dublin and London until the end of his life. Lever married Katherine Baker in 1832, and together they had three daughters and one son. Besides his literary career, Lever sought additional income as a member of the civil service and served as the vice-consul in Spezia, Italy; he later took up the consulship at Trieste, Austria. Lever died of heart failure on June 1, 1872, and was buried in the British cemetery at Trieste. Over the span of his literary career Lever was the editor of the Dublin University Magazine, as well as the author of 24 extremely popular novels, many articles and short pieces for various journals.

Acquisition information:
The collection was acquired from various sales and sources. Acquired in the Anderson Galleries Huntington-Bixby-Church sale (lots 684-685, 688, 690-692, 694, 696-697), March 29-31, 1916. Acquired in the Anderson Galleries Huntington-Bixby sale (lots 876-878), February 26-Mar. 1, 1917.
Custodial history:

Two letters were transferred from the Rare Books Department: Charles James Lever to Alexander Spencer, 1835-1856, Accession Number 138381, February 23, 1933.

Processing information:

Processed by Huntington Library staff, circa 1920, and Gayle Richardson, 2013. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the finding aid derived from a legacy in-house summary report.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Gayle Richardson
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2021-06-14 14:00:30 -0700 .

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]. Charles James Lever papers, 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
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