Booksellers' Correspondence and Letters Written by Women, ca. 1710-1931

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Summary

Title:
Booksellers' Correspondence and Letters Written by Women
Dates:
ca. 1710-1931
Abstract:
The collection is comprised of booksellers' letters, women's letters, and correspondence pertaining to Arwarton (Erwarton) Estate in Suffolk, England. Letters and printed materials in the booksellers' correspondence (ca. 1710-1854) are both to and from British booksellers, customers, authors, and others involved in the book production process. The women's correspondence (ca. 1712-1931) includes letters from prominent British and French authors, social activists (particularly those involved in the British women's suffrage movement), members of the nobility, and wives of prominent government officials. The letters pertaining to Arwarton (or Erwarton) Estate in Suffolk, England (ca. 1754-1771) mainly concern financial transactions of the estate.
Extent:
1 document box (.5 linear ft.)
Language:
Finding aid is written in Primarily English, some French and German.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Booksellers' Correspondence and Letters Written by Women (Collection 1480). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection is divided into booksellers' correspondence, women's letters, and documents pertaining to Arwarton (or Erwarton) Estate in Suffolk, England. The booksellers' correspondence is comprised of letters and some printed materials (advertisements, prospectuses) in English from approximately 1710-1854. Letters are both to and from booksellers, customers, authors, and others involved in print production. Subjects include requests for books, bills, advertising, materials in booksellers' catalogues, and printing and publishing methods and instructions.

The collection of women's letters, ranging in date from approximately 1712 to 1931 and written in English, French, and German, includes manuscript letters from authors, many members of the nobility, religious figures, British women's suffrage movement leaders, social activists, and a Nobel Peace Prize winner (Bertha von Suttner). Topics range from social visits and societal news to literary transactions, the women's suffrage movement, religious matters, bills and financial matters, and requests for funding. The series also includes a small number of printed materials (mainly biographical materials concerning the letter writers), a postcard with portrait (of Bertha von Suttner) and a photograph postcard (from Clementine de Chaumont-Quitry, Baronne de la Grange).

The documents pertaining to the Arwarton (or Erwarton) Estate include letters, notes, lists, and charts (in English) from approximately 1754-1771 regarding income, expenses, financial transactions, leases, land values, and other matters involving the estate. The majority of the documents are written by and/or concerning Lady Martha Chedworth.

Biographical / historical:

Letters in the collection range in date from 1710-1931. The booksellers' correspondence series, with letters to and from booksellers, customers, authors, and others involved in print production, documents the British book industry in the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth century. The correspondence includes letters from Nichols & Co, the prominent London publishing firm; Frances Mary Richardson Currer (1785-1861), one of Europe's foremost female book collectors; a paper with note (probably from dealer) reading "W. Godwin's writing"; and the address portion of a letter to "Samuel Richardson, Printer" (presumably the celebrated author).

The women's correspondence series includes letters from notable French and British authors, social activists, members of the nobility, and wives of government officials. The collection includes materials probably from authors Mary Shelley (1797-1851), Elizabeth Hamilton (ca. 1756-1816), and Catharine Macaulay (1731-1791); International PEN cofounder Catherine Amy Dawson Scott (1865-1934); Nobel Peace Prize recipient Baroness Bertha von Suttner (1843-1914); and noted patron Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, Marquise du Deffand (1697-1780). Prominent social activists represented in the collection include Katharine Furse (1875-1952), Ursula Mellor Bright (1835-1915), Louisa Twining (1820-1912), Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845), Gertrude von Petzold (1876-1952), and a number of women's suffrage movement leaders, such as Charlotte Despard (1844-1939), Millicent Garrett Fawcett (1847-1929), and Martina G. Kramers (1863-1934). Items in the collection from prominent social figures include materials probably from Princess Louise (1848-1939), daughter of Queen Victoria; collector Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, Duchess of Portland (1715-1785); Lady Anne Grenville (1772-1864), wife of Prime Minister William Grenville; the Marechale de Mac-Mahon (perhaps Elisabeth de La Croix de Castries (1834-1900), wife of Patrice de Mac-Mahon, president of France); and Marie Adelaide Charlotte de Narbonne de Rambuteau (1790-1856), granddaughter of Louis XV. The collection also includes bound manuscript letters to King Louis XV from the women of the Abbaye Royale de Montmartre (dealer suggests connection of letters with Marie-Madeleine Adelaide de Rochechouart, yet connection is unclear).

The last series of the collection includes letters and documents pertaining to the Arwarton (or Erwarton) Estate in Suffolk, England. Most letters are written by or concerning Lady Martha Chedworth (1715-1775), co-heir of the estate and wife of John Thynne Howe, the second Lord Chedworth. It is known that Ann Boleyn spent some of her childhood at Arwarton (Erwarton) Hall.

Acquisition information:
Lawrence Clark Powell purchase, 1960.
Processing information:

Processed by Whitney Braun in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli, 2009.

Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series:

  1. Booksellers' Correspondence
  2. Women's Letters>
  3. Documents Pertaining to Arwarton Estate

Physical location:
Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Processed by UCLA Library Special Collections staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
Date Prepared:
© 2003
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid derived from database containing container list structure and data, encoding added via MS Access and Notetab Pro; Date of source: 2009; frontmatter gathered MARC Record. Supplementary encoding and revision supplied by Caroline Cubé.

Access and use

Restrictions:

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Booksellers' Correspondence and Letters Written by Women (Collection 1480). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
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