Finding Aid for the E. Stiff Commonplace Book, 1798-1807
Cataloged by Manushag Powell, with assistance from Jain Fletcher and Laurel McPhee, July 2004; machine-readable finding aid
created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
© 2008
UCLA Library Special Collections staff
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
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URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Title: E. Stiff Commonplace Book
Date (inclusive): 1798-1807
Collection number: 170/052
Creator:
Stiff, E.
Extent:
220 leaves : paper ; 28 x 22 cm
Abstract: This early nineteenth century commonplace book belonged to an Englishwoman, possibly living in Devonshire. Contents are largely
poems and hymns, in addition to a few letters, literary excerpts, and riddles.
Language: Finding aid is written in
English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
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.
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.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
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.
[Identification of item], E. Stiff Commonplace Book (Collection 170/52). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
4230403
Cataloged by Manushag Powell, with assistance from Jain Fletcher and Laurel McPhee, in the Center For Primary Research and
Training (CFPRT), July 2004.
This commonplace book was the property of an Englishwoman, E. Stiff, perhaps living in Devonshire. References within the text
suggest that she lived in Devon in the Southwest of England, in or near Ilfracombe. No specific date of composition is given,
but the majority of the material falls in the range of 1798-1807. The author's handwriting and spelling suggest that she was
educated. She notes that her great-grandfather is "the Worthy Mr. Brough" of London belonging to the Milliners Company, and
some entries suggest that her mother may be a woman named Catharine, living in London. The author's choice of religious writers
strongly suggests she was a dissenter.
The content is chiefly religious, though the last third of the volume is more secular and social (letters, riddles, and tombstone
inscriptions). The author drew material from popular periodicals, including the Poetical Monitor, Evangelical Magazine and
Gospel Magazine. Contents include excerpts from publications attached to known writers, such as Georgiana Cavendish, William
Cowper, Robert Fleming, John Hawkesworth, Thomas á Kempis, Joseph Priestly, Isaac Watts, and Henry Kirke White. There is also
a large selection of women's writing, most likely transcribed from local friends and acquaintances of the author, including
women named Sarah Pennam, Miss Wrayford, and Mrs. Watts, "wife of the Chymist and Druggist in the Strand."
Layout: The book is divided into two sections. From ff. 1r-72r the author writes from front to back and left to right, but
starting at 72v, the author flips the book around and begins to write from the opposite end, so ff. 72v-133v appear written
back to front. There are two sets of page numbers, both in pencil and in different hands. One counts leaves, starting from
the front of the book and going straight through; the other counts page numbers and depends on the direction of the text.
Script: Cursive.
Binding: Bound in vellum.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Manuscripts.
Bound Manuscripts Collection (Collection 170)
. Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library.