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Creator
Irving, Washington, 1783-1859
Call number
Berg Coll MSS Irving
Physical description
167 items
Preferred Citation

[Identification of the item]. The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, The New York Public Library.

Repository
Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online.

This is a synthetic collection that includes manuscripts, portraits, pictorial works, commonplace books, journals, and notebooks, a certificate, a scrapbook and correspondence.

Biographical/historical information

Washington Irving was an American author of short stories, travel literature, humorous and historical works, folklore, biographies, and essays. Born on April 3, 1783 in New York, Irving spent several years abroad in both England and Spain. He was the secretary to the American Legation in London from 1829 to 1842 when he was appointed as the U.S. Minister to Spain for four years.

Scope and arrangement

This is a synthetic collection that includes manuscripts, portraits, pictorial works, commonplace books, journals, and notebooks, a certificate, a scrapbook and correspondence by, to, and about Irving. The manuscripts include early holograph drafts and notes for The Alhambra, Communipaw, A history of New York, sections of the Life of George Washington, and notes and fragments of Mahomet and his successors. They also include fragments from the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, portions of text extracted from the Knickerbocker, two packets of holographic notes headed "Alhambra", holograph of Newstead abbey, proverbs apparently from Spanish sources, and notes and incomplete drafts for The sketchbook. The collection also includes an engraved acknowledgement from the Astor Library to William A. Macy; W. C. Bryant's Discourse on the life, genius and and writing of Washington Irving; and holograph notes by P. M. Irving relating to Washington Irving and to the history of the name "Irving." There are two holograph journals by Washington Irving and one journal by his nephew, Pierre, describing the author's last days. The notebooks include three consisting chiefly of memoranda towards Mahomet and his successors; one of rough drafts and incomplete essays; one of notes of a Conversation with William P. Duvall the original of Ralph Ringwood; and another of A tour on the Prairies. The collection also includes a notebook by P. M. Irving with his outline for Life and letters of Washington Irving. There is also a scrapbook of clippings and letters related to Irving gathered by J. C. Peters; and Irving's commonplace book of reading notes and observations on various subjects. The correspondence includes letters written by Irving to Colonel Thomas Aspinwall, Richard Bentley, Henry Brevoort, Catherine D'Oubril, Charles R. Leslie, John Murray, Edgar Allan Poe, William H. Prescott, Daniel Webster, and others. The collection also includes letters from Julia Irving Grinnell to her sister; P. M. Irving to Dr. John C. Peters relating to the death of Irving; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to Dr. Peters; John C. Peters to Oliver Wendell Holmes; S. T. Williams to W. T. H. Howe, and others related to Irving. There are letters to Irving from Richard Henry Dana, Charles Dickens, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Murray, Philip Henry Stanhope, and others dating from 1807 to 1858.

The Washington Irving collection of papers is arranged in five series:

Administrative information

Custodial history

The bulk of the material is from W. T. H. Howe, Owen D. Young, and Henry W. and Albert A. Berg. Nine items include the bookplate of Roderick Terry. The holograph manuscript of Legends of the conquest of Spain was presented by the author to Adoniram Chandler.

Source of acquisition

This is a synthetic collection, created from materials acquired through gift and purchase from various sources.

Processing information

Processed by Staff; Machine-readable finding aid created by Lynn Lobash and Nina Schneider, 2006. Revised for validation and data structure issues by Hillel Arnold.

Using the collection

Location

Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Third Floor, Room 320

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, contact the Curator, The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature.