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Creator
Smith, Charlotte, 1749-1806
Call number
Pforz Ms
Physical description
10 items
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Charlotte Smith manuscript material, Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle, The New York Public Library
Repository
Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle
Access to materials
Restricted access. Request an in-person research appointment.

Charlotte Smith was an English poet and novelist. The collection consists primarily of correspondence dating between 1794 and 1806. It also includes one poem.

Biographical/historical information

Charlotte Smith, one of the most popular poets of her time, helped to bring about a revival of the sonnet form with her Elegiac Sonnets (1784). She was equally well-known for her gothic, political, and sentimental novels, including Desmond (1792) and The Old Manor House (1793). Smith also wrote children's books, most notably Rural Walks (1795) and its continuation Rambles Farther (1796).

Scope and arrangement

The Charlotte Smith manuscript material in the Pforzheimer Collection consists of writings and correspondence. The writings comprise one holograph poem and one signed receipt. The correspondence dates between 1794 and 1806 and deals mostly with the composition and publication of Smith's writings, her relationship with the publishers Thomas Cadell, Jr. & William Davies, and her frequent state of financial distress. A series of publisher's ordering lists for two novels and one volume of poetry by Smith provide insight into the British book trade in the late-18th century. Correspondents include Thomas Cadell, Jr. & William Davies, publishers; Mary Hays, writer; and Harriet Lee, novelist and playwright.

The Charlotte Smith manuscript material is arranged in three series:

Administrative information

Custodial history

The letter to Mary Hays and the 23 November 1799 letter to Thomas Cadell, Jr. & William Davies were acquired under the auspices of the Pforzheimer Foundation in the 1970s. The remainder of the Charlotte Smith manuscript has been acquired both at auction and through individual dealers since the Pforzheimer Collection moved to the New York Public Library in 1986. Items with the call numbers Pforz MS (MISC 4405) through Pforz MS (MISC 4412a-d) were acquired as a group. Because the Pforzheimer Collection collects actively, its holdings may grow in the future as items become available.

Processing information

Finding aid created and imported into ASpace by Timothy Gress in January 2026.

Related Material

The Pforzheimer Collection holds a representative selection of first and early editions of Charlotte Smith's published work. Manuscript extracts from works by Smith can be found in the Augusta Leigh commonplace book Pforz MS (B'ANA 0782). The Pforzheimer Collection also holds the letterbook of the publisher Joseph Johnson, which contains copies of letters dated 3 October 1804 and 25 November 1803 from Johnson to Charlotte Smith. These have been published in The Joseph Johnson Letterbook, edited by John Bugg (Oxford University Press, 2016). Additional printed and manuscript material by Smith can be found in the Berg Collection and the General Research Division.

Note

Items listed in Series II, Correspondence, which have been published in The Collected Letters of Charlotte Smith edited by Judith Phillips Stanton (Indiana University Press, 2003) are listed with reference. The 10 May 1797 letter to Harriet Lee has been published in Harriet Guest and Judith Stanton's article "Charlotte Smith to Thomas Cadell, Sr., and Harriet Lee: Two New Letters" in Keats-Shelley Journal volume 57 (2008).

Key terms

Names

Using the collection

Location

Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Third Floor, Room 319

Access to materials

Restricted access. Request an in-person research appointment.