James Smith manuscript material

1812-1839

Custodial history

This guide lists and describes the manuscript materials held by the Pforzheimer Collection that were created by James Smith. These materials have been acquired throughout the history of the Collection and are kept onsite at the New York Public Library.

The first major acquisition of James Smith manuscripts was in 1919, when the Collection acquired a six-album collection known as The Blessington Papers. Consisting chiefly of correspondence addressed to Lady Blessington, the volumes were purchased from the sale of the autograph collections of Alfred Morrison (1821–1897) autograph and art collector. (See item number 2740 in the Sotheby catalogs for the Alfred Morrison autograph collection sale). Included among the Blessington papers are nine holograph poems and forty-two letters. The majority of the correspondence in The Blessington Papers albums was published in 1895 in Alfred Morrison's catalog series.

Under the auspices of the Pforzheimer Library the Collection acquired a number of additional manuscripts from 1968 to 1975, including a lot of thirty manuscripts purchased from the dealer W. A. Myers in 1972.

Since the Collection's move to the New York Public Library in 1986, only a handful of James Smith letters have been acquired. Because the Pforzheimer Collection collects actively, more James Smith letters may be accessioned in the future as they become available for purchase.