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Creator
Southey, Robert, 1774-1843
Call number
Pforz Ms; MssCol 23750
Physical description
157 items
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Robert Southey 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.
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online.

The Robert Southey manuscript material in the Pforzheimer Collection consists of writings and correspondence. Among the writings are over 30 holograph poems, including "The Pilgrim to Compostella" (two versions); "Ode on the Death of Queen Charlotte;" and a substantial part (26 poems written by Southey and an additional 8 poems written by Humphry Davy, Charles Lamb, Charles Lloyd, and William Taylor copied in Southey's hand) of the manuscript of The Annual Anthology for 1799. There are also holograph reviews, notes, a commonplace book for a planned biography of the English Dissenter George Fox, and three books from Southey's library. The bulk of the correspondence is dated between 1824 and 1838. Correspondents include: Bernard Barton, poet; Amelia Opie, novelist and poet; Anna Seward, poet; and over thirty others.

Biographical/historical information

Robert Southey, English poet, historian, and biographer. He was Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death in 1843.

Digital Assets

1 Images

Scope and arrangement

Administrative information

Custodial history

This finding aid is for manuscript materials held by the Pforzheimer Collection that were created by Robert Southey. These materials have been acquired throughout the history of the Collection, and are kept on-site at the New York Public Library, filed in acid-free paper envelopes.

Carl H. Pforzheimer (1879-1957) began to acquire Robert Southey manuscript material relatively late in his collecting career. Pforzheimer made his most significant acquisition of Southey material in May 1950 when he purchased a series of four long letters to poet Anna Seward from Bernard Quaritch Ltd. In the 1960s and 1970s, under the auspices of the Pforzheimer Foundation, the Collection continued to add Southey manuscripts, including letters to writer Mary Hays and several manuscript poems.

Since the Collection's move to the New York Public Library in 1986 its holdings of Southey manuscript material have grown significantly. More than 70 letters and several noteworthy manuscripts of poetry and prose have been accessioned, including the 44 letters to Mary Anne Watts Hughes in 2005. The manuscript of the Annual Anthology was acquired at Christie's on March 3, 2004.

Because the Pforzheimer Collection collects actively, its holdings of Robert Southey manuscript material may grow in the future as items become available.

Processing information

Finding aid first created by Charles Carter, 2018. Finding aid revised and expanded by Timothy Gress, 2024.

Related Material

In addition to manuscript material created by Robert Southey, the Pforzheimer Collection holds first and early editions of more than thirty titles published during his lifetime, representing a nearly comprehensive collection of Southey's published work.

Also held are letters addressed to Southey by Willem Bilderdijk, William Lisle Bowles, Amelia Opie, Samuel Rogers, Sir Walter Scott, Horace Smith, John Taylor (the publisher), and William Wordsworth, among others. There is also one sonnet and three letters by Southey's second wife, Caroline Bowles Southey, as well as a letter written by Thomas Francis Fremantle, 1st Baron Cottesloe regarding complications in securing a pension for her after Southey's death.

Additional Robert Southey manuscript and printed material at the New York Public Library can be found in The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, and in the Manuscripts and Archives Division.

Note

Nearly all of the items described within Series I, Poetry by Southey, have been published in the following scholarly edition of Southey's work: Poetical Works, 1793-1810, Volume 5: Selected Shorter Poems, edited by Lynda Pratt (Pickering and Chatto, 2004); Later Poetical Works, 1811-1838, Volume 1: Shorter Poems, edited by Lynda Pratt, Ian Packer, and Carol Bolton (Pickering and Chatto, 2012); Later Poetical Works, 1811-1838, Volume 3: Poems from the Laureate Period, edited by Lynda Pratt, Daniel E. White, Ian Packer, Tim Fulford, and Carol Bolton (Pickering and Chatto, 2012); Later Poetical Works, 1811-1838, Volume 4: Fragments and Romances, edited by Tim Fulford and Rachel Crawford (Pickering and Chatto, 2012). The manuscript of The Annual Anthology was acquired by the Pforzheimer Collection too late to be included in Poetical Works, 1793-1810, but it is described in the Later Poetical Works, 1811-1838 volumes. The titles given in Series I are those assigned by the above editors and are listed with reference; significant differences between the published and manuscript titles have been noted. Many items described in Series IV, Correspondence, have been published in The Collected Letters of Robert Southey: A Romantic Circles Edition. General Editors: Lynda Pratt, Tim Fulford, and Ian Packer, an open, scholarly, digital edition of Southey's correspondence, and are listed with reference. Of the projected twelve parts, six parts–covering the period up to and including 1821–have been published at the time of writing.

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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.