RLIN ID No.
NYGG04-A18
Main Entry
Nowell-Smith, Simon, 1909-
Title
Simon Nowell-Smith
collection, 1900-2001 (bulk 1962-1987)
Physical Description
2 boxes (2 linear ft.)
Catalog cards (ca. 1175
cards) ; 12 x 20 cm. or smaller
English book collector,
bibliographer and author. Among other position, he served as Secretary and
Librarian of the London Library (1950-1956) and President of the
Bibliographical Society (1962-1964). As a book collector, he formed and later
sold major collections of Henry James and Robert Bridges. His last major
collection centered on English poetry of the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries. He placed special emphasis on inscribed and dedication copies and
mounted an exhibition of highlights from this collection at the Bodleian in
1983. In 2002 the firm of Bertram Rota (London), from whom he had acquired many
of his books over the years, offered his collection of poetry for sale (Catalog
300).
Scope and Contents Note
Material relating to
Nowell-Smith’s collection of nineteenth and twentieth century poetry, including
photocopies of bibliographical articles, inscriptions and dedications. The
material on George Eliot inscriptions includes two letters from Eliot’s biographer,
Gordon S. Haight, to Nowell-Smith. Associated material includes but is not
limited to: card catalog and short-title list Nowell-Smith’s collection;
invoices from book dealers for items sold to Nowell-Smith for this collection
between 1982 and 1987’ and disbound copy of related exhibition catalog From
Wordsworth to Robert. Graves and Beyond Other material includes:
association copies of works by minor poets of the twentieth century
including: Frances Bellerby, W.
Garstang, Bryan Guinness, Geoffrey Smith and Randall Swingler. Also: a small
collection of correspondence from Leon Edel, H. Montgomery Hyde and Peter
Warren regarding a collection of ca. 150 letters from Henry James to Warren’s
father, Edward Prioleau Warren, initially deposited by Warren at Lamb House
(Rye, England) in 1965.
General Note
Title devised by cataloger.
Finding Aid Note
Unpublished finding aid
available in repository.
Names
Bellerby, Frances.
18999-1975.
Edel, Leon, 1907-. Correspondence.
Eliot, George, 1819-1880.
Autographs.
Garstang, W. (Walter),
1868-1949.
Guinness, Bryan, 1905-
Haight, Gordon Sherman.
Correspondence.
Hyde, H. Montgomery (Hartford
Montgomery), 1907-. Correspondence.
James, Henry, 1843-1916.
Homes and haunts. Correspondence.
Smith, Geoffrey.
Swingler, Randall.
Warren, Edward Prioleau,
1856-1937.
Warren, Peter.
Correspondence.
Bodleian Library.
Exhibitions.
National Trust (Great
Britain). Correspondence.
Subjects
Association copies of books.
Bibliography.
Association copies of books.
Exhibitions.
Book collecting. England. 20th
century.
Book collectors. England. 20th
century.
Library catalogs. England. 20th
century.
Poets, English. Bibliography.
Private libraries. England.
20th century.
Genres
Author catalogs. England. 20th
century.
Card catalogs. England. 20th
century.
Bills of sale. England. 20th
century
Exhibition catalogs. England.
20th century.
Invoices. England. 20th
century.
Library catalogs. England. 20th
century.
Photocopies. England. 20th
century.
Occupation (as reflected
in collection)
Bibliographers. England. 20th
century.
Book collectors. England. 20th
century.
Location
Grolier Club, 47 East 60th
Street, New York, N.Y. 10022-1098.
Arnold, Matthew.
Wordsworth
Trust. Matthew Arnold: A Centenary Exhibit, 22 July 1988-15
January
1989. Printed catalog in form of newsletter with program inserted.
Strayed
Reveler. Photocopies of inscriptions
from 10 copies.
Blunden, Edmund.
Possible
Court-marshal of J. S. Casssell and ? Redway during World War I. TLS to SNS
from Imperial War Museum and Public Record Office, 1987-1988. 2 items.
Bridges, Robert.
Photocopies
of inscriptions from editions of his poems. 10 items.
Dudley
Massey to SNS. 1954 September 9. TLS. Re:
whereabouts of copies of Bridges Poems (1873) published by
Pickering firm.
Clough, Arthur Hugh.
Photocopies of miscellaneous bibliographical items. 5 items.
Eliot, George.
Photocopies
of inscriptions by George Eliot and George Henry Lewes. 9 items.
Bernard
Quaritch (firm) 2TLS to SNS regarding George Eliot signatures. 1969.
Gordon
S. Haight. 2 ALS to SNS regarding George Eliot signatures. 1969.
Dickens, Charles. Giles Gerald Grubb, “Dickens
Pattern of Weekly Serialization,” ELH, IX
(1942),
141-156. Photocopy.
Elkin Mathews (publisher).
Shilling Garland (series). 2 articles by James Nelson. 1983-1984.
Hobhouse, Benjamin.
Miscellaneous
bibliographical items.
2
ALS to J. R. Nichols Ross (1957) from Col.? Williamson, re rebinding, etc.
Keats. John. Poems,
1818. Photocopies of bibliographical
items. 15 items.
Reynolds, John Hamilton.
Photocopies of miscellaneous bibliographical items. 2 items.
Rogers, Samuel. Photocopies
of miscellaneous bibliographical items. 2 items.
Rosenberg, Isaac. TLS and ALS
from his nephew, Isaac Horvitz, regarding centenary exhibit at Imperial War
Museum,
1990-1991.
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel.
Photocopies
of bibliographical items. 9 items.
Fredeman,
W. E. Articles on Rossetti bibliography, 1962-1085. 3 items inscribed by the
author to SNS; 5 inscribed articles not inscribed.
Scott, Sir Walter.
Photocopies of bibliographical items re his Goetz of Berlichinger. 2
items.
Shelley, Percy Bysshe.
Photocopy of bibliographical item. 1 item.
Swinburne, Algernon Charles.
Photocopies of bibliographical items. 9 items.
Rosamund
[and] The Queen Mother. Photocopies of title pages of various editions and
publishing history. Also: article by SNS on this topic in “Bibliographical
Queries” department of The Book Collector (Autumn 1964).
Negatives of title pages of various editions of above.
4 negatives. 13 x 17 cm. (5 x 9”).
Tennyson Alfred. Photocopies
of bibliographical items. 2 items.
Tennyson, Frederick.
Photocopies of 8 bibliographical items.
Wordsworth, Dorothy. ALS
Peter Laver to SNS. 1982 21 Nov. 1 p. Re: poem by DW with photocopy of it.
Wordsworth, William.
Bibliographical
items concerning publication of Lyrical Ballads. 2 items.
The Excursion (1814) Bibliographical items
relating to John Thelwall’s ownership of copy purchased by
SNS.
Photocopies of miscellaneous
bibliographical items. 15 items. Includes copies of miscellaneous inscriptions
and of portion of article by SNS in The Book Collector, 14, no.2 (Summer
1965).
Book purchases by SNS. 1
folder labeled “Book purchase receipts worth keeping (A few pricey ones are
slipped into the books.”
Receipts of purchases for
English poetry collection, 1982-1987. Dealers represented include Bertram Rota
and Jarndyce; also: slips from Blackwell’s indicating that SNS sold them
unspecified titles during this period.
Catalog of the exhibition of
highlights from SNS collection. Also: photocopies of dedications and
inscriptions. Ca. 100 items. Negatives for inscribed copy of Osbert Sitwell’s
publication National Book Week 4 negatives. 9 x 13 cm.
Nineteenth century English
Poets. Catalog cards for individual editions. Typescript. Ca. 750 cards in two
plastic
boxes.
5 x 8” ea.
“Modern” [Early Twentieth
Century] Authors. Catalog cards for individual editions.
Holograph.
Ca. 275 cards in one plastic box. 5 x
8”. Also: “List of Bibliographies
Consulted.” Typescript.
2pp.
Unlabeled file of cards.
Typescript. Ca. 200 cards. 3 x 5”. Personal names with cross references to
editions of
poetry;
possibly an index of dedicatees.
Box 2
“Simon Nowell-Smith Collection”:
Short-title listing. Unnumbered pages. 30 cm.
Arranged
alphabetically; full bibliographical descriptions are on catalog cards
described above.
Henry James Letters
deposited at Lamb House: Correspondence about 1965-1974.
This correspondence concerns a collection of ca. 150
letters from Henry James to
Edward
Prioleau Warren deposited by his son Peter Warren at Lamb House (Rye, England)
in 1965 and their subsequent disposition. Correspondents include: H.,
Montgomery Hyde (author of Henry James at Home then the tenant of Lamb
House), Peter Warren, Leon Edel, the National Trust and Simon Nowell Smith.
Bellerby, Frances. Black and
white photograph in stiff card folder issued at time of her death in
1975.
Insertion: poem by FB used as New Year’s greeting from Enitharon Press.
Brady, Violet Alice. Henry
Christopher Bradby: a Brief Memoir by His Wife. (Privately Printed: 1962).
Colophon
reads;
Perpetua Press, Oxford. Sent as a Christmas greeting by his daughter, Anne
Ridler and her husband,
Vivian.
Garstang, W. Return to
Oxford: A Memorial Lay (Oxford: B. H. Blackwell, 1919). 14p.
20
cm. Green stiff paper wrappers. Note by SNS on front end-paper.
Guinness, Bryan. Two poems on
printed cards sent as greetings, 1987. Also: ALS from Guinness to SNS, n. d.
2p.
Smith, Geoffrey. Village
Carols. (London: Humphrey Milford, Amen Corner, E.C., 1900.) Stiff paper
covers with
holograph
note on SNS letterhead regarding publication of this volume.
Swingler, Randall. Difficult
Morning. (London: Methuen & Co., 1933). The Gateway Poets. In dust
jacket. Note on
flyleaf
by SNS. Holograph text of “Bird Rock”
inserted.
H. Bradley Martin Library
Sale by Sotheby’s. 1990 April 30 and May 1.
List of estimated prices; arranged by lot numbers.
4pp.
Sale results. Typescript. 3pp.
Hayward list and values. 15
unnumbered pages. Holograph. n.d.
Curruthers, Annette et al.
Good Citizens Furniture: the Arts and Crafts Collection at Cheltenham.
Catalog.
1994; rpt. 1999.
One
Tree, Merrell: 2001. (See p. 124)
(Both
publications contain photographs of and information about Alan Peters, who
designed and constructed a library ladder presented to SNS by friends on his 70th
birthday.)