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Add MS 89488
- Record Id:
- 032-004264981
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-004264981
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100150117585.0x000001
- LARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100176775903.0x000001
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Add MS 89488
- Title:
-
Emily Brontë’s notebook of poems
- Scope & Content:
-
Notebook containing 31 poems written in ink on lined paper by Emily Brontë, with some autograph revisions. Further revisions in pencil by Charlotte Brontë. The first poem is dated 11 November 1838 and the last 2 January 1846. On the first page (f. 4r) are the initials 'EJB' and 'Transcribed February 1844'. Each poem has a note in Emily Brontë's own hand recording the date of original composition.
f. 1r: Inscription in pencil: ‘William Law Littleborough in Manchester February 5th 1897’
f. 1v: Inscription in pencil by T. J. Wise: 'This volume of MS Poems by Emily Brontë is the one mentioned by Charlotte in the preface to Wuthering Heights (the one vol. Edition). It is the most valuable of all the Brontë MSS I possess and should not be parted with except to some one who would appreciate & value it.'
f. 3v: Inscription in pencil: 'Those marked at the side x have not been published the others are in the “Selections” or in the “Poems”, in all 31. Eight unpublished'. Page numbers of published poems have been added in pencil in a later hand throughout the volume.
Poems by Emily Brontë:
ff. 4r-v: 'Loud without the wind was roaring', 11 November 1838.
f. 5r-v: 'A little while, a little while', 4 December 1838.
ff. 5v-6r: 'How still, how happy! Those are words', 7 December 1838.
f. 6r-v: 'The blue bell is the sweetest flower', 18 December 1838.
ff. 6v-7r: 'Fair sinks the summer evening now', 30 August 1839.
f. 7r: 'Shall Earth no more inspire thee', 16 May 1841.
ff. 7v-8r: 'In summer's mellow midnight', 11 September 1840. Title (in pencil): 'The Night-Wind'.
f. 8r: 'Riches I hold in light esteem', 1 March 1841.
f. 8r-v: 'Aye, there is it! It wakes to-night', 6 July 1841.
f. 8v: 'I'll not weep that thou art going to leave me', 4 May 1840.
ff. 8v-9r: 'If grief for grief can touch thee', 18 May 1840.
f. 9r: 'O Dream, where art though now', 5 November 1838.
f. 9r-v: 'Is it too late to call thee now', April 1840.
f. 9v: 'The wind, I hear it sighing', 29 October 1839.
f. 10r: 'Love is like a wild rose-briar', 1839. Title (in pencil): 'Love and Friendship'.
f. 10r: 'There should be no despair for you', 1839.
f. 10v: 'Well, some may hate, and some may scorn', 14 November 1839.
ff. 10v-11r: 'Far, far away is mirth withdrawn', March 1840.
f. 11r-v: 'I see around me tombstones grey', 17 July 1841.
ff. 11v-12r: 'The evening passes fast away', 23 October 1842.
f. 12v: 'Hope was but a timid friend', 18 December 1843.
ff. 12v-13r: 'Well has thou spoken - and yet not taught', 10 February 1844. Title (in ink): 'My Comforter'.
f. 13r-v: 'How clear she shines! How quietly', 13 April 1843.
ff. 14r-15r: 'On a sunny brae alone I lay', 5 March 1844.
f. 15r: 'When weary with the long day's care', 3 September 1844.
f. 15v: 'O thy bright eyes must answer now', 14 October 1844.
ff. 15v-16v: 'Enough of thought, Philosopher', 3 February 1845. Title (in pencil): 'The Philosopher'.
ff. 16v-17r: 'Ah! why, because the dazzling sun', 14 April 1845. Title (in pencil): 'Stars'.
f. 17r: 'Death, that struck when I was most confiding', 10 April 1845.
f. 17v: 'How beautiful the Earth is still', 2 June 1845. Note at end 'Never was better stuff penned'.
f. 18r: 'No coward soul is mine', 2 January 1846.
Loose items:
ff. 22r-25v: Letter from Thomas James Wise to Mr Letts, 25 March 1897.
ff. 26r-27v: Letter from Thomas James Wise to Mr [William] Law, 30 March 1897.
f. 28r: Typewritten note about the bound manuscript of poems.
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Additional Manuscripts
- Hierarchy Tree:
- [{ "id" : "032-004264981", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Add MS 89488: Emily Brontë’s notebook of poems" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-004264981
- Is part of:
- not applicable
- Hierarchy:
- 032-004264981
- Container:
- not applicable
- Record Type (Level):
- Fonds
- Extent:
- 1 volume
- Digitised Content:
- https://iiif.bl.uk/uv/#?manifest=https://bl.digirati.io/iiif/ark:/81055/vdc_100176775903.0x000001
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- English
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1844
- End Date:
- 1846
- Date Range:
- 1844-1846
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
- Restrictions to access apply please consult British Library staff
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- User Conditions:
- Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript.
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Material: paper.
Dimensions: 180 x 115 mm.
Foliation: 28 folios including flyleaves and 7 loose folios. Paginated 1-29 by a former owner in red ink.
- Custodial History:
-
Purchased by Clement Shorter from Arthur Bell Nicholls for Thomas James Wise (1859-1937). Sold by Wise to William Law (1836-1901) in 1897. Bookplate of Thomas James Wise (inside front cover). Inscribed in pencil (f. 1): ‘William Law Littleborough in Manchester February 5th 1897’. From the Honresfield Library, collected by William Law (1836-1901). The collection passed to William Law's brother, Alfred Law, in 1901 and then to their nephew, Sir Alfred Law (1860-1939) in 1913. Owned by the Law family until the sale of the Honresfield Library in 2022.
- Former External References:
- BFT85
- Former Internal References:
- deposit 11479
- Source of Acquisition:
-
From the Honresfield Library, collected by William Law (1836-1901). Purchased for the nation in 2022 by the Friends of the National Library Libraries with the support the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and shared between UK institutions. The British Library was also supported in the fundraising appeal by The American Trust for the British Library and The Bernard H. Breslauer Fund of the American Trust for the British Library, The British Library Collections Trust, The Ardeola Charitable Trust, the Vogel-Denebeim Family and many other individuals. A collection of printed books can also be found in British Library collections and the collection is now known as the Blavatnik Honresfield Library.
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)