Oliver Goldsmith papers

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Repository
Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department
Call Number
FLP.RBD.GOLDSMITH
Creator
Elkins, William McIntire, 1882-1947
Title
Oliver Goldsmith papers
Date [inclusive]
1758-1798
Extent
2.11 Linear feet
Language
English
Abstract
This collection is comprised of letters and other documents to and from Oliver Goldsmith. The first series has letters and documents from members in his literary circle as well as documents related to Oliver Goldsmith’s works. The second series is composed of contracts between Oliver Goldsmith and John Newbery.
Cite as
[Description and date of item], [Box and folder number], Oliver Goldsmith papers, 1758-1797, Free Library of Philadelphia, Rare Book Department.

Oliver Goldsmith was an Anglo-Irish author best known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) and his play She Stoops to Conquer (1773). He was most likely born in Pallas, Ireland between 1728 and 1731. He attended Trinity College and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Leyden. From 1754 to 1756 he traveled through Europe and may have obtained a medical degree. It is known that he failed the examination at the College of Surgeons. In 1756 he moved to London and practiced unsuccessfully as a physician. From 1757 he began writing, editing, and proof-reading for various magazines. These magazines included British Magazine, Bee, and Lady's Magazine. From 1760 to 1761 he became a proof-reader and preface-writer for the publisher John Newberry. Newbery is credited with popularizing children's literature, and the Newberry Medal was named in his honor. One of Goldsmith’s better know contributions to Newbery’s magazines was the "Chinese Letters" for Public Ledger. In 1762 he founded the Samuel Johnson's literary club known as The Club, with several other writers. Oliver Goldsmith died from a kidney infection on April 4, 1774.

Bibliography:

International Dictionary of Theatre. Gale, vol. 2.

This collection is comprised of letters and other documents to and from Oliver Goldsmith. The first series has letters and documents from members of “The Club” as well as documents related to Oliver Goldsmith’s works. The second series is composed of contracts between Oliver Goldsmith and John Newbery. Of particular interest are Newbery’s financial accounts with Oliver Goldsmith and accounts kept by Goldsmith’s landlady Elizabeth Fleming on Oliver Goldsmith’s living arrangements.

This collection is arranged into two series: 1. Goldsmith and 2. Goldsmith-Newberry papers. Materials are arranged in alphabetical order by author, and then by chronological order.

Publication Information:

Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department

Finding Aid Author:

Finding aid prepared by Garrett Boos

Sponsor:

The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources’ “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.

Access Restrictions:

This collection is open to researchers by appointment. Please contact the Curator for information on access.

Use Restrictions:

The right of access to material does not imply the right of publication. Permission for reprinting, reproduction, or extensive quotation from the rare books, manuscripts, prints, or drawings must be obtained through written application, stating the use to be made of the material. The reader bears the responsibility for any possible infringement of copyright laws in the publication of such material. A reproduction fee will be charged if the material is to be reproduced in a commercial publication.

Some of the materials in this collection may be too fragile for use without the Curator’s supervision.

Processing Information:

This finding aid was entered into AT by Garrett Boos from legacy data compiled by the Rare Book Department. Each item was examined and description enhanced and standardized where necessary.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

Gift of William McIntire Elkins.

Form/Genre(s)
  • Correspondence
  • Manuscripts
Personal Name(s)
  • Burney, Charles, 1726-1814
  • Carr, John, 1723-1807
  • Colman, George, 1732-1794
  • Cumberland, Richard, 1631-1718
  • Dodsley, James, 1724-1797
  • Garrick, David, 1717-1779
  • Garrick, Eva Marie Violetti, 1724-1822
  • Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774
  • Griffin, William, 1766-1830
  • Johnson, Samuel, 1709-1784
  • Langton, Bennet, 1737-1801
  • Malone, Edmond, 1741-1812
  • Newbery, John, 1713-1767
  • Nourse, John, 1762?-1790
  • Percy, Thomas, 1729-1811
  • Reynolds, Joshua, Sir, 1723-1792
  • Wingrave, Francis
Subject(s)
  • Authors
  Date Call-Number
Goldsmith 1758-1798
Boswell, James. Autograph letter signed to the Reverend Thomas Percy. London, 1 page
Transcription laid in.
May 6 Goldsmith
Bunbury, Catherine Horneck. Copy of a letter to Oliver Goldsmith, in verse, 2 pages
Copy in an unidentified hand.
undated Goldsmith
Burke, Edmund. Autograph letter signed to David Garrick. Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, 1 page
With seal.
undated Goldsmith
Cumberland, Richard, 1631-1718. Autograph letter signed to George Colman. Wells Somersetshire, 3 pages
Date from postmark.
1787 July 10 Goldsmith
Garrick, David, 1717-1779. Autograph letter signed to John Carr. London, 2 pages
With seal.
1773 April 17 Goldsmith
Garrick, David, 1717-1779. Autograph letter signed to an unidentified recipient, 1 page undated Goldsmith
Garrick, David, 1717-1779. Autograph manuscripts signed of several poems on Oliver Goldsmith: "An Extempore Epitaph", "Another", "Upon Dr. Goldsmith's Characteristical Cookery" and "Jupiter & Mercury". London, 2 pages
Sometimes called "Garrick's Famous Epitaphs on Oliver Goldsmith". Bound as a volume. Portrait of Garrick and related documents bound in. Bookplate of A. Edward Newton. Housed separately.
undated Goldsmith
Garrick, Eva Marie Violetti. Autograph letter signed to an unidentified recipient. Hampton Middlesex, 1 page July 31 Goldsmith
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph letter signed to Jane Lawder. Temple Exchange Coffee house, near Temple Bar, London, 3 pages
Printed transcription laid in.
1758 August 15 Goldsmith
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph manuscript signed of "The Captivity: An Oratorio". London, 18 pages
Seventeen page manuscript, and one page Autograph document signed. Receipt to Mr. Dodsley "for an oratorio", October 31st 1764. Bound as a volume. Bookplate of John Murray III.
1764 Goldsmith
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph note signed to John Dodesley (James Dodsley). Gray's Inn London, 1 page
Inserted in Goldsmith's An Inquiry Into the Present State of Polite Learning in Europe (London, 1759), copy 2.
1764 March 10 Goldsmith
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph document signed. Receipt for payment by James Dodsley, for writing his History of England. London, 1 page 1764 August 08 Goldsmith
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph letter signed to Sir Joshua Reynolds. Paris, 3 pages
With seal.
1770 July 29 Goldsmith
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Document signed. Contract with William Griffin for the History of Animated Nature. London, 1 page
With the seal and two signatures of Goldsmith. Signed twice by George Corrall, witness. Autograph document signed. Receipt for sale of this assignment by William. Griffin to John Nourse, signed by Griffin, June 30, 1772, on verso. Signed by Francis Wingrave, witness.
1772 June 27 Goldsmith
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Copy of a letter to Catherine Horneck Bunbury, largely in verse. Possibly London, 8 pages
Possibly in the hand of Bennet Langton.
undated Goldsmith
Johnson, Samuel, 1649-1703. Autograph letter signed to possibly David Garrick. London, 1 page
Autograph letter signed from G. Birkbeck Hill, Oxford, Jan. 14, 1889, identifying the recipient, laid in.
May 25 Goldsmith
Langton, Bennet, 1737-1801. Autograph letter signed to Charles Burney. Headington, Oxfordshire, 3 pages
With seal. Small piece missing with loss of text.
July 27 Goldsmith
Percy, Thomas, 1729-1811. Autograph letter signed to an unidentified publisher. Dublin, 2 pages
Signed "Thos: Dromore". Possibly to J. Swan.
1798 July 16 Goldsmith
Percy, Thomas, 1729-1811. Autograph letter signed to Edmond Malone. Dromore House Dromore, Down, Northern Ireland, 3 pages
Signed "Thos: Dromore". With seal.
1803 October 5 Goldsmith
Reynolds, Joshua, Sir, 1723-1792. Autograph letter to Thomas Percy. Leicesterfields, London, 1 page
Autograph note in unidentified hand, supplying year. With seal.
1768 April 02 Goldsmith
Reynolds, Joshua, Sir, 1723-1792. Autograph letter signed to an unidentified recipient. London, 3 pages 1784 October 26 Goldsmith
Reynolds, Joshua, Sir, 1723-1792. Autograph letter signed to Thomas Percy. Leicesterfields, London, 1 page March 1 Goldsmith
Reynolds, Joshua, Sir, 1723-1792. Autograph letter signed to the Reverend Thomas Percy. Leicesterfields, London, 1 page
With seal.
March 3 Goldsmith
Goldsmith-Newberry papers 1761-1767
Fleming, Elizabeth. Autograph document. Statement of money paid Elizabeth Fleming by John Newbery on account of Oliver Goldsmith. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1763 February Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Fleming, Elizabeth. Autograph document. Memorandum of account with Oliver Goldsmith. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1763 August 14 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Fleming, Elizabeth. Autograph document signed. Statement of Oliver Goldsmith's account paid by John Newbery. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1763 December 9 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Fleming, Elizabeth. Autograph document. Bill for board, extras, washing and mending to Oliver Goldsmith. London, 1 page
Signed by Goldsmith. Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1763 December 25 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph letter signed to John Newbery. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1762 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph document signed. Receipt for payment by John Newbery for abridgment of Plutarc's Lives. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1762 March 5 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph document signed. Receipt for payment by John Newbery for The Cock-Lane Ghost. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1762 March 5 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph document signed. Receipt for payment by John Newbery for the manuscript of Chinese Letters "The Citizen of the World". London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1762 March 5 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph document signed. Promissory note to John Newbery. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1763 October 11 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph document signed. Receipt for payment by John Newbery. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1763 October 11 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph document signed. Receipts for payment by John Newbery for A Preface to the History of the World, The History of England, Translations of the Life of Christ, and The Lives of the Fathers. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1763 October 11 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph document signed. Receipt for payment by John Newbery. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1763 December 17 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph document signed. Statement of account with John Newbery for The Traveler and other literary work. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1766 June 7 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph document signed. Promissory note to John Newbery. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1767 July 7 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774. Autograph letter signed to John Newbery relating to Plutarch's Lives. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
undated Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Newbery, John, 1713-1767. Autograph document signed. Statement of account with Oliver Goldsmith. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1761 October 14 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Newbery, John, 1713-1767. Autograph manuscript signed. Memorandum listing books sent to Oliver Goldsmith. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1762 November 25 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Newbery, John, 1713-1767. Autograph manuscripts signed of eleven memoranda concerning Oliver Goldsmith's accounts. London, 11 slips of paper; size varies
One memorandum on verso of an autograph letter signed from J. Barr to Mr. Newbery, March 28th 1767, with Barr's seal. bound as a volume.
1764 July 7 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Newbery, John, 1713-1767. Autograph document. Memorandum of account with Oliver Goldsmith. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1764 October 29 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Newbery, John, 1713-1767. Autograph manuscript signed. Memorandum listing books sent to Oliver Goldsmith. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1765 September 11 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Newbery, John, 1713-1767. Autograph document signed. Memorandum of account with Oliver. Goldsmith. London, 1 page
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
1766 October 11 Goldsmith-Newbery Papers
Newbery, John, 1713-1767. Autograph document. Memorandum of account with Oliver Goldsmith mentioning The Traveler: A Poem, essays, etc.. London, 2 pages
Bound as a volume. Transcription bound in.
undated Goldsmith-Newbery Papers

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