Summary
Overview
Cruikshank, George,
1792-1878.
George Cruikshank Collection
1782-1894 (mostly 1825-1878)
19.5 linear feet, 35 archival boxes, 70 bound volumes
Princeton University. Library. Dept. of Rare
Books and Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
One Washington Road
Princeton, New Jersey 08544 USA
Abstract
The collection integrates numerous accessions of English artist and
caricaturist George Cruikshank material, including large amounts of correspondence
as well as original drawings and sketches.
Description
Description
The collection contains personal papers and original drawings of George
Cruikshank, reflecting his active participation not only in the world of book
illustration and caricature but also in the temperance movement of Victorian
England. Included are manuscript material, drawings, documents, and
correspondence with editors, publishers, illustrators, authors, friends, and
family such as William Harrison Ainsworth, John Auldjo, Octavian Blewitt,
Richard Bentley, J. Cruikshank Roger, Robert Bell, Edward Dalziel, and Charles
Tilt. There is miscellaneous material relating to Cruikshank's participation in
the 48th Middlesex Volunteers; material dealing with the controversial Robert,
the Bruce, Monument; and papers relating to his estate, a testimonial fund, a
memorial at St. Paul's, and his posthumous autobiography. Many letters and
manuscripts exhibit working sketches of Cruikshank, and there is a large number
of bound volumes of original sketches and drawings (and engraved copper plates)
Cruikshank created for published works
Much of the collection consists of papers of others, mainly, those of Eliza
Cruikshank, the artist's wife and amanuensis. Beside papers relating to her
husband there are correspondence and documents concerning Mrs. Cruikshank's
family and friends, including Catherine Hogarth Dickens, the wife of Charles
Dickens. Included in the papers of others are manuscripts submitted to
Cruikshank for possible illustration. Additional papers contain letters written
by Cruikshank to William Henry Merle, Charles A. Howell, and others, letters to
and by Eliza Cruikshank, correspondence of others, and miscellaneous
material.
Collection Creator
Biography
George Cruikshank, English artist and caricaturist, published in periodicals
including The Scourge and The
Meteor; illustrated, among others, Grimm's German
Popular Stories, Dickens's Sketches by Boz
and Oliver Twist, and novels by Ainsworth and
Thackeray; issued The Comic Almanack, one of the
predecessors of Punch, from 1835 for several years.
Collection History
Acquisition
5 oil paintings are a gift of Joseph F. McCrindle. Accounts record, Receipt for
plate of illustrations, and exchange of letters are a gift of Stephen Weissman.
Letter to W.H. Merle, etc. with bound volume is a gift of R.W. Meirs. The
remainder purchased in 1977-2011.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Judith Golden with
additions by Barbara Volz and Teresa Basler in 1993. Finding aid written by Judith Golden, Barbara Volz and Teresa
Basler in 1993.
Access and Use
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research use.
Use Restrictions
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. No further photoduplication
of copies of material in the collection can be made when Princeton University
Library does not own the original. Permission to publish material from the
collection must be requested from the Associate University Librarian for Rare
Books and Special Collections. The library has no information on the status of
literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for
determining any questions of copyright.
Preferred Citation
George Cruikshank Collection; 1782-1894 (mostly 1825-1878), Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
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