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Collection Overview

Creator:
Mackay, Charles (1837-1872)
Collector:
Princeton University. Library. Special Collections
Title:
Charles Mackay Correspondence
Repository:
Manuscripts Division
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/41687h46x
Dates:
1857-1872
Size:
1 box and 0.2 linear feet
Storage Note:
  • ReCAP (scarcpxm): Box 1
Language:
English

Abstract

Consists chiefly of letters to Charles Mackay and George Routledge from 19th-century English and American poets giving permission for their poems to appear in the Mackay/Routledge illustratedd poetry anthology The Home Affections Pourtrayed by the Poets (1858).

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of correspondence of editor Charles Mackay and publisher George Routledge with major English and American authors and poets or their representatives, granting Mackay permission to include their work in his illustrated poetry anthology The Home Affections Pourtrayed by the Poets (1858). Correspondents include William Cullen Bryant, Barry Cornwall, George Croly, Camilla Dufour Toulmin Crosland, Sydney Dobell, Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Thomas Fields, Thomas Hood, Richard Monckton Milnes Houghton, Leigh Hunt, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Samuel Lover, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Gerald Massey, Edward Moxon, Coventry Patmore, Charles Swain, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Martin Tupper, and John Greenleaf Whittier. Attached to a letter from the American author and poet Grace Greenwood, dated March 23, 1857, is an autograph poem titled "Sunshine and Shadow." In addition, there are four letters (1861-1872) written by Mackay on unrelated publishing business to four unidentified persons. Collection includes computer printout, "Letters addressed to Charles Mackay and/or George Routledge for Mackay's anthology."

Arrangement

The letters are arranged by accession number.

Collection Creator Biography:

Mackay

Charles Mackay was born in Scotland. At the age of sixteen he was employed as the private secretary to William Cockerill, an ironmaster based in Belgium. In his spare time he wrote articles for the local newspaper. Coming to London in 1834, he engaged in journalism, published Songs and Poems (1834), Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, and a number of other works. In 1846 his literary reputation was made with the publication of a volume of verses, Voices From the Crowd, some of which were set to music by Henry Russell and became very popular. In 1848 Mackay worked for the Illustrated London News, of which he became editor in 1852. In it he published a number of songs, set to music by Sir Henry Bishop and Henry Russell, and in 1855 they were collected in a volume which included the popular "Cheer, Boys! Cheer!"

Publisher George Routledge began work as an apprentice to Charles Thurman, bookseller, in Carlisle, UK, between 1827 and 1833. He went to London and worked for Baldwin & Craddock, publishers, from 1833 to 1836. In 1836 he started his own publishing house, which became Routledge & Co., then Routledge, Warne, & Routledge, and ultimately George Routledge & Sons. He retired in 1887.

Collection History

Acquisition:

AM 2001-11

Custodial History

The collection was formed as a result of a Departmental practice of combining into one collection material of various accessions relating to a particular person, family, or subject.

Appraisal

No appraisal information is available.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Dina Britain on June 30, 2006. Finding aid written by Tenley Eakin on June 30, 2006. Folder inventory added by James Clark '14 in 2012.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Charles Mackay Correspondence; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/41687h46x
Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • ReCAP (scarcpxm): Box 1