Contents and Arrangement Collection View
Description:

This series includes writings, artwork, personal correspondence, and documents of William Bell Scott, as well as family papers following his paternal family line through four generations. Scott, a close friend and associate of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and other central Pre-Raphaelites, was active in several fields, generating written work as a poet, art critic, and memoirist, and visual work as an engraver, painter, and teacher of the ornamental arts. The variety of materials present in this series reflects the diversity of Scott's artistic practice. These materials include manuscripts, drafts, corrected page proofs, notes, sketches, print proofs of engraved illustrations, print sales records, binding dummies, errata slips, and bound printed volumes for many of William Bell Scott's major works in poetry, prose, and art, as well as for projects to which he contributed writing or illustrations. Also included are assorted early drafts of individual poems and essays, along with various informal notes, stencils, and drawings. His correspondence relates to publishing projects and events.

This series is arranged into five file groups.

Description:

This series includes materials related to William Bell Scott's companion, Alice Boyd, and her family, primarily personal and family correspondence related to the Boyd, Courtney, and Losh families, along with one estate document. Alice Boyd owned Penkill Castle in Ayrshire, where William Bell Scott, among other known Pre-Raphaelite artists and associates, resided while working on various creative projects. Present is Boyd's correspondence with some of these figures regarding their visits to the castle, as well as her correspondence with publishers and other parties regarding Scott's work after his death. Family correspondence pertains mainly to the family's alkali business and the status of Penkill Castle, and also includes W.J. Linton's condolences to the heirs of Alice Boyd following her death in 1897. One family document is also present, regarding the disposition of the property of William Losh, Boyd's grandfather, following the sale of his alkali works business, as well as an unsigned manuscript by an unknown relative of Alice Boyd from the late 1890s, titled "The History of an Old Ayrshire Mansion," which documents the life of Alice Boyd and several major Pre-Raphaelites at Penkill Castle.

Alice Boyd's correspondence is followed by family correspondence, arranged alphabetically by sender, with other documents and manuscripts at the end.

Description:

This series includes related papers and clippings that were retained with the collection from Penkill Castle. Included are several holograph poems by others, some copied out in the hand of William Bell Scott and others by an unknown party. Also present are a letter fragment, and clippings of Scott's early work in print magazines.

Poems are arranged alphabetically by title, followed by a letter fragment and clippings.

Scope and Contents

The collection includes personal and family papers of William Bell Scott (1811-1890), a Scottish poet, painter, art critic, and occasional engraver, known for his association with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in London, founded by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, and John Everett Millais. Also present are personal and family correspondence and an estate document of Scott's life partner and mistress, Alice Boyd (1824-1897). William Bell Scott met Alice Boyd, also a painter, in London in 1859. They began a relationship that lasted for the rest of Scott's life. Beginning in the 1860s, Scott and his wife Letitia lived with Boyd in the summer and fall, while the three resided together at Scott's house in London during the other half of the year. Penkill Castle, the family estate in Ayrshire, Scotland, which Alice Boyd owned, served as an occasional refuge for many artists and writers associated with the Pre-Raphaelite circle, including the Rossetti family, William Morris, and W. J. Linton. Scott completed many books and paintings while in residence, and died at the castle in 1890, leaving many of his papers.

Scott's materials include manuscripts, drafts, and corrected page proofs for poetry and prose writings, drawings and sketches, engraving proofs, correspondence, record books of print sales, inscribed books, binding dummies, and personal documents, such as an address book and passport. Also included are many important official documents, autograph letters and ancillary holograph material regarding the Scott family, including William Bell Scott's brother, the painter David Scott (1806-1849), their father, the engraver Robert Scott (1777-1841), grandfather Robert Scott, and great-grandfather George Scott. Alice Boyd's papers include personal and family correspondence, as well as an estate document regarding her grandfather, William Losh, and an unsigned manuscript chronicling the history of Alice Boyd and the Pre-Raphaelites at Penkill Castle. A small group of related materials, with holograph poems by others and clippings, is also included.

The following standard abbreviations, or their variations, are used to identify materials in this collection: ALS = autograph letter signed, AL = autograph letter, TLS = typed letter signed.

Collection Creator Biography:

Fredeman, William E. (William Evan), 1928-

William E. Fredeman was a prominent professor, scholar, and collector of Victorian literature and Pre-Raphaelitism. Born in 1928 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Fredeman pursued his BA at Hendrix College. After receiving his PhD in English at the University of Oklahoma in 1956, he joined the faculty at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, where he taught until 1991. Best known for his book Pre-Raphaelitism, A Bibliocritical Study (Harvard University Press, 1965), Fredeman also wrote a major two-volume study of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's letters, and contributed to many major projects, including four volumes of the Dictionary of Literary Biography, The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Journal, the collected letters of William Bell Scott, and numerous articles and books on Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris, Alfred Tennyson, and the Victorians. From the 1950s through the 1990s, he was also a well-known and avid collector of books, artwork, and manuscripts related to the Pre-Raphaelites and their circle, and his vast collection drew many scholars and researchers in the field. He died in 1999.

Acquisition:

Purchase, 2013 and 2014 .

Custodial History

This collection was a part of William E. Fredeman's large collection of books, artwork, and manuscripts related to the Pre-Raphaelites and their circle, which he developed from the 1950s through the 1990s. Fredeman acquired these papers, which were once housed at Penkill Castle, from descendants of the Alice Boyd family.

Appraisal

All materials were retained with the collection, with the exception of a large metal strong box that originally housed the Scott family papers.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Kelly Bolding in April, 2014. Finding aid written by Kelly Bolding in April, 2014.

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:

William E. Fredeman Collection of William Bell Scott, the Scott Family, and Alice Boyd; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/xk81jm75m
Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1-6