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Collection Overview

Creator:
Rigby, George S., Jr.
Title:
George S. Rigby, Jr. Collection of Anthony Trollope
Repository:
Manuscripts Division
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/736667727
Dates:
1837-1939
Size:
3 boxes and 0.83 linear feet
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Boxes B-001087 to B-001088, P-000098
Language:
English

Abstract

Consists of primarily correspondence of author Anthony Trollope and associates, as well as manuscript material, photographs, and drawings of Trollope.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

This collection primarily consists of correspondence of Anthony Trollope and various associates/family members. There are 122 autographed letters, which are mainly business-related in nature and discuss various aspects of the literary and publishing world. Notable correspondents include author Thomas Hughs, publisher Nicholas Trübner, journalist George W. Smalley, Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev, and the Scottish novelist Margaret Oliphant Wilson Oliphant. Additionally, the collection also contains autograph envelopes, notes, and documents. An unfinished holograph manuscript of Trollope's 1860 novel Castle Richmond, and a manuscript leaf of an article written by Henry James discussing Trollope (and later published in The Century Magazine, July 1883) are included as well.

There are several photographs and illustrations of Trollope in the collection, including an caricature of Trollope by French artist "Sem" [Georges Goursat (1863-1934)]. There is also a folder of printed ephemera connected to Trollope and his writing.

A group of related publications and printed editions of Trollope's work were also donated as part of the Rigby Collection. They will be cataloged and included in the Rare Book Division and the records will be available through Princeton University Library's catalog.

Collection Creator Biography:

Rigby, George S., Jr.

George S. Rigby, Jr., was born on 27 April 1937, and raised in Media, Pennsylvania. He was educated in Media public schools, graduated from Asbury University (1959), and the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, B. Div. (1963) and M. Div. (1972). Rigby was ordained to the United Methodist Church ministry in 1960 and served six churches in eastern Pennsylvania until his retirement in 2002. Since he retired, the Rev. George S. Rigby, Jr., has served as minister-of-visitation for a church in Aston. Pennsylvania. Rigby has had an interest in collecting since childhood. He began collecting holographic material of English and American authors, then in 1980 began to focus on Anthony Trollope, beginning with the purchase of a Trollope autograph letter from the George MacManus Company, Philadelphia, through David Holmes, then head of the latter firm's manuscripts department. Holmes subsequently became an independent antiquarian bookseller. Until his death in 2016, Holmes was the sole source of all the Trollope material in the Rigby Collection. A few items were later purchased from Holmes daughter, Sarah Holmes Bookbinder. Rigby donated the Trollope Collection to the Princeton University Library in 2017 so that it could be "maintained as a unit and preserved in a facility suitable for its care, and in an institution which contained material consonant with [his collection]."

Anthony Trollope (1815-1882) was born in London and had a long career (1834-67) with the Post Office and traveled widely abroad on missions (Egypt, West Indies, United States). He wrote 47 novels, which included Barchester Towers (1857) in his highly popular "Bartsetshire" series. Trollope also authored several travel books, short stories, biographies, and an autobiography (1875-76) that was published posthumously in 1883.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Gift of George S. Rigby, Jr., in September 2017 (AM 2018-29).

Appraisal

No materials were separated during 2017 processing.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Chloe Pfendler in October 2017. Finding aid written by Chloe Pfendler in October 2017.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

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:

George S. Rigby, Jr. Collection of Anthony Trollope; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/736667727
Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Boxes B-001087 to B-001088, P-000098

Find More

Related Materials

For additional material related to Anthony Trollope, consult the Robert H. Taylor Collection of English and American Literature (RTC01) and the M. L. Parrish Collection of Victorian Novelists (C0171), both of which are housed in the Princeton Unviersity Library's Manuscripts Division.

Subject Terms:
Authors and publishers. -- 19th century
Authors, English--19th century. -- Correspondence
Novelists, English--19th century. -- Correspondence
Genre Terms:
Cabinet photographs
Cartes-de-visite (card photographs)
Correspondence -- 19th century
caricatures
Names:
Trollope, Anthony