• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Ransom Center Magazine

  • Articles
  • Sections
    • Art
    • Books + Manuscripts
    • Conservation
    • Exhibitions + Events
    • Film
    • Literature
    • Photography
    • Research + Teaching
    • Theatre + Performing Arts
  • Print Edition

Carl H. Pforzheimer

Pforzheimer Symposium celebrates significant book collector of twentieth century

January 13, 2016 - Gerald Cloud

In conjunction with the Grolier Club Collects II, the Grolier Club, the Harry Ransom Center, and the New York Public Library will co-sponsor The Pforzheimer Symposium at the Grolier Club on January 26 from 2 to 7 p.m. [Read more…] about Pforzheimer Symposium celebrates significant book collector of twentieth century

Filed Under: Books + Manuscripts Tagged With: Bart Auerbach, Carl H. Pforzheimer, David Scott Kastan, Elizabeth Denlinger, Eric White, Gerald W. Cloud, Grolier Club, New York Public Library, Pforzheimer, Pforzheimer Symposium, Stephen Massey

Pforzheimer library receives proactive conservation assessment

April 29, 2015 - Kate Contakos

‘The golden boke of Marcus Aurelius’ by Antonio de Guevara, London, 1546. One image shows the title-page with the facing page made up of printed binders’s waste, complete with hand-written annotations. The close-up image shows both printed and manuscript binders waste.

In 1986 when the Ransom Center acquired the Carl H. Pforzheimer library of early English literature, with books dating from 1475 to 1700, the book world gasped. The Pforzheimer library was the outstanding private collection of early English books available, and the acquisition of this exceptional private library of carefully selected rare, and in some cases, unique books in extraordinary condition, represents one of the Ransom Center’s great achievements in book collecting.

The Ransom Center first acquired Pforzheimer’s copy of the Gutenberg Bible in 1978, one of the most interesting of the 49 known copies of the bible. Rich in both provenance (early annotations place our copy in a fifteenth-century Carthusian monastery) and textual variations (including unique type settings), it is one of the greatest treasures here at the Ransom Center. When the Pforzheimer library arrived eight years later, it continued to impress. It contains the first book printed in English, by William Caxton, titled Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, all four Shakespeare folios, deep holdings in Chaucer, Milton, and Spenser, three copies of the King James Bible from 1611, and the 1535 Coverdale Bible, which is the first bible printed in English, just to name some of the highlights.

The Pforzheimer books are significant bibliographically, intellectually, and culturally, thus the conservation department is proactively looking after their preservation needs. The conservation department has performed previous condition surveys on this collection, but this time we wanted to have a more comprehensive approach. The previous efforts were analyzed, the current curator of the collection was consulted, and the new survey was designed for a wider capture of information that will inform not only conservation needs but curatorial interests such as bibliographical data, bindings, provenance, and metadata. This particular survey will examine all 1,100 books in the collection, in order to address its conservation needs. The survey will be complete by the end of 2015, and the results will be shared publicly.

The Pforzheimer Library is the most frequently used early book collection at the Ransom Center, with many teaching faculty in the humanities using the collection for their classes and several visiting fellows researching within this collection. And with the arrival this year of the new curator, Gerald Cloud, the collection’s use is certain to increase and attract a broader audience.

Click on thumbnails to view larger images.

‘King Richard II’ by William Shakespeare, London, 1634. Stab-sewn, uncut and in-tact text as it would have been originally issued and sold in St. Paul’s Cathedral courtyard in the early 17th century.
‘King Richard II’ by William Shakespeare, London, 1634. Stab-sewn, uncut and in-tact text as it would have been originally issued and sold in St. Paul’s Cathedral courtyard in the early 17th century.
‘Axiochus” by Edmund Spenser, London, 1592. The only complete copy known, it is a modern binding sympathetically styled after a late 16th century binding to protect the text and respect the period.
‘Axiochus” by Edmund Spenser, London, 1592. The only complete copy known, it is a modern binding sympathetically styled after a late 16th century binding to protect the text and respect the period.
‘Recuyell of the historyes of Troye’ by Raoul LeFevre, Bruges, 1475(?). Printed and translated by William Caxton, this is the first book printed in the English language.
‘Recuyell of the historyes of Troye’ by Raoul LeFevre, Bruges, 1475(?). Printed and translated by William Caxton, this is the first book printed in the English language.
‘The History of Don-Quichote’ by Miguel de Saavedra Cervantes, London, 1620. Published by Edward Blount (one of the publishers of Shakespeare’s first folio), and translated by Thomas Shelton, this is the first English printing of Don-Quichote.
‘The History of Don-Quichote’ by Miguel de Saavedra Cervantes, London, 1620. Published by Edward Blount (one of the publishers of Shakespeare’s first folio), and translated by Thomas Shelton, this is the first English printing of Don-Quichote.
‘The golden boke of Marcus Aurelius’ by Antonio de Guevara, London, 1546. One image shows the title-page with the facing page made up of printed binders’s waste, complete with hand-written annotations. The close-up image shows both printed and manuscript binders waste.
‘The golden boke of Marcus Aurelius’ by Antonio de Guevara, London, 1546. One image shows the title-page with the facing page made up of printed binders’s waste, complete with hand-written annotations. The close-up image shows both printed and manuscript binders waste.
‘The golden boke of Marcus Aurelius’ by Antonio de Guevara, London, 1546. One image shows the title-page with the facing page made up of printed binders’s waste, complete with hand-written annotations. The close-up image shows both printed and manuscript binders waste.
‘The golden boke of Marcus Aurelius’ by Antonio de Guevara, London, 1546. One image shows the title-page with the facing page made up of printed binders’s waste, complete with hand-written annotations. The close-up image shows both printed and manuscript binders waste.

Filed Under: Books + Manuscripts, Conservation Tagged With: Books, Carl H. Pforzheimer, Chaucer, Conservation, Coverdale Bible, Gerald Cloud, Gutenberg Bible, King James Bible, Milton, Pforzheimer Library, preservation, preservation week, preservation week 2015, Spenser, survery, William Caxon

New inventory of manuscript collection reveals unprecedented level of detail for scholars of British history

November 8, 2013 - Elon Lang

Hand-drawn title page of caligraphy and illustration sample book by Esther Inglis, 1606.

The Ransom Center recently published a new finding aid for one of its richest collections of early manuscripts: the Carl H. Pforzheimer collection of English manuscripts. The bulk of the manuscripts were acquired in 1986, along with 1,100 other rare early printed editions of English literature that form the Pforzheimer library. The manuscripts include nearly 2,000 items dating from 1485 to 1844 that feature original correspondence from European monarchs, nobles, and aristocrats. Represented are works and letters by notable figures in British history such as Oliver Cromwell, John Donne, Queen Elizabeth I, John Evelyn, John Locke, Samuel Pepys, and Sir Walter Raleigh.

The new finding aid represents the first-ever online description of the Center’s Pforzheimer manuscripts and provides a new wealth of detail about the collection. Each manuscript has been individually cataloged, and digitization of all of the Pforzheimer manuscripts is ongoing. As digitization is completed, the descriptions and images will be added to the Ransom Center’s publically available digital collections.

The Pforzheimer manuscripts have several thematic strengths. For example, there are letters signed by Queen Elizabeth I relating to the ultimately failed negotiations for her marriage to François, Duke of Anjou. Another theme encompasses letters and documents signed by participants in the regicide of King Charles I of England, including two letters by Oliver Cromwell. Another grouping is anchored by a significant collection of letters by philosopher John Locke and additional letters by other English Enlightenment-era thinkers from the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Several founding members of the British Royal Society are represented in this group, especially Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn—two famous diarists of the period who provide modern-day historians with first-hand perspectives on English culture, politics, and science in the period. Among Evelyn’s materials are original hand-drawn sketches of gardens and naval battles, and letters to colleagues discussing the classification of herbs.

Another highlight is a beautifully extra-illustrated 1833 biography of Sir Walter Raleigh, created by nineteenth-century collector John Dillon to hold his extensive collection of original manuscripts by Raleigh and his contemporaries along with nearly 500 rare prints and original art. Other items of significance to the history of art and literature include letters by seventeenth-century poet John Donne and eighteenth-century playwright William Congreve; a rare early seventeenth-century copy of Edmund Spenser’s Shepheardes Calendar translated into Latin; and a vellum handwriting showcase book from 1606 by Esther Inglis, one of very few known women calligraphers of her era. There are also two letters by members of the early Quaker religious movement, Margaret Askew Fell Fox and Isaac Penington.

The largest group of manuscripts in the collection originated from the Bulstrodes, an aristocratic English family prominent in Middlesex in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. By far the bulk and the most significant of these manuscripts are 1,469 handwritten newsletters dating from 1667 to 1689 received by Sir Richard Bulstrode (1610–1711) while he was stationed in Brussels as an English diplomat. These newsletters provided Bulstrode with information from England that could not be printed in public newspapers, such as parliamentary business. The reportage in the newsletters offers today’s readers a first-hand insider’s perspective on English history and London culture in a tumultuous time. Readers will find reports on England’s involvement in North America, hostilities with the Dutch and French, court hearings about government censorship, parliamentary debates on the right of habeas corpus, the formation of the Whig and Tory political parties, the Popish Plot and persecutions of Catholics, the uneasy succession of Charles II by the Catholic James II, the Rye House Plot, the Duke of Monmouth’s Rebellion, the Glorious Revolution of William and Mary, and accounts of court gossip in the 1670s and 80s that involved Mary’s sister—the future Queen Anne.

Supported by additional correspondence between Bulstrode, the newsletter office owner Joseph Williamson, and some of Williamson’s clerks, the Pforzheimer collection preserves one of the world’s largest records of early correspondence journalism. And through its digital collections, the Center will provide access to a large collection of manuscript newsletters from this era, showcasing the immense value these documents have as primary sources for historical and cultural research.

Please click on thumbnails to view larger images.

Handpainted engraving of Elizabeth I in extra-illustrated volumes.
Handpainted engraving of Elizabeth I in extra-illustrated volumes.
Letter from Elizabeth I, Queen of England, to Henry IV of France, with a recommendation for an unidentified ambassador, undated.
Letter from Elizabeth I, Queen of England, to Henry IV of France, with a recommendation for an unidentified ambassador, undated.
Letter from Oliver Cromwell to Colonel Richard Norton, M.P. for Hants, about a proposed marriage for his son, 1647/1648 February 25.
Letter from Oliver Cromwell to Colonel Richard Norton, M.P. for Hants, about a proposed marriage for his son, 1647/1648 February 25.
Letter from Samuel Pepys to Sir Isaac Newton, thanking him for responding to inquiries about the hazards at dice, 1693 December 26.
Letter from Samuel Pepys to Sir Isaac Newton, thanking him for responding to inquiries about the hazards at dice, 1693 December 26.
Sketch of a garden for the Duke of Norfolk's house at Albury in Surrey, 1667, by John Evelyn.
Sketch of a garden for the Duke of Norfolk’s house at Albury in Surrey, 1667, by John Evelyn.
Engraved portrait of a young John Evelyn.
Engraved portrait of a young John Evelyn.
John Evelyn’s hair preserved at three ages in his life.
John Evelyn’s hair preserved at three ages in his life.
Engraved portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh and son.
Engraved portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh and son.
Letter from Sir Walter Raleigh, to Sir John Gilbert, the Younger, encouraging him to set out on an expedition to Ireland once he knows how he will be paid, circa 1590 October 31.
Letter from Sir Walter Raleigh, to Sir John Gilbert, the Younger, encouraging him to set out on an expedition to Ireland once he knows how he will be paid, circa 1590 October 31.
Engraved portrait of a young Queen Mary I.
Engraved portrait of a young Queen Mary I.
Hand-drawn title page of caligraphy and illustration sample book by Esther Inglis, 1606.
Hand-drawn title page of caligraphy and illustration sample book by Esther Inglis, 1606.
Newsletter from the office of Sir Joseph Williamson in Whitehall, London, to Sir Richard Bulstrode, Brussels, 1680 December 29. This letter discusses the arrival of Prince George of Hanover in London and the gossip at court that he was to marry Lady Anne. He and Anne did not marry, but he succeeded her in 1714 after her 12-year reign as monarch of Great Britain.
Newsletter from the office of Sir Joseph Williamson in Whitehall, London, to Sir Richard Bulstrode, Brussels, 1680 December 29. This letter discusses the arrival of Prince George of Hanover in London and the gossip at court that he was to marry Lady Anne. He and Anne did not marry, but he succeeded her in 1714 after her 12-year reign as monarch of Great Britain.
Letter from William Bridgeman, Whitehall, to Sir Richard Bulstrode, Brussels, on behalf of Robert Spencer, Earl of Sunderland and Secretary of State, 1686 May 23. In this letter, Bridgeman thanks Bulstrode for offering to send him chocolate and snuff from the continent, and details his preference for flowery or unscented varieties.
Letter from William Bridgeman, Whitehall, to Sir Richard Bulstrode, Brussels, on behalf of Robert Spencer, Earl of Sunderland and Secretary of State, 1686 May 23. In this letter, Bridgeman thanks Bulstrode for offering to send him chocolate and snuff from the continent, and details his preference for flowery or unscented varieties.

Filed Under: Books + Manuscripts, Cataloging, Digital Collections, Research + Teaching Tagged With: Carl H. Pforzheimer, Cataloging, Duke of Monmouth’s Rebellion, Edmund Spenser, Esther Inglis, Glorious Revolution of William and Mary, Isaac Penington, John Donne, John Evelyn, John Locke, Joseph Williamson, King Charles I, Manuscripts, Margaret Askew Fell Fox, Oliver Cromwell, Queen Anne, Queen Elizabeth I, Research, Rye House Plot, Samuel Pepys, Shepheardes Calendar, Sir Richard Bulstrode, Sir Walter Raleigh, Whitelocke Bulstrode, William Congreve

Application process open for Ransom Center’s fellowships

September 3, 2013 - Jennifer Tisdale

The Harry Ransom Center invites applications for its 2014–2015 research fellowships in the humanities.

Information about the fellowships and the application process is available online. The deadline for applications, which must be submitted through the Ransom Center’s website, is January 31, 2014, at 5 p.m. CST.

More than 50 fellowships are awarded annually by the Ransom Center to support projects that require substantial on-site use of its collections. The fellowships support research in all areas of the humanities, including literature, photography, film, art, the performing arts, music, and cultural history.

All applicants, with the exception of those applying for dissertation fellowships, must have a Ph.D. or be independent scholars with a substantial record of achievement.

The fellowships range from one to three months, with stipends of $3,000 per month. Also available are $1,200 or $1,700 travel stipends and dissertation fellowships with a $1,500 stipend.

Information about the Ransom Center collections can be found online and in the Guide to the Collections.

The stipends are funded by Ransom Center endowments and annual sponsors, including the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Research Fellowship Endowment, the Dorot Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Jewish Studies, the Robert De Niro Endowed Fund, the Carl H. Pforzheimer Endowment, the Woodward and Bernstein Endowment, the Frederic D. Weinstein Memorial Fellowship in Twentieth-Century American Literature, the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, the South Central Modern Language Association, the Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies at The University of Texas at Austin, and The University of Texas at Austin Office of Graduate Studies.

Applicants will be notified of decisions on April 1, 2014.

The 2014–2015 academic cycle will mark the 25th anniversary of the Ransom Center’s fellowship program. Since the program’s inauguration in 1990, the Center has supported the research of more than 800 scholars through fellowships.

Filed Under: Research + Teaching Tagged With: American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, and The University of Texas at Austin Office of Graduate Studies, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Carl H. Pforzheimer, Dorot Foundation, Fellowships, Frederic D. Weinstein, Robert De Niro, Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies, South Central Modern Language Association, Woodward and Bernstein

Primary Sidebar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4_kazYMjNM

Recent Posts

  • The Knickerbocker Theatre Collapse
  • On the Record: Black Creators and the Jazz Age
  • Ransom Center experience leads to new challenge for Monte Monreal
  • Films represented in the Drawing the Motion Picture exhibition
  • Celebrate with us in 2023

Tags

acquisition Alice's Adventures in Wonderland archive archives Art Books Cataloging Conservation Council on Library and Information Resources David Foster Wallace David O. Selznick digitization exhibition Exhibitions Fellows Find Fellowships Film Frank Reaugh Frank Reaugh: Landscapes of Texas and the American West Gabriel Garcia Marquez Gabriel Garcia Marquez archive Gone with the Wind I have seen the Future: Norman Bel Geddes Designs America Lewis Carroll literature Magnum Photos Manuscripts Meet the Staff Nobel Prize Norman Bel Geddes Norman Mailer Performing Arts Photography poetry preservation Publishing Research Robert De Niro Shakespeare theater The King James Bible: Its History and Influence The Making of Gone With The Wind Undergraduate What is Research? World War I

Archives

Before Footer

Sign up for eNews

Our monthly newsletter highlights news, exhibitions, and programs.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

About

Ransom Center Magazine is an online and print publication sharing stories and news about the Harry Ransom Center, its collections, and the creative community surrounding it.

Copyright © 2023 Harry Ransom Center

Web Accessibility · Web Privacy