IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0096 AL299
Held at: Senate House Library, University of London
Title: Bloomfield, Robert: letter
Date(s): 1818
Level of description: Collection
Extent: 1 sheet
Name of creator(s): Bloomfield | Robert | 1766-1823 | poet
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
Robert Bloomfield was born in Honington, Suffolk, in 1766. As a boy he worked on his uncle's farm. He then trained as a cobbler under his older brother, spending much of his spare time reading and later also writing poetry. His first major (and most famous) poem, The Farmer's Boy, was begun in 1796 and eventually published in 1800, becoming both a popular and a critical success. Despite being granted a pension by the Duke of Grafton, Bloomfield continued to make shoes and Aeolian harps alongside his literary work for some years and he and his family were never financially secure.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Letter from Robert Bloomfield to 'Charles' [? Bloomfield's brother or son], 27 May 1818. 'The coach is just coming, and I have time only to say that I send your flageolet. I have nothing to say if I had time, only that we are well and join in love and good wishes'. Autograph, with signature.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
See hard copy catalogue.
Conditions governing access:
Access to this collection is unrestricted for the purpose of private study and personal research within the supervised environment and restrictions of the Library's Palaeography Room. Please contact the University Archivist for details. 24 hours notice is required for research visits.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Copies may be made, subject to the condition of the original. Copying must be undertaken by the Palaeography Room staff, who will need a minimum of 24 hours to process requests.
Finding aids:
Typescript catalogue available in the Library's Palaeography Room.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Accruals:
Archival history:
See archivist.
Immediate source of acquisition:
Found enclosed in the Stirling Library copy of Bloomfield's The Farmer's Boy (1800) - classmark: [S.L.] I [Bloomfield, R. - 1800].
ALLIED MATERIALS
Existence and location of copies:
A typed transcript is filed with the original letter.
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Archivist's note: Compiled by Anya Turner.
Date(s) of descriptions: July 2008