Phillipps, Sir Thomas: letter (1837)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0096 AL259
Held at	: Senate House Library, University of London   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.senatehouselibrary.ac.uk/our-collections ›
Full title	: Phillipps, Sir Thomas: letter (1837)
Date(s)	: 1837
Level of description	: fonds
Extent	: 2 leaves
Name of creator(s)	: Phillipps | Sir | Thomas | 1792-1872 | 1st Baronet | collector of books and manuscripts

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Thomas Phillipps was born in Manchester in 1792. He was brought up in Worcestershire by his father. He was educated at Rugby School and at University College, Oxford, graduating in 1815. Phillipps's father died in 1818 and thereafter he lived on a private income, although his passion for collecting books and manuscripts (which he indulged freely) meant that he was continually in debt and often on bad terms with suppliers and members of his family. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1820 and a baronet in 1921. At the time of Phillipps's death in 1872 his collection comprised many thousands of volumes and it was took more than a century for all of it it to be broken up and gradually sold; the final lot was eventually sold in 1977.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Letter from Sir Thomas Phillipps of Oxford to [Edward Duke], 14 Mar 1837. '... my thanks for the kind manner in which you express a wish to see my portion of the Wilts History in print. You will be gratified to hear that I have advanced to page 56 of the 2nd part of Aubreys Wilts [John Aubrey Natural History of Wiltshire] ... & have this last week collected from the stores of Bodley some information which I did not before possess'. Mentioning the expense of publication and the difficulty of selling works of local history. 'I am not so rich as our mutual and valuable friend Sir Richard Hoare to be able to spend & lose 2000 per annum for the mere pleasure of illustrating the History of Wiltshire. At the same time I have no wish to make it a profitable speculation for myself.' Saying that he is happy to purchase a copy of Duke's book [probably Prolusiones historicae (1837)]. Autograph, with signature.

Access & 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

Archival history:

See archivist

Immediate source of acquisition:

Found inserted in Edward Duke's copy of William Stukeley Palaeographia Sacra (1736), the gift of Lt-Col R H Melville Lee - classmark: [G.L.] 1786

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Compiled by Anya Turner.

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
Aug 2008