James Orchard Halliwell was born in Sloane Street, in London's Chelsea, on 21 June 1820. He was educated at private schools, and showed an aptitude for mathematics. In his teen years, he began to collect books and manuscripts. In November 1837 he matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge, but in April 1838 he transferred to Jesus College. There, he was awarded a mathematical prize and scholarship, and he acted as Librarian. In 1839, before he was nineteen years of age, he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and then Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1840, Halliwell left Cambridge after the Lent term, without a degree, and settled in London. By then, he had collected around 130 early manuscripts, mainly dealing with mathematics and astrology, but these had to be sold under pressure from creditors. In London he worked in the Library of the British Museum and continued buying books and manuscripts. It was his purchase and collection of manuscripts that, in 1844, led to serious charges against him of abstracting material from Trinity College. Throughout his life, he was an insatiable collector of rare books and manuscripts. Halliwell was also an energetic member of the many literary societies founded at the time - the Camden Society, the Percy Society, the Shakespeare Society. To the latter he contributed many short essays. In 1841, Halliwell came to the attention of antiquary and bibliophile Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872). He soon became a house guest and in 1842 Halliwell married the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Phillipps, after which he assumed the name of James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps. Also at this time, he began to concentrate his attention on the life of Shakespeare and the text of Shakespeare's works. His publication record as a whole includes works on archaeology, folklore, balladry, philology, and history, and some notable works are A brief account of the life, writings and inventions of Sir Samuel Morland: master of mechanics to Charles the Second (1838), An introduction to the Midsummer Night's Dream, an essay on the character of Falstaff and Shakesperiana (1841), Dictionary of archaic and provincial words, obsolete phrases, proverbs, and ancient customs from the fourteenth century (1846), New boke about Shakespeare and Stratford-upon-Avon (1850), The complete works of Shakspere: revised from the original editions (1850), and Outlines of a life of Shakespeare (1881). In the course of his literary researches he often had occasion to communicate with David Laing (1793-1878), historian, antiquary, bibliographer, and collector. James O. Halliwell-Phillipps died on 3 January 1889.
From the guide to the Collection of James O. Halliwell-Phillipps (1820-1889), 16th century-19th century, (Edinburgh University Library)
