Samuel Johnson letters, 1731-1784.

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Samuel Johnson letters, 1731-1784.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/612836443

This collection consists of 744 letters and fragments written by Johnson between 1731 and 1784, and manuscript transcripts and reproductions of other Johnson letters which are unavailable elsewhere. It includes 232 letters to Johnson's most regular correspondent, his friend Hester Lynch Thrale (later Hester Lynch Piozzi), from 1765 until 1784. Other particularly noteworthy correspondents were actor David Garrick; the painters Frances Reynolds and Sir Joshua Reynolds; and novelist Samuel Richardson. Regular correspondents represented most heavily in the collection include Mrs. Thrale's daughter Hester (later Hester Maria Elphinstone, Viscountess Keith); friend and protege Bennet Langton; stepdaughter Lucy Porter; and boyhood friend John Taylor. All but four of the complete letters were published in Redford's Hyde Edition, the exceptions being letters to Thomas Cadell, Thomas Lawrence, Thomas Percy, and Henry Thrale.

6 boxes (1.75 linear ft.)

Houghton Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7801227

Houghton Library

Related Entities

There are 15 Entities related to this resource.

Donald and Mary Hyde Collection of Dr. Samuel Johnson (Houghton Library)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tv5gw7 (corporateBody)

Percy, Thomas, 1729-1811

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62808mk (person)

Thomas Percy was the editor of the Reliques of ancient English poetry and of The Regulations and establishment of the household of Henry Algernon Percy (London, 1770). From the description of Thomas Percy letter, Northumberland House [London], to Dear Sir, [1767] Saturday, May 9. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 38929735 Epithet: Bishop of Norwich British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/...

Garrick, David, 1717-1779

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qf8w12 (person)

David Garrick was raised in Lichfield, England, and became a leading actor, playwright and theatrical producer in London. From 1747 to 1776, he was a partner in the Drury Lane Theatre. From the description of Papers, 1749-1778. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 85213417 David Garrick, English actor and playwright. Garrick frequently invested in land, and in 1756 he bought a large estate in Hendon, northwest of London. There is no evidence that Garrick ever lived at H...

Reynolds, Joshua, Sir, 1723-1792

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66d5ww4 (person)

Epithet: of Add MS 38728 British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001129.0x000076 Sir Joshua Reynolds was the leading portrait painter of late 18th-century England. He was a friend of Samuel Johnson and a founding member of the Literary Club, and was knighted in 1769. He also delivered a series of influential discourses on painting to the Royal Academy from 1769 to 1790. From the description of Papers, 1767-...

Langton, Bennet, 1737-1801

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hm5fhp (person)

Epithet: of Add MS 38510 British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001298.0x00006a Bennet Langton, English writer, and friend of Samuel Johnson. From the description of Bennet Langton manuscript material : 1 item, 1786 (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 696631839 ...

Taylor, John, 1711-1788

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6wq07ts (person)

Reynolds, Frances, 1729-1807

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hm5fbf (person)

Frances Reynolds (1729-1807) was a portrait artist, the author of An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Taste (1789), and the sister of artist Sir Joshua Reynolds. She was also a friend of Samuel Johnson from ca. 1756 until his death in 1784. From the guide to the Frances Reynolds papers, 1774-1800 and undated., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University) Frances Reynolds was a portrait artist, the author of An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Taste...

Thrale, Henry, 1728-1781

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6j96bjg (person)

Epithet: brewer, of St. Saviour's, Southwark, and Streatham British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001344.0x0003a3 Epithet: of Southwark British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001344.0x0003a4 Epithet: MP, husband of Hester Lynch Thrale British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100...

Johnson, Samuel, 1709-1784

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sb43r1 (person)

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) was one of the leading literary figures of eighteenth-century England. He is best remembered for compiling the first comprehensive dictionary of the English language, published in 1755. Prominent among his diverse other works, he also wrote the satirical History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia (1759), edited The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare (1765), and produced the important Prefaces, Biographical and Critical, to the Works of the English Poets (first collect...

Keith, Hester Maria Elphinstone, Viscountess, 1764-1857

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jm2g0j (person)

Epithet: née Thrale; wife of Admiral G K Elphinstone, Viscount Keith British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000980.0x0002ab Viscountess Keith was born Hester Maria Thrale, the daughter of Henry Thrale (1728-1781) and Hester Lynch Thrale (1741-1821) of London. The famous lexicographer and poet Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) was a frequent guest at their home from 1765 onward, and became friendly with young Hester, whom he ...

Porter, Lucy, 1715-1786

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6bk1hpb (person)

Richardson, Samuel, 1689-1761

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6bz6822 (person)

English novelist. From the description of Autograph letter signed : London, to Dr. [Edward] Young, 1749 Sept. 9. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270617487 From the description of Autograph letter signed : London, to Thomas Sheridan, 1758 Apr. 9. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270617492 From the description of Autograph letter signed : to "Madam" [Frances Grainger], 1748 Dec. 20. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270617481 From the description of Autograph lette...

Piozzi, Hester Lynch, 1741-1821

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6bp06t2 (person)

Hester Lynch Thrale (born Hester Lynch Salusbury and after her second marriage, Hester Lynch Piozzi ) was a British diarist, author, and patron of the arts. Her diaries and correspondence are an important source of information about Samuel Johnson and eighteenth-century life. From the description of Autograph poem, unsigned, an adaptation of Francis Fawkes's "An Autumnal Ode, " no date [paper watermarked 1813]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 754864928 From the description of...

Cadell, T. (Thomas), 1742-1802

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tb1c13 (person)

Thomas Cadell (1742-1802) entered the London book trade in 1758 as an apprentice to Andrew Millar. He entered into partnership with Millar in 1765, and became the sole proprietor in 1767. He was perhaps the leading bookseller in London until his retirement in 1793. He was succeeded by the firm of Cadell & Davies, consisting of his son Thomas Cadell (1773-1836) and William Davies (d. 1820). Cadell Jr. acted as sole proprietor after the death of Davies, and the firm came to a conclusion with h...

Lawrence, Thomas, 1711-1783

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vt1xxh (person)

Thomas Lawrence, a London physician, is primarily remembered for his long friendship with one of his patients, the writer Samuel Johnson. From the description of Papers, 1760-1787. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 85213447 From the guide to the Papers, 1760-1787., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University) ...