Literary Papers of D.H. Lawrence, 1890s-1936, in the D.H. Lawrence Collection

Scope and Content

Early material within the collection includes notebooks kept by Lawrence while a student at University College, Nottingham, within which are drafts of his poems, as well as some evidence of his student work. Autograph and typescript copies of poems are present, and a typescript copy of the short story, 'The Primrose Path'. There is also a typescript copy of an unfinished article on Dostoevsky, and marked galley proofs of 'Sons and Lovers', pp 175-83 and pp 198-209. Other significant items include autograph copies of his 'Memoir of Maurice Magnus'.

Some of the accruals have been kept in groups, preserving their common origin. A particularly significant group is that containing the autograph copies of 'Touch and Go', 'Wintry Peacock', 'The Gentleman from San Francisco' and the Herman Melville and Dana essays for 'Studies in Classic American Literature'. This group also includes proofs of 'Amores', 'New Poems' and 'Italian Days' and a number of items concerning publication contracts and rights.

A further common group includes copies in manuscript, typescript or proof form of the short stories 'Rex', 'A sick Collier', 'The fly in the Ointment', 'The white stocking' and 'Legend: Ruby-Glass' as well as notebooks of poetry and other occasional pieces.

Administrative / Biographical History

This is an artificial group, consisting primarily of the literary manuscripts of D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930) which have been acquired by the University of Nottingham at various times from the 1930s to the present. Further literary manuscripts are present in the Lawrence Collection within other archival groups; e.g. the Papers of Louie Burrows (La B) and the Lazarus Collection (La Z).

Arrangement

The material is arranged primarily by date of acquisition by the Library.

Access Information

Accessible to all registered readers. Readers are, in most cases, expected to use surrogate copies.

Other Finding Aids

Copyright in all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.

In the Reading Room, King's Meadow Campus:

Typescript Catalogues, 9 pp

At the National Register of Archives, London:

Typescript Catalogues, 9 pp

On the World Wide Web:

Catalogue available through the website of Manuscripts and Special Collections, Manuscripts Online Catalogue. This electronic catalogue supersedes, and is more detailed than the typescript catalogues, and users are advised to refer to the online catalogue in preference to the printed versions.

Custodial History

In general, papers in this group were purchased or given as single items, and do not have a common provenance. More detailed information about provenance is given at lower levels of description.

Bibliography

Publication details of individual texts are given within the item-level catalogue descriptions.

Genre/Form