Personal and academic papers of Neville Horton Smith (1914-1987), Professor of German at the University of Nottingham, 1945-1979

The majority of the collection relates to the years which Neville Horton Smith spent as Professor of German at the University of Nottingham. They refer to academic contacts and research as well as to his work as an author and translator, and his activities as an expert on Hungarian and German language and literature. The principal series in the collection are:

• Manuscript and typescript essays, articles, research notes and translations. 1946-1979 (MS 409/1);
• Correspondence. 1946-1979 (MS 409/2);
• Personal items and printed ephemera; newspaper cuttings; poems and prose written by or referring to works by Audrey Beecham, Hilda Lewis and Ferdinand Freiligrath; an annotated printed copy of 'Duineser Elegien' by Rainer Maria Rilke, and a few papers relating to the University of Nottingham including Mountaineering Club and Students' Union membership cards. 1945-1979 (MS 409/3).

Neville Horton Smith was born in Worcester in 1914 and was educated at Bloxham School between 1927 and 1933. He spent a year as assistant master at Cleve Court Preparatory School, Worcester before entering Corpus Christi College, Oxford where he remained until 1937. In 1936 and 1937 he attended courses at the universities of Paris and Bonn as Heath Harrison Travelling Scholar. While in Paris, he learnt Hungarian. His research topic at the time was 18th century humorists. In 1939, he became assistant master at King's College, Taunton. During the Second World War, Horton Smith worked as a researcher both in the UK and the USA where his language skills were utilised.

In 1946, Horton Smith joined University College Nottingham (now the University of Nottingham) as assistant lecturer in German. He was promoted to full lectureship in 1948, senior lectureship in 1966, and a readership in 1974. In 1976 he was appointed to the Chair of German from which he retired in 1979. While at the University, he had a long association with Hugh Stewart Hall. Emeritus Professor Neville Horton Smith died on 28 January 1987.

Horton Smith published relatively little; his works included 'Justus Moser and the British', 'Expressionism in poetry', and 'The Anti-romanticism of Goethe'. He worked on Hungarian dictionaries, concordances and translations. He was an extensive reviewer, particularly from 1949 for the reviewing journal 'Erasmus' whose editorial board he joined in 1969. He translated three theological books by Bon Hoeffer, Gogarten and Heim. Jointly with Canon C.S. Bayes, he wrote the Nottinghamshire chapter in John Betjeman's book on English parish churches which was published in 1958.

The collection has been divided by document type into series. Within these series, items have been arranged chronologically where possible.

ACCESS: Pending full cataloguing, access is limited and is only available to registered readers with advance notice and agreement.

LANGUAGE: English, Hungarian, German

• This description is the only finding aid available for the collection. Copyright on the description belongs to The University of Nottingham.

• Other collections are recorded on the National Register of Archives (http://www.hmc.gov.uk/NRA/nra2.htm).

REPROGRAPHIC: Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

COPYRIGHT: Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk).

The collection was acquired by the University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections in 1987.

• University of Nottingham: Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections: Papers of Audrey Beecham (died 1989), lecturer and warden of the University of Nottingham's Florence Nightingale Hall of Residence. 1952-1971. Reference number: AB