Highly separated collection of correspondence and other material including: class tickets, galley proofs of the last two chapters of the Life of John Sterling; holograph drafts; general correspondence on a variety of subjects such as articles for The Edinburgh encyclopaedia, 1820, a pamphlet on the nationalist's case in Schleswig-Holstein, pauperism, a cigarette making machine, the reprint of The French revolution, suggestions about submitting a manuscript, the publication of Sartor and Cromwell, and including those to Charles Butler, Robert Browning, Geraldine Jewsbury, J. Johnstone, 1817-1825, Sir David Brewster, William Dougal Christie, Rev. David Aitken, 1827-1841, Eliza Stodart, 1832, Samuel Aitken, J. Ballantine, and to booksellers and his publisher; and, letters to his wife. There are also autographed notes, photos and etched portrait.
Collection of Correspondence and Papers of Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)
This material is held atEdinburgh University Library Heritage Collections
- Reference
- GB 237 Coll-128
- Dates of Creation
- 19th century
- Language of Material
- English.
- Physical Description
- circa 170 letters, and miscellaneous autograph notes and quotations and memos, miscellaneous microfilm.
Scope and Content
Administrative / Biographical History
The historian, essayist, critic and sage Thomas Carlyle was born on 4 December 1795, in Ecclefechan, Dumfriesshire. He was educated at the village school and then in Annan at the academy. In 1809 he began studies at Edinburgh University. Originally intended for the ministry, Carlyle had showed a keenness for mathematics, as well as studying French, Latin and Greek, and became a mathematics teacher in Annan and then in Edinburgh. In 1824 he translated Goethe's Wilhelm Meister. Other publications include Sartor Resartus (1835), the three volume The French revolution (1837), the Life and letters of Oliver Cromwell (1845), and the six volume Friedrich II (1858-1865). Carlyle's wife Jane Baillie Welsh Carlyle (1801-1866), whom he married in 1826, was from Haddington, and was a prodigious letter writer. Thomas Carlyle died on 4 February 1881 and was buried in Ecclefechan.
Access Information
Generally open for consultation to bona fide researchers, but please contact repository for details in advance.
Acquisition Information
This collection has been built up throughout the twentieth century with more recent acquisitions from the mid-1960s through to 2001. Check the Index for more particular detail of the long list of Accession nos.
Note
Note that when this record was created any associated photographic/illustrative material was unseen.
The biographical/administrative history was compiled using the following material: (1) Keay, John. and Keay, Julia (eds.). Collins encyclopaedia of Scotland. London: Harper Collins, 1994. (2) Stephen, Leslie. and Lee, Sidney (eds.). Dictionary of national biography. London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1908.
Compiled by Graeme D Eddie, Edinburgh University Library, Special Collections Division.
Other Finding Aids
Important finding aids generally are: the alphabetical Index to Manuscripts held at Edinburgh University Library, Special Collections and Archives, consisting of typed slips in sheaf binders and to which additions were made until 1987; and the Index to Accessions Since 1987.
Accruals
Check the local Indexes for details of any additions.