The Phillipps Papers

A small miscellaneous collection of 18th and early 19th century correspondence to and from various booksellers and publishers. The correspondence relates to accounts, purchases and proof-reading.

Sir Thomas Phillipps, first baronet, 1792-1872, antiquary and bibliophile. Educated at Rugby and University College Oxford; MA, 1820. From his earliest years Phillipps showed a passion for collecting books and manuscripts. His collections were rich in Welsh poetry and he possessed 400-500 volumes of oriental manuscripts. He was created a baronet in 1821 and in 1822 he established a private printing press at his home in Worcestershire. Phillipps printed visitations, extracts from registers, genealogies, cartularies and brief catalogues of collections of manuscripts in private and public libraries.

Reference: The Concise Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, London, 1948).

Open. Access to all registered researchers.

This collection was purchased at auction, at Sotheby's in 1974.

A paper catalogue to item level is available in the Special Collections Department and at the National Register of Archives in London.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the University Archivist, Special Collections. Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Further deposits are not expected.

University of Birmingham Information Services, Special Collections Department also holds the Cadell and Davies Papers which were originally collected by Phillipps.