Manuscript of a rhyming poem by Reverend John Eagles (1783-1855), artist and writer, alias 'Themaninthemoon', 1826

Manuscript volume of poetry by Rev. John Eagles. The volume contains a rhyming poem, written in manuscript on the recto in English in 89 folios signed 'THEMANINTHEMOON'. A Latin version is provided on the verso folios up to folio 27, partly in manuscript and partly from print cuttings, presumably from Felix Farley's Bristol Journal. The remaining pages of the volume (25 folios) contain notes about references in the poem; a note to the editor signed 'THEMANINTHEMOON'; and a song to be 'sung by all true drinkers of tea'. The hand of the manuscript has not been identified. A note inside the volume, in a different hand, records that the manuscript was used by John Mathew Gutch when printing Felix Farley, Rhymes, Latin and English by Themaninthemoon in 1826.

John Eagles was born in the parish of St Augustine, Bristol in 1783 the son of Thomas Eagles (1748-1812), a classical scholar. He was educated at Winchester College and later, with a view to ordination, at Wadham College, Oxford (BA. 1812, MA. 1818). His curacies were at St Nicholas, Bristol; Hambleton, Devon; Winford, Bristol; and Kinnersley, Herefordshire. In 1841, Eagles retired and returned to Bristol where he died in 1855.

Eagles was a keen painter and etcher, and from 1831, became a regular contributor of artwork and original or translated poetry to Blackwood's Magazine. Eagles also had poetry published in Felix Farley's Bristol Journal by its editor and Eagles' friend, John Mathew Gutch. Some of this work was published in Bristol in 1826 under the title Felix Farley, Rhymes, Latin and English by Themaninthemoon. In one poem in Felix Farley's Bristol Journal, Eagles exposed abuses which had existed in several public bodies in Bristol, especially in the Corporation. A volume entitled Sonnets was edited by another friend, Zo King, and published in Edinburgh and London in 1858.

No archival arrangement has been necessary.

ACCESS: Accessible to all registered readers.

LANGUAGE: English

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

• Other archive collections containing material relating to John Eagles are recorded on the National Register of Archives.

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: Permission to make published use of the manuscript must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk). The Department will try to assist in identifying copyright owners but this can be difficult and the responsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the person wishing to publish.

Specific details concerning the acquisition of the volume are not known. It is likely that it was acquired by the library of University College Nottingham (now The University of Nottingham) some time before 1947.

• Bristol Record Office: Literary and artistic manuscripts and correspondence of John Eagles, 1800-1853. Reference: 41213
• The University of Nottingham; Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections: Notebook containing landscape scenes of the Lake District by John Eagles, 1812. Reference: MS 309