Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 1837-1909.
Title:	Algernon Charles Swinburne Collection
Inclusive Dates:	1858-1962
Quantity:	1.25 linear ft.
Abstract:	Papers of the English poet and author
Language:	English
Repository:	Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909) was a Victorian era English poet.

Swinburne was born in London to Admiral Charles Henry Swinburne and Lady Jane Henrietta, a daughter of George, 3rd Earl of Ashburnham, but grew up on the Isle of Wight. Swinburne attended Eton college and then Balliol College, Oxford where he took several prizes for French and Italian but was "rusticated" (temporarily expelled) from the university in 1859. He is considered one of the Pre-Raphaelites, a collective term for a group of English artists, poets, critics and writers which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais, William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, and William Holman Hunt. Two early works, Atalanta in Calydon (1865) and Poems and Ballads, First Series (1866), established him as England's premier poet, though critics have noted with disfavor his florid style and his tendency to choose words for their fitness to rhyme scheme rather than their contribution to the meaning of a piece.

Besides his poetry, Swinburne was active as a critic, and authored several volumes of literary criticism including Note on Charlotte Brontë (1880), Study of Shakespeare (1877), and The Age of Shakespeare (1909). His criticism was less reasoned than passionate, being strongly influenced by his personal likes and dislikes.

Swinburne's personal life was often marred by controversy. He drank excessively, had nervous fits of energy, engaged in self-flagellation, and possibly had intimate relationships with men, a controversy at the time. When Swinburne received criticism for being homosexual, he countered with circulating a story that he engaged in bestiality with a monkey, a story that was almost surely fabricated (Oscar Wilde alleged that Swinburne was "a braggart in matters of vice, who had done everything he could to convince his fellow citizens of his homosexuality and bestiality without being in the slightest degree a homosexual or a bestializer."). By the end of the 1870s, Swinburne's overconsumption of alcohol started to negatively affect his health. In 1879 his legal advisor Theodore Watts-Dunton persuaded him to adopt a healthier lifestyle and focus on his writing. Watts-Dunton isolated Swinburne from his friends and family, and Swinburne lived the rest of his days at "The Pines," Watts-Dunton's house outside London.

Swinburne died of influenza in 1909.

[Portions of this biographical sketch adapted from "A. C. Swinburne: Biography" by Glenn Everett, Associate Professor of English, University of Tennessee at Martin.]

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

Spanning 1858 to 1962, the Algernon Charles Swinburne Collection consists of correspondence, drawings, financial material, photographs, and writings.

Correspondence comprises 76 outgoing letters, 10 incoming letters, and 32 letters, some referring to Swinburne, written by his contemporaries.

Writings comprises manuscripts, poems, miscellaneous writings, and writings by others.

Miscellany contains assorted material relating to Swinburne, including a drawing and photograph of Swinburne.

Cecil Y. Lang's The Swinburne Letters (1959-1962), as well as the curatorial files of John S. Mayfield housed in the Department of Special Collections, were used to establish many of the names and dates found in this inventory.

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Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence is arranged chronologically.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Subjects

Genres and Forms

Occupations

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Algernon Charles Swinburne Collection
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Assembled through gifts by John S. Mayfield and Library purchases.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: ASE
Date: May 1994
Revision history: 21 Dec 2010 - ink portrait, P-10-389 (MRC); 18 Apr 2007 - converted to EAD (AMCon); 21 Dec 2010 - added portrait (MRC); 15 Aug 2018 - 2 missing items noted (MS); 9 Dec 2021 - 6 bound items added, biography updated (DTF)

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Inventory

	Correspondence
		Correspondence of Swinburne
Box 1			Charlemont (Lady) no year Jun 20
Box 1			Appleton, C. E. no year Dec 18
Box 1			Gosse, Edmund undated
Box 1			Hatch, Edwin undated
Box 1			Meredith (Mrs.) undated
Box 1			Tupper, Martin F. undated
Box 1			Venturi, Emilie Ashurst no year Jan 9
Box 1			Watts-Dunton, Theodore undated
Box 1			"Dear Sir" (2) undated
Box 1			Hatch, Edwin 1858 Feb 17
Box 1			Brown 1864 Jul 5
Box 1			Ruskin, John 1866 Mar 21?
Box 1			Knight, Joseph 1866 Aug 4
Box 1			Hotten, John Camden 1866 Sep 20
Box 1			Rossetti, William Michael (fragment) 1866 Oct 15
Box 1			Hotten, John Camden 1866 Nov 4
Box 1			Hotten, John Camden 1866 Nov 6
Box 1			unidentified (fragment) 1866?
Box 1			Stoddard, Richard Henry 1867 Jan 1
Box 1			Taylor, Bayard 1867 Mar 18
Box 1			Routledge, Edmund 1867 Dec 11
Box 1			Collingwood, J. Frederick? 1868 Jan 31
Box 1			"My Dear Sir" 1868 May 14
Box 1			Haweis, Hugh Reginald 1870 Feb 13
Box 1			Haweis, Hugh Reginald 1870 May?
Box 1			Ellis, F. S. 1870 Aug 26
Box 1			Forman, H. Buxton 1872 Jan 22
Box 1			Watts-Dunton, Theodore 1875 Jan 20
Box 1			Jeremiah, John 1875 Nov 20
Box 1			Hueffer, Francis 1875 Dec 11
Box 1			"Sir" 1876 Jan 15
Box 1			Watts-Dunton, Theodore 1876 Apr 19
Box 1			Bentley, Richard 1876 Jul 27
Box 1			Hayne, Paul Hamilton 1877 Mar 20
Box 1			Pfeiffer, J. E. 1877 Mar 22
Box 1			"Dear Sir" 1877 Jun 12
Box 1			Chatto, Andrew 1878 Jan 31
Box 1			Watts-Dunton, Theodore 1878 Feb 7
Box 1			Forman, H. Buxton (subscription) 1878 Apr 23
Box 1			Forman, H. Buxton 1878 Dec 8
Box 1			Chatto, Andrew 1879 Jul 14
Box 1			Rossetti, William Michael 1879 Nov 15
Box 1			Rossetti, William Michael 1879 Nov 27
Box 1			Pearson, John 1880 Oct 12
Box 1			"Dear Sir" 1880 Oct 14
Box 1			Gosse, Edmund 1881 Mar 1
Box 1			Chatto, Andrew 1881 Apr 4
Box 1			"Sir" 1881?
Box 1			Chatto, Andrew 1882 Feb 26
Box 1			Forman, H. Buxton 1882 Apr 17
Box 1			Forman, H. Buxton 1882 Jul 29
Box 1			Purnell, Thomas 1884 Feb 14
Box 1			Locker-Lampson, Frederick 1886 Mar 24
Box 1			Pollington (Lord) 1887 Jan 11
Box 1			Patrick, David 1887 Jan 27
Box 1			Arnold, Edwin 1887 May 1
Box 1			Nutt, Alfred T. 1888 Apr 22
Box 1			unidentified 1888 Oct 4
Box 1			Black, William 1888 Nov 4
Box 1			Every, Frederic 1889 Mar 14
Box 1			Graves, Charles L. 1889 Jul 29
Box 1			"Dear Sir" 1892 Oct 10
Box 1			Knowles, James Thomas 1895 Mar 19
Box 1			Watts-Dunton, Theodore 1896 Jul 20
Box 1			Grosart, Alexander Balloch 1898 Jun 16
Box 1			"Dear Sir" 1898 Jun 25
Box 1			Gosse, Edmund 1899 Mar 1
Box 1			Swinburne (Lady) 1899 Jun 9
Box 1			Ingersoll, Eva Farrell 1899 Dec 5
Box 1			Heinemann, W. 1901 Jan 10
Box 1			Saturday Review (receipt) 1901 Jan 12
Box 1			Swinburne sisters (postmarked Apr 9) 1901 Apr 16
Box 1			Payne, John 1902 Sep 28
Box 1			Grainger, H. A. 1903 Jul 27
Box 1			Earle, Algie 1906 Jun 7
		Incoming correspondence
Box 1			Aubertin, John James 1878 Jun 2
Box 1			Black, William 1888 Nov 7
Box 1			Dalston & Son 1867 Jan 1
Box 1			Gosse, Edmund 1879 Dec 31
Box 1			Harrison, Edwin 1876 May 22
Box 1			Lytton-Bulwer, Edward 1866 Aug 5
Box 1			Morley, John 1874 Aug 15
Box 1			Morley, John 1880 Jul 11
Box 1			Powell, George 1877 Aug 9
Box 1			Venturi, Emilie Ashurst 1886 Jun 5
		Correspondence of others
Box 1			Allingham, William (to Knowles) no year Jun 9
Box 1			Alma-Tadema, Laurence (to Young, W. P.) 1893 Mar 28
Box 1			Buchanan, Robert (to Clarke, Campbell) 1872 Aug 22
Box 1			Burne-Jones, Edward (to Shaw, R. Norman) 1886 (2 letters)
Box 1			Currie, James (to Swinburne, John) 1803 Aug 8
Box 1			Gosse, Edmund (to Stuart (Mr.)) 1884 Sep 24
Box 1			Gosse, Edmund (to Ward, William C.) 1892 Apr 9
Box 1			Gosse, Edmund (to Ward, William C.) 1892 Apr 11
Box 1			Gosse, Edmund (to Ward, William C.) 1893 Feb 23
Box 1			Greene, Fannie H. (to Hotten, John Camden) undated
Box 1			Hugo, Victor (to Haweis, Hugh Reginald) 1870 Apr 24
Box 1			Jowett, Benjamin (to Holland, H. M.) 1877 Dec 21
Box 1			Lambe, John Lawrence (to Ellis (Mr.)) 1920 Mar 8
Box 1			Linton, E. Lynn (to unidentified) 1868 May 23
Box 1			Linton, E. Lynn (to unidentified) 1890 Nov 27
Box 1			Linton, E. Lynn (to unidentified) 1893 Jan 19
Box 1			Locker-Lampson, F. (to unidentified) no year Feb 24
Box 1			Masefield, John (to Mayfield, J. S.) 1952 Dec 2
Box 1			Moreton, R. L. (to Gosse, Philip) 1948 Aug 14
Box 1			Morley, John (to Austin (Mr.)) 1881 May? 5
Box 1			Mosher, Thomas Bird (to unidentified) 1902 May 30
Box 1			Rossetti, Christina (to Heimann (Mrs.)) 1864 Dec 14
Box 1			Rossetti, Dante Gabriel (to Shorter (Mr.)) no year Nov 11
Box 1			Rossetti, William M. (to unidentified) 1850 Feb 18
Box 1			Rossetti, William M. (to Sandys, Frederick) 1884 Apr 8
Box 1			Rossetti, William M. (to Anthony, Constance) 1895? Apr 12
Box 1			Shepherd, Richard Herne (to Kitton, F. G.) 1884 Jan 23
Box 1			Shepherd, Richard Herne (to Kitton, F. G.) 1885 Dec 5
Box 1			Shepherd, Richard Herne (to Kitton, F. G.) 1886 Jan 6
Box 1			Shepherd, Richard Herne (to Kitton, F. G.) 1886 Mar 8
Box 1			Terry, Ellen (to Watts-Dunton, T.) 1904 Sep 2

	Writings
		Writings of Swinburne
Box 2			"Adieux a Marie Stuart"
Box 2			Ah, what is it to give up all! . . .
Box 2			"Autumn in Cornwall"
Box 2			Ballad of Life (fragment)
Box 2			"Before Dawn"
Box 2			"Birthday Ode" [to Victor Hugo]
Box 2			"Chanson" (photostat only)
Box 2			Chastelard
Box 2			Chastelard (fragment) / Italian poem (verso)
Box 2			Collection of articles in the ninth edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica - a bound collection of Swinburne's articles that appeared in Encyclopedia Britannica
Box 2			Collection of writings - a bound collection of Swinburne's writings
Box 2			The Cup of God's Wrath (photostat only)
Box 2			"The Death of Richard Wagner"
Box 2			"Elegy 1869-1891"
Box 2			"Frank Fane" ; "Will Drew and Phil Crewe"
Box 2			"Government of Florence"
Box 2			"Hawthorne Tide"
Box 2			"In San Lorenzo" (photostats only)
Box 2			"An Interlude"
Box 2			Lines from a respectable rat-catcher
Box 2			"The Litany of Nations"
Box 2			Love's Cross Currents / A Year's Letters
Box 2			Lyrical poem - untitled
Box 2			"Mary Beaton"
Box 2			"Nell Gwyn"
Box 2			Nevertheless there was. . .
Box 2			"A New Year's Message to Joseph Mazzini"
Box 2			Notes on Aeschylus
Box 2			"Ode to Mazzini"
Box 2			"An Old Saying"
Box 2			"On the Death of Louis Blanc"
Box 2			"On the Death of Sir Henry Taylor"
Box 2			"On the Distinction between Annals and History"
Box 2			Pocket notebook
Box 2			"Rondel"
Box 2			"Satia te Sanguine"
Box 2			The sun & the wind & the spring. . .
Box 2			Swinburne's novels, Part I 1962 - edited by Edmund Wilson, uncorrected galley proofs, includes newspaper clippings regarding editor Edmund Wilson
Box 3			Swinburne's novels, Part II 1962 - edited by Edmund Wilson, uncorrected galley proofs
Box 3			"What He Was Not"
			"Will Drew and Phil Crewe"
				See "Frank Fane" ; "Will Drew and Phil Crewe"
Box 3			"William the Ranter on William the Canter"
Box 3			The Young Tamlane
			Miscellany
Box 3				Quotations of others in Swinburne's hand
Box 3				John Heath book [MISSING Aug 2018]
Box 3				The Standard (London, England) [MISSING Aug 2018] 17 Mar. 1884
Box 3			Untitled play
		Writings of others
Box 3			Gosse, Edmund Life of A. C. Swinburne (ms. notebook)
Box 3			Gosse, Philip Henry "Sanguinaria"
Box 3			Hugo, Victor "Les Enfants Pauvres"
Box 3			Morley, John, "Mr. Swinburne's New Poems"
Box 3			Rossetti, Dante Gabriel "The entail"; also "Venus Verticordia"
Box 3			Scott, Clement William "Quid Foemina Possit"
Box 3			Unidentified prose fragment (French)

	Miscellany
Box 3		Bank check signed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Box 3		Caricature of A. C. Swinburne by Carlo Pellegrini
Box 3		Certificates (4) - Balliol College (copies only)
Box 3		List of Poems and Ballads recipients
Box 3		Material relating to Lesbia Brandon assembled by R. Hughes
Box 3		Photograph of A. C. Swinburne by Thomas Ashburnham
Box 3		Portrait of A. C. Swinburne, artist unknown, pen and ink
Box 3		Watercolor drawing of A. C. Swinburne by Pauline Trevelyan.

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