Description:

Samuel Johnson
London, England, ca. 1749-1953
Archive Related to Samuel Johnson Incl. Edmond Malone 1790s MS Re: Earlier Edition of James Boswell's "Life of S. Johnson"
Archive

[SAMUEL JOHNSON.] Archive of related materials circa 1749-1953. 61 pp., in binder, 10" x 12". This archive relates to the life and career of Samuel Johnson and includes an original signed note by Edmond Malone that addresses a misunderstanding he perceived in an earlier edition of James Boswell's The Life of Samuel Johnson. After Boswell died in 1795, Malone made additional revisions in the third (1799), fourth (1804), fifth (1807), and sixth (1811) editions of Boswell's biography of Johnson. Another original note by Lord Thurlow addresses competing proposals for "adjusting this rough draft."

Content and Excerpts
- Edmond Malone, Autograph Document Signed, ca. 1790s, 2 pp., 7.5" x 7.75". Also three photostatic copies of the original, two positive and one negative. 6 pp., 7.5" x 7.75" to 8.5" x 11.125". Repaired tear; general toning.
Note Vol. 3, p 277
[The author in vol. 1, p. 188, says, that Johnson once told him, "that he had formed his style upon that of Sir William Temple, and upon Chambers's Proposal for his Dictionary. He certainly was mistaken; or if he imagined at first that he was imitating Temple, he was not very successful, for nothing can be more unlike the simplicity of Temple and the richness of Johnson."
"This observation on the first view seems perfectly just; but on a closer examination it will, I think, appear to have been founded on a misapprehension Mr Boswell understood Johnson too literally. He did not, I conceive, mean, that he endeavoured to imitate Temple's style in all its parts, but that he formed his style on him and Chambers, perhaps the paper published in 1737, relative to his second edition, entitled Considerations, &c, taking from each what was most worthy of imitation. The passage before us, I think, shews, that he learned from Temple to modulate his periods, and, in that respect only, made him his pattern. In this view of the subject there is no difficulty. He might learn from Chambers compactness, strength and precision (in opposition to the laxity of style which had long prevailed); from Sir Thomas Browne, (who was also certainly one of his archetypes,) pondera verborum, vigour and energy of expression; and from Temple, harmonious arrangement; the due collaboration of words, and the other arts and graces of composition here enumerated: and yet after all, his style might bear no striking resemblance to that of any of these writers, though it had profited by each. M.] Edmond Malone"
Edmond Malone (1741-1812) was born in Dublin, Ireland, to a member of the Irish House of Commons and his wife. He graduated from Trinity College in 1762 and entered the Inner Temple in London in the same year as James Boswell. In 1764, his father introduced him to Samuel Johnson. He became an ardent follower of Johnson and one of his most enthusiastic disciples. He was called to the Irish bar in 1767 and, from 1769 practiced law in Ireland. He also became active in literary studies. After his father died in 1776, he used his inheritance to pursue a life of scholarship. He contributed to a new edition of the works of his friend Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774) and Samuel Johnson's edition of the works of William Shakespeare. He moved to England and became a member of "The Club," an exclusive literary society in London, in 1782. In 1784, he visited the dying Samuel Johnson frequently and kept notes of their conversations that Boswell later included in his 1791 biography of Johnson.

- Lord Thurlow, Autograph Document Signed, Note, n.d., n.p. 1 p., 7.75" x 3.25". Attached to cardstock; general toning; some edge tears.
"N.B. It remains to be considered for the adjusting this rough draught wh terms ought to be offered on either side farther for balancing these proposals Lord Thurlow"
Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow (1731-1806) was a British lawyer who sat in the House of Commons from 1765 to 1778, when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Thurlow. He served as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain for fourteen years (1778-1783, 1783-1792). He was a strong opponent of American independence.

- Copies of letters by Samuel Johnson, 6 letters, 1749-1784. 8 pp.

- Postcards related to Samuel Johnson, 5 cards, 3.5" x 5.5", 4" x 6.5". 5 pp.

- Photographs related to Johnson, 7 photographs, 4" x 6" to 8" x 10". 7 pp.

- Prints of Johnson and related persons and places, 5 prints, 4" x 5.5" to 8" x 11". 5 pp.

- James Boswell, The Cub at New-Market: A Tale. London: R. and J. Dodsley, 1762. Photocopy from British Museum, 24 pp., 9" x 11.375".

- Wyman Parker, Librarian of the University of Cincinnati, Autograph Letter Signed, to Bertrand Smith, August 13, 1953, 1 p., 5.5" x 8.5", enclosing photostat of Herman W. Liebert of the Yale Editions of the Private Papers of James Boswell, Typed Letter Signed, to Wyman Parker, July 13, 1953, 2 pp., 8.5" x 13.75".

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) was born in Lichfield, England. He attended Pembroke College, Oxford, until lack of funds forced him to leave. He moved to London, began writing for The Gentleman's Magazine, and also wrote poems and plays. His A Dictionary of the English Language (1755) and his annotated The Plays of William Shakespeare (1756) were very well received and became very influential. In 1763, he befriended James Boswell and traveled with him to Scotland. He was a devout Anglican, a committed Tory, and became a leading force in literary criticism. He died in December 1784 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Boswell's biography of Johnson made him even more famous.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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