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Matthew Arnold Papers - Whitridge Collection

Provenance:

This collection formerly belonged to Arnold Whitridge, grandson of Matthew Arnold and son of Matthew Arnold's first daughter Mrs. Frederick W. Whitridge, nee Lucy Charlotte Arnold (1858-1934). It was given to Balliol College by Arnold Whitridge in January 1973.

Notes:

Matthew Arnold dated most of his letters as he wrote them. Where a date has been attributed I have given the source of the attribution where known. This is usually Arnold Whitridge or Vincent Quinn (College Librarian) but a few letters can be dated from Matthew Arnold's Letters. A Descriptive Checklist, Arthur Kyle Davis, Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1968, from Letters of Matthew Arnold 1848-1888, ed. George W.E. Russell, London: Macmillan, 1895 and from Matthew Arnold A Life, Park Honan, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1981. It is not clear whether Quinn simply transcribed Whitridge's attributions or whether some are his own. For this reason I have given both their names in instances where a date in the handwriting of either is recognizable.

* indicates that a letter has not been listed in Matthew Arnold's Letters. A Descriptive Checklist, Arthur Kyle Davis. For undated letters this can rarely be stated with complete certainty because Davis may have attributed dates to certain letters which were not noted by Whitridge or Quinn (hence the letter is listed in a form not recognizable from the evidence on the letter alone).

The address of each letter is given as found at the beginning of the letter. Matthew Arnold often used headed notepaper but appears to have crossed out the address if it did not correspond to his current location. Davis also assumes that a printed address is correct unless otherwise stated. Listing address as well as date is intended to help identify each letter and to give an idea of where Arnold was at a particular time.

Boxing and envelopes:

The Whitridge collection is now housed in two boxes labelled 'WHIT 1' and 'WHIT 2.' Letters are stored inside these boxes in acid-free envelopes; in most cases one envelope has been assigned to each year.

I. Letters by Matthew Arnold.

A. To Mrs. Thomas Arnold [nee Mary Penrose].

Undated Letters

1. ALS. [No address]. Undated. [one page of a letter without heading or signature]. 1 l. *

2. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. "Monday." [?]. 1 l. *

3. ALS. Balliol. "Sunday." [from a group labelled 'Undated 1848-59' by Whitridge/Quinn]. 1 l.

4. ALS. Harrow. "Sunday." 1 l.

5. ALS. London. "Sunday." [From a group labelled 'Undated 1848-59' by Whitridge/Quinn]. 1 l.[No address]. "Tuesday." 1 l.

6. ALS. [No address]. "Tuesday." 1 l.

7. ALS. From Frances Lucy Arnold to Mrs. Thomas Arnold. [With one side and several lines in the margins of the letter by Matthew Arnold]. Regency Sq., London. "Wednesday." [Before 23 November 1868 as Matthew Arnold's son Thomas is still alive]. 2 ls. *

8. AL. [No address]. Undated [before 23 November 1868 as Matthew Arnold's son, Thomas is still alive]. 1 l. [originally an addition to a letter from which it has since become separated. Classed as '1870' by Whitridge/Quinn]. *

9. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. Undated [?late 1860s. Reference to unrest in France]. 1 l.

10. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. Undated [?1867. Reference to a possible war between France and Germany and to a baby boy [?Basil Francis Arnold who died 4 January 1868]. 1 l.

Dated Letters

11. ALS. London. Sunday 2 January [1848? Whitridge/Quinn]. 1 l.

12. ALS. London. 7 May [1848 or 1849? Whitridge/Quinn]. 1 l.

13. ALS. [No address]. "Wednesday." [July 1848. Records his meeting with Ralph Waldo Emerson]. 1 l. *

14. ALS. Hampton. 19 August 1852. 1 l.

15. ALS. Derby. 25 November 1852. 1 l.

16. ALS. Louth. "Tuesday night." [1853? Whitridge/Quinn]. 1 l.

17. ALS. Hampton. "Monday." [May 1853? Whitridge/Quinn]. 1 l.

18. ALS. Oxford. "Sunday." [October 1854? Whitridge/Quinn]. 1 l.

19. ALS. Evesham. 25 April 1855. 1 l.

20. ALS. London. "Wednesday." [May 1855? Whitridge/Quinn]. 1 l.

21. ALS. Grosvenor St., West. [?] 2 [?] June 1855. 1 l.

22. ALS. Teddington. 20 June [1855? Whitridge/Quinn]. 1 l. *

23. ALS. Eaton Place, London. "Sunday [18]56." 1 l.

24. ALS. Eaton Place, London. 2 November [1856? Whitridge/Quinn]. 1 l.

25. ALS. Hampton. 16 January [1857? Whitridge/Quinn]. 1 l.

26. ALS. London. "Sunday." [1857? Whitridge/Quinn]. 1 l. [May be the letter dated 'Jan. 3 1858?' in Davis].

27. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 18 January 1858. 1 l.

28. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 16 May 1858. 1 l.

29. ALS. Oxford. 30 May [1858? Whitridge/Quinn]. 1 l.

30. ALS. [No address]. Undated [June 1858? Whitridge/Quinn. Day/date mentioned in the letter match for 1858]. 1 l.

31. ALS. Woodhouse. Saturday 23 October [1858? Whitridge/Quinn. Day/date match for this year]. 1 l. *

32. ALS. [No address. 'Education Department, London' crossed out]. 1 December 1858. 1 l.

33. ALS. Hotel Meurice ?, Paris. 28 March 1859. 1 l. *

34. ALS. Paris. 12 April 1859. 1 l.

35. ALS. Paris. 14 April 1859. 1 l.

36. ALS. Strasbourg. 25 June 1859. 1 l.

37. ALS. Amsterdam. Sunday 12 June 1859. 1 l. * [? see note attached to letter].

38. ALS. Geneva. 11 July 1859. 1 l.

39. ALS. Wellesley Terrace, Dover. 4 August 1859. 1 l.

40. ALS. Paris. 16 August 1859. 2 ls. [the two leaves appear to have originally been one leaf which has subsequently been cut in half along the middle. One is labelled as a "fragment"].

41. AL. Paris. 19 August 1859. 1 l. [part of the second page, including the signature, has been torn away]. *

42. ALS. Education Department, London. 29 August 1859. 1 l.

43. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 21 November 1859. 1 l.

44. ALS. York. 6 December 1859. 1 l.

45. ALS. London. 19 December 1859. 1 l.

46. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 31 December 1859. 1 l.

47. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 20 January 1860. 1 l.

48. moved to envelope marked 1868 - Box: Whit 2.

49. ALS. Viel Salm [ Luxembourg]. Sunday 9 September 1860. 1 l.

50. ALS. Viel Salm [ Luxembourg]. 21 September 1860. 1 l.

51. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 29 October 1860. 1 l.

52. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 19 November 1860. 1 l.

53. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 17 December 1860. 1 l.

54. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 31 December 1860. 1 l.

55. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 16 January 1861. 1 l.

56. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 29 [could also be read as '27.' Davis listed it as such in his checklist] January 1861. 2 ls.

57. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 13 February [1861]. 1 l.

58. ALS. [From Mrs. Matthew Arnold to Mrs. Thomas Arnold with 4 lines on the second page and the rest of the letter by Matthew Arnold]. [No address]. 11 am. 28 February [1861] [the date appears on the back of the first page and may not be the date when the letter was begun]. 1 l.

59. ALS. Eaton Place, London. 28 March 1861. 1 l.

60. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 29 May 1861. 1 l.

61. ALS. Cambridge. 20 July 1861. 1 l.

62. ALS. Folkestone. 15 August 1861. 1 l. [letter incomplete].

63. ALS. Banbury. 30 October 1861. 1 l.

64. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 6 November 1861. 1 l.

65. ALS. British and Foreign School Society, London. 11 December 1861. 1 l.

66. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 1 January 1862. 1 l.

67. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 16 January 1862. 1 l.

68. ALS. Chester Sq., London. "Thursday" [February 1862]. 1 l. [ Davis reads the day of the week as 'Monday'].

69. ALS. Lewes [?]. 26 March 1862. 1 l.

70. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. Good Friday [18 April], 1862. 1 l.

71. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 28 [?] April 1862. 1 l.

72. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 3 May 1862. 1 l.

73. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 15 May [1862]. 1 l.

74. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 14 June 1862. 1 l.

75. ALS. London. 20 July 1862. 1 l.

76. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 13 October 1862. 1 l.

77. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 1 [?] November 1862. 1 l.

78. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. Sunday 9 [?] November 1862. 1 l.

79. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 10 November 1862. 1 l.

80. ALS. London. 27 November 1862. 1 l.

81. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 3 December 1862. 1 l.

82. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 9 December 1862. 1 l.

83. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. Christmas Day 1862. 1 l.

84. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 21 January 1863. 1 l.

85. ALS. [No address. On paper bearing the monogram of Mrs. Matthew Arnold, 'F.L.A.']. 11 February 1863. 1 l.

86. ALS. Education Department, London. 18 February 1863. 1 l.

87. ALS. London. 26 June 1863 [apparently misdated by Davis to 23 June]. 1 l.

88. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 7 July 1863. 1 l.

89. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 15 July 1863. 1 l.

90. ALS. Norwich. 1 August 1863. 1 l.

91. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 21 October 1863. 1 l.

92. AL. Chester Sq., London. 24 November 1863. 1 l.

93. ALS. C.S. [ Chester Sq., London]. 11 December [1863?]. 1 l.

94. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 29 December 1863. 1 l.

95. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 14 January 1864. 1 l. [a small triangular piece of the third/fourth page was found to be detached from the main part of the letter. The letter and piece have therefore been stored together in a glassine envelope].

96. ALS. Crown Court Schools. 22 January 1864. 1 l.

97. ALS. Aston Clinton Park, Tring. 28 January 1864. 2 ls. [stiched together with red thread].

98. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 2 February 1864. 1 l.

99. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 11 February 1864. 1 l.

100. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 16 February 1864. 1 l.

101. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 17 March [1864?]. 1 l.

102. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 13 April [1864?]. 1 l.

103. ALS. [No address. 'Education Department, London' crossed out]. 23 April 1864. 1 l. *

104. ALS. Haverhill B.S. [ British School]. 29 April 1864. 1 l.

105. ALS. The Rectory, Woodford. 7 May 1864. 1 l.

106. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 10 June 1864. 1 l.

107. ALS. Woodford. 6 July 1864. 1 l.

108. ALS. Woodford. 14 July 1864. 1 l.

109. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall [?]. 22 July 1864. 1 l.

110. ALS. St. George's Crescent, Llandudno. 7 August 1864. 1 l.

111. ALS. Llandudno. 20 August [1864?]. 1 l.

112. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 12 October 1864. 1 l.

113. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 1 December 1864. 1 l.

114. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 7 December 1864. 1 l.

115. ALS. Stockwell. 20 December 1864. 1 l.

116. ALS. Education Department, London. 21 January 1865. 1 l.

117. ALS. London. 25 January 1865. 1 l.

118. ALS. [No address. 'Education Department, London' crossed out]. 28 January 1865. 1 l.

119. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 15 February 1865. 1 l.

120. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 23 February 1865. 1 l.

121. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. Undated [March 1865?]. 1 l.

122. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 3 March 1865. 1 l.

123. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 11 March 1865. 1 l.

124. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 18 March 1865. 1 l.

125. ALS. Chester Sq., London. 1 April 1865. 1 l.

126. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 5 April 1865. 1 l.

127. ALS. Hotel Meurice, Paris. 12 April 1865. 1 l.

128. ALS. Hotel de Florence, Florence. 24 May 1865. 1 l.

129. ALS. Rome. 5 June 1865. 1 l.

130. ALS. Berlin. 5 July 1865. 1 l.

131. ALS. Rolandseck. Sunday 23 July 1865. 1 l.

132. ALS. Gernsbach. 18 August 1865. 1 l. [with a brief note at the end by Mrs. Matthew Arnold, nee Frances Lucy Wightman].

133. ALS. Vienna. 17 September 1865. 1 l.

134. ALS. Zurich. 24 October 1865. 1 l.

135. ALS. [No address. Letter embossed with heraldic design]. 18 November 1865. 1 l.

136. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 3 November 1865. 1 l.

137. ALS. [No address]. 25 November 1865. 1 l.

138. ALS. Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. 4 December 1865. 1 l.

139. ALS. Westminster. 21 December 1865. 1 l.

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