Columbia University collection of Frederick Rolfe papers, 1895-1986

Summary Information

Abstract

A collection of materials by and about the nineteenth century English writer and eccentric Frederick Rolfe (also known as Baron Corvo), assembled by the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

At a Glance

Call No.:
MS#1081
Bib ID:
4079824 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Rolfe, Frederick, 1860-1913
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
1 linear feet (2 boxes)
Language(s):
English .
Access:
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located on-site.

This collection has no restrictions.

Description

Summary

Series I is primarily correspondence between Frederick William Rolfe and John Lane, whose Bodley Head publishing house published many of the leading writers of the 1890s. Most of the correspondence was published in WITHOUT PREJUDICE: ONE HUNDRED LETTERS FROM FREDERICK WILLIAM ROLFE (BARON CORVO) TO JOHN LANE. Folders containing Rolfe letters to Lane, which were not published in that work, are noted as such. The collection also contains letters written by Rolfe to Grant Richards, H. J. Jenkins, Frederic Chapman, C.B. D'Arcy, Edward Slaughter, and Hubert Bland. The majority of the letters pertain to the publishing of Rolf's translation of the RUBAIYAT. One original Rolfe manuscript, a 1907 dedication to Innocent the Great, is also included.

Series II contains correspondence among collectors, mostly to Donald G. Brien, about their Rolfe collections and the life and works of Rolfe. Among these correspondents are David Roth, A.J.A. Symons, Julian Symons, Donald Weeks, and Cecil Woolf. These letters date from between 1940 and 1961. Roth's letters, written between 1952 and 1956, discuss his Martyr Worthy collection of Frederick Rolfe papers, which were acquired by the Rare Book and Manuscript Library in 1984. The series also contains several folders of Miriam Benkovitz's notes and drafts for her biography of Rolfe, which was published in 1977, and reproductions of photographs by Rolfe.

The collection was previously called the Frederick Rolfe papers. The name was changed to more clearly differentiate it from other assembled collections of Frederick Rolfe materials at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and to reflect that it was assembled by the Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Arrangement

Arranged into two series.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located on-site.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Columbia University collection of Frederick Rolfe papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Selected Related Material

Stuart B. Schimmel collection of Frederick Rolfe papers, Another collection of Frederick Rolfe manuscripts and related materials at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, this one assembled by the book collector Stuart B. Schimmel.

David Roth Martyr Worthy collection of Frederick William Rolfe papers, The Rare Book and Manuscript Library's most extensive collection of Frederick Rolfe materials, assembled by the English book collector David Roth and named after the Hampshire village in which he lived.

Miriam J. Benkovitz papers, Benkovitz, a Frederick Rolfe biographer, book collector, and English professor at Skidmore College, donated some of the Rolfe materials incorporated into this collection. Further materials related to her biography of Rolfe are located in the Benkovitz papers.

Ned Edward Hoopes papers, Hoopes was another Frederick Rolfe biographer; his papers include notes and other materials related to that work.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Custodial History

The collection was acquired by the Rare Book and Manuscript Library through gifts and purchases from several sources, beginning in the late 1970s. The first group of materials acquired was Donald G. Brien's correspondence with Rolfe collectors. In 1986, Miriam Benkovitz contributed two Rolfe letters to Hubert Bland and one manuscript, along with several folders of her notes and drafts for her biography of Rolfe, and reproductions of photographs by Rolfe. The photographs were used in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library's 1986 Rolfe exhibition. The final group of materials, the Rolfe letters to John Lane, Grant Richards, H. J. Jenkins, Frederic Chapman, C.B. D'Arcy, and Edward Slaughter, was purchased in 1992.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Papers: Source of acquisition--various funds. Method of acquisition--purchase; Date of acquisition--09/30/92. Accession number--M-92-09-30.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

The collection was formerly called the Frederick Rolfe papers. Its name was changed in May 2018 in order to differentiate it from the other two assembled collections of Frederick Rolfe materials at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, to clarify that it was assembled by the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and to comply with DACS 2.0 rules.

A cataloging error identified a group of Rolfe collectors' letters, mostly to Donald G. Brien, as being components of the Stuart B. Schimmel collection of Frederick Rolfe papers (MS #1081). Those materials are in fact components of this collection.

This collection was processed by HR, BRC, HEW, and JSM. Finding aid written by CLB in May 2018.

Revision Description

2018-05-24 File created.

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Biographical / Historical

Frederick William Rolfe, whose pen name was Baron Corvo, authored numerous books and stories. Amongst the most famous are the Toto stories, HADRIAN THE SEVENTH, called by some the greatest ecclesiastical novel ever to be written, and the masterpiece THE DESIRE AND PURSUIT OF THE WHOLE. To say that Rolfe was at times eccentric, acerbic and petulant is understatement, but he was also an excellent story teller, conversationalist and amateur athlete. His life of trials and tribulations ended in 1913, when he died in Venice at the age of 53.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Name
Benkovitz, Miriam J. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Brien, Donald G. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Chapman, Frederic, 1823-1895 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lane, John, 1854-1925 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Richards, Grant, 1872-1948 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Rolfe, Frederick, 1860-1913 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Roth, David CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Slaughter, Edward CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Symons, A. J. A (Alphonse James Albert), 1900-1941 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Subject
Book collectors CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
English literature -- 19th century CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Publishers and publishing CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID