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Collection Overview

Creator:
Davidson, John
Collector:
Princeton University. Library. Special Collections
Title:
Princeton University Library Collection of John Davidson Materials
Repository:
Manuscripts Division
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/2v23vt385
Dates:
1879-1945 (mostly 1890-1909)
Size:
4 boxes and 1.4 linear feet
Storage Note:
  • ReCAP (scarcpxm): Boxes B-001089, B-001097 to B-001099
Language:
English

Abstract

John Davidson was a late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Scottish poet hailed for his provincial, melancholy body of work. This collection contains letters, manuscripts, reports, galley proofs with Davidson's holograph corrections, documents, and clippings pertaining to his literary career.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

Contains over 350 letters by Davidson, most of which are addressed to Grant Richards, his friend and publisher. There are nine autograph manuscripts in the collection, including The Testament of John Davidson (London, G. Richards, 1908) and Fleet Street and Other Poems (London: G. Richards, 1909). Also included is a folder of reports prepared by Davidson for Grant Richards, in which the author gives his assessment of materials under consideration for publication. There are a substantial number of letters written by Mrs. Davidson to Richards concerning her husband's disappearance and subsequent suicide in 1909. Other items include galley proofs with Davidson's holograph corrections, documents, and clippings pertaining to his literary career.

Collection Creator Biography:

Davidson, John

John Davidson was a late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Scottish poet hailed for his provincial, melancholy body of work. Born in Barrhead, Renfrewshire, Scotland in 1857, Davidson had a conflicted young adulthood, dabbling in different areas. During his teaching years, he made contact with different literary groups, and in 1890 he moved to London with his wife and two sons to pursue a career as a writer.

Davidson achieved moderate success with In a Music Hall (1891), Fleet Street Eclogues (1893). He is also known for being the first to translate the works of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche into English. However, during his final years, not one of his twelve published original plays was produced and few of his plays or novels received any critical acclaim. Davidson suffered greatly from his lack of acceptance. His health deteriorated as he battled with asthma and bronchitis, and perhaps cancer at the end. He suffered from depression and in 1909 his body was discovered in the sea with a wound to the skull. Although it appeared to be a suicide, he was considered "found dead" and later buried at sea.

Although Davidson has been remembered primarily as a minor poet of the 1890s, his poetry and talent for capturing the urban experience was an important contribution to more modern verse. He is associated with the Rhymer's Club, and considered a part of Yeats's "Tragic Generation"; his poetry attracted the attention and admiration of such major modern writers as T. S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Most of the collection purchased from Sotheby and Maggs. Letter from Davidson to Harry Furniss is a gift of Robert J. Barry Jr. Manuscript of translation of "Memoires du Marechal Duc de Richelieu" is a gift of J. Harlin O'Connell. The collection was formed as a result of a departmental practice of combining into one collection manuscript material of various accessions pertaining to a particular author.

Appraisal

No appraisal information is available.

Processing Information

Finding aid updated by Chloe Pfendler in 2018.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Princeton University Library Collection of John Davidson Materials; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/2v23vt385
Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • ReCAP (scarcpxm): Boxes B-001089, B-001097 to B-001099