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Donald Wing papers

 Collection
Call Number: OSB MSS 166

Scope and Contents

The Donald Wing Papers consist of correspondence, notes, typescripts and galley proofs mostly relating to Wing's work on the Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and British America and of English Books Printed in Other Countries, 1641-1700. The collection also contains a typescript of his A Gallery of Ghosts.

Dates

  • 1936-1972

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Donald Wing Papers are the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transferred from the Short Title Catalogue Project office, Yale University Library, 2001.

Arrangement

Organized into two series: I. Professional Files, 1936-1972. II. Short-Title Catalogue Papers.

Extent

9.21 Linear Feet (10 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.dwing

Abstract

The Donald Wing Papers consist of professional and editorial correspondence files, typescripts, and galleys mostly related to his research for and publication of A Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and British America and of English Books Printed in Other Countries, 1641-1700.

Donald Goddard Wing, 1904-1972

Donald Goddard Wing was born in Athol, Massachusetts in 1904 and attended public schools there. He graduated from Yale University in 1926 and received a master's degree in English from Harvard University in 1928. In that year, he joined the Yale University Library as an assistant reference librarian, and participated in the move of the Yale collections to the new Sterling Memorial Library. Wing spent his entire career at Yale as a librarian and bibliographer, retiring as Associate Librarian for Collections in 1970. He received his Ph.D. from Yale in 1932, was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for his bibliographical research in 1935, and was the first Yale librarian to be awarded a research sabbatical, in 1967-68.

Wing is best known for his multi-volume A Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and British America and of English Books Printed in Other Countries, 1641-1700 (Wing), first published in 1945-51 and revised and enlarged in subsequent decades. While the work has been criticized, particularly for Wing's decision to alter entry numbers in the later editions, it has become the standard bibliography in its field. In 1967 Wing published A Gallery of Ghosts: Books Published Between 1641-1700 Not Found in the Short-Title Catalogue, listing more than five thousand titles Wing had found in biliographies, booksellers' lists, or auction catalogues but had been unable to verify.

Donald Wing married Charlotte Farquhar in 1930 and the couple had two children, Robert and Cathy. He died at his home in Woodbridge, Connecticut on October 8, 1972.

Processing Information

This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and minimal organization, in 2010. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders.

Title
Guide to the Donald Wing Papers
Author
by Diane J. Ducharme and Olivia Hillmer
Date
July 2010
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository

Contact:
P. O. Box 208330
New Haven CT 06520-8330 US
(203) 432-2977

Location

121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Opening Hours

Access Information

The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.