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William K. Wimsatt Research Files on Alexander Pope and Art

 Collection
Call Number: OSB MSS 170

Scope and Contents

The collection contains subject files, printed material, photographs, scrapbooks and slides on the subject of Alexander Pope and art, assembled by eighteenth-century scholar William K. Wimsatt. Much of this material may have been gathered in the course of Wimsatt's research for The Portraits of Alexander Pope (1965).

Dates

  • [circa 1950-1970]

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The William K.Wimsatt Research Files on Alexander Pope and Art 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

Gift of Mrs.William K. Wimsatt, 1991.

Arrangement

Organized into three series. I. Images of Pope, 1950-1970. II. Research Files on Pope and Art. III. Scrapbooks and Slides.

Extent

8.84 Linear Feet (9 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.wwimsatt

Additional Description

Overview

The collection contains subject files, printed material, photographs, scrapbooks and slides on the subject of Alexander Pope and art, assembled by eighteenth-century scholar William K. Wimsatt. Much of this material may have been gathered in the course of Wimsatt's research for The Portraits of Alexander Pope (1965).

William K. Wimsatt (1907-1975)

William K. Wimsatt was born in Washington, D.C., and educated at Georgetown and at Yale, where he received his doctorate in English in 1939. Wimsatt specialized in eighteenth-century literature, and he spent his entire teaching career in the English Department at Yale, from 1939 until his death in 1975.

Wimsatt's scholarly publications include The Prose Style of Samuel Johnson (1941), Selected Poetry and Prose of Alexander Pope (editor, 1951), Boswell for the Defense (editor, 1959), Samuel Johnson on Shakespeare (editor, 1960), The Portraits of Alexander Pope (1965), and Samuel Johnson: Selected Poetry and Prose (editor, with Frank Brady, 1978). He is perhaps best known, however, as co-author of The Verbal Icon (1954) with Monroe C. Beardsley. This work introduced the concepts of the "intentional fallacy" and the "affective fallacy" to a wide audience, and both quickly became central tenets of the New Criticism.

Wimsatt married Margaret Elizabeth Hecht in 1944, and the couple had two children. His hobbies included painting, playing chess, and collecting Native American artifacts. Wimsatt died in New Haven, Connecticut in 1975.

Processing Information

This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and minimal organization, in 2010.

Subjects

Related Names

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the William K. Wimsatt Research Files on Alexander Pope and Art
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.

Repository Details

Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository

http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/
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.

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