James Marshall Osborn correspondence
Collection
Call Number: OSB MSS 7
Scope and Contents
The correspondence concerns the scholarly and collecting interests of James Marshall Osborn. The collection documents his activities as a rare book and manuscript collector, his research in early modern and eighteenth century English literature, and his authorship of several volumes of literary history. Much of the correspondence is with other literary scholars, including F. W. Bateson, James Lowry Clifford, Wilmarth S. Lewis, Maynard Mack, Chauncey Brewster Tinker, and René Wellek.
Dates
- 1928-1977
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The James Marshall Osborn Correspondence is 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
Bequest of James Marshall Osborn.
Extent
32.25 Linear Feet (81 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The correspondence concerns the scholarly and collecting interests of James Marshall Osborn. The collection documents his activities as a rare book and manuscript collector, his research in early modern and eighteenth century English literature, and his authorship of several volumes of literary history. Much of the correspondence is with other literary scholars, including F. W. Bateson, James Lowry Clifford, Wilmarth S. Lewis, Maynard Mack. Chauncey Brewster Tinker, and René Wellek.
JAMES MARSHALL OSBORN (1906-1976)
James Marshall Osborn, literary historian, founder of the James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection at Yale University, and Holstein cattle breeder, was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1906. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1928, and joined the investment advisory department of Guaranty Trust in New York. The next year, he married Marie-Louise Montgomery, a graduate of Vassar.
In 1932 Osborn left Guaranty Trust to study for a Master's degree in English at Columbia University. Two years later, the Osborns moved to England with their two sons, and James began to work toward a B.Litt degree at Oxford University. While at Oxford, Osborn pursued his interest in eighteenth-century literary history and began to acquire the literary and historical manuscripts that would form the core of the Osborn Collection.
Osborn was appointed Research Associate in English at Yale University in 1938; he held the position until the time of his death. He was named Adviser on Seventeenth Century Manuscripts to the Yale Library in 1954, and in 1963, when he began the transfer of his collection to Yale, became the first curator of the Osborn Collection.
Osborn's publications include The Autobiography of Thomas Whythorne (1961); an edition of Joseph Spence's Observations, Anecdotes and Characters (1966); and Young Philip Sidney (1972).
In addition to his scholarly activities, Osborn was also a noted dairy cattle breeder and promoter of Holsteins from 1940 to 1960. He received the D.Litt from Oxford University in 1968, and was named Curator Emeritus of the Osborn Collection in 1972. James Marshall Osborn died in New Haven on October 17, 1976.
In 1932 Osborn left Guaranty Trust to study for a Master's degree in English at Columbia University. Two years later, the Osborns moved to England with their two sons, and James began to work toward a B.Litt degree at Oxford University. While at Oxford, Osborn pursued his interest in eighteenth-century literary history and began to acquire the literary and historical manuscripts that would form the core of the Osborn Collection.
Osborn was appointed Research Associate in English at Yale University in 1938; he held the position until the time of his death. He was named Adviser on Seventeenth Century Manuscripts to the Yale Library in 1954, and in 1963, when he began the transfer of his collection to Yale, became the first curator of the Osborn Collection.
Osborn's publications include The Autobiography of Thomas Whythorne (1961); an edition of Joseph Spence's Observations, Anecdotes and Characters (1966); and Young Philip Sidney (1972).
In addition to his scholarly activities, Osborn was also a noted dairy cattle breeder and promoter of Holsteins from 1940 to 1960. He received the D.Litt from Oxford University in 1968, and was named Curator Emeritus of the Osborn Collection in 1972. James Marshall Osborn died in New Haven on October 17, 1976.
Processing Information
This finding aid, created before the advent of computer-generated files has been converted into a ASCII data file by means of scanning and Optical Character Recognition software. While attempts have been made to retain the complete information from the original document a number of format changes have been made to present the structure of this archive in accordance with current practice.
- Balderston, Katharine Canby, 1895-
- Bateson, Frederick Wilse, 1901-1978
- Bentley, Harold W., 1899-1980
- Book collecting -- United States
- Bowers, Fredson, 1905-1991
- Boys, Richard C. (Richard Charles), 1912-1975
- Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994
- Chapman, R. W. (Robert William), 1881-1960
- Chapple, J. A. V., 1928-
- Clifford, James L. (James Lowry), 1901-1978
- Copeland, Thomas Wellsted, 1907-
- Crane, Ronald S. (Ronald Salmon), 1886-1967
- Croft, P. J. (Peter John), 1929-1984
- Davin, Dan, 1913-1990
- De Beer, Esmond Samuel, 1895-1990
- Dobell, Percy John, 1871-1956
- Eccles, Mary Hyde, 1912-
- English literature -- 18th century -- History and criticism
- English literature -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- History and criticism
- Gardner, Helen, 1908-1986
- Greene, Richard Leighton
- Greg, W. W. (Walter Wilson), 1875-1959
- Halsband, Robert, 1914-1989
- Hemlow, Joyce
- Hilles, Frederick W. (Frederick Whiley), 1900-1975
- Klima, Slava
- Learning and scholarship -- United States -- History -- 20th Century
- Lewis, W. S. (Wilmarth Sheldon), 1895-1979
- Mack, Maynard, 1909-2001
- Malone, Edmond, 1741-1812 -- Criticism and interpretation
- Manwaring, Elizabeth Wheeler, 1879-
- McManaway, James Gilmer, 1899-1980
- Metzdorf, Robert F. (Robert Frederic), 1912-
- Parks, Stephen
- Pearson, Norman Holmes, 1909-1975
- Powell, Lawrence Fitzroy, 1881-1975
- Scholars -- United States
- Sherburn, George, 1884-1962
- Sutherland, James Runcieman, 1900-1996
- Tinker, Chauncey Brewster, 1876-1963
- Universities and colleges -- Study and teaching -- United States
- Vieth, David M.
- Waith, Eugene M., 1912-
- Wellek, René, 1903-1995
- Wimsatt, William K. (William Kurtz), 1907-1975
- Yale University -- Faculty
- Yale University -- History
- Yale University. Library
- Title
- Guide to the James Marshall Osborn Correspondence
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- by Beinecke Staff
- Date
- November 1994
- Description rules
- Beinecke Manuscript Unit Archival Processing Manual
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
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.