Skip to main content

Herman W. Liebert manuscript collection

 Collection
Call Number: GEN MSS 237

Scope and Contents

The Herman W. Liebert Manuscript Collection includes many of the historical and literary manuscripts that Liebert acquired for his personal collection and gave singly or in groups to the library, as well as a small body of his personal correspondence with prominent individuals. (However, Mr. Liebert's many gifts of manuscripts and other material pertaining to the English poet and essayist, Austin Dobson, are housed and described separately as the Herman W. Liebert Collection of Austin Dobson.) The collection also incorporates a group of manuscripts purchased by the library in 1995 from the Liebert estate, and two works by Max Beerbohm (folders 8-9) believed to have been part of Mr. Liebert's collection, which were given to the library in 1995 by his children, Frederick P. Liebert and Lucy B. Liebert, in memory of their father. Other caches of Liebert gifts remain in previously cataloged collections.

The Collection is arranged into two principal series. Series I, Liebert Autograph Collection (1604-1987), contains chiefly British, as well as other European and American historical and literary manuscripts and autographs. Individuals represented in the files include: James Boswell, Jr., Sir Joseph Banks, Marie Corelli, Eugene V. Debs, Camille Pissarro, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Henry Huxley, Samuel Johnson, Ouida, and Alfred Tennyson. With the exception of the Martin Farquhar Tupper manuscripts and letters (folders 154-174), individuals are represented by fewer than five manuscripts, and in many cases by only one. The list for Series I also includes cross references to additions since 1996 that are housed in Series III.

Series II, Liebert Correspondence (1948-1967), consists of a handful of letters written to Liebert by persons of note, which he gave to the library for their association and autograph value.

Series III, Additions Since 1996 , houses manuscripts that were previously cataloged and filed separately, but which have now been reunited with the other Liebert manuscripts. Cross references have been made in Series I and II for items housed in Series III.

Within each series, materials are arranged in alphabetical order by the author of the document. Items of unidentified authorship in Series I are listed at the end of that section. Oversize material has been housed separately and cross references have been made in the appropriate series.

Dates

  • 1604-1987

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Herman W. Liebert Manuscript Collection 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

Gift of Herman W. Liebert and the Liebert Estate, 1953-1984, including manuscripts given in honor of Liebert by his children, Frederick P. Liebert and Lucy B. Liebert in 1995.

Extent

1.8 Linear Feet ((6 boxes) + 3 broadside folders)

Language of Materials

Multiple languages

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.liebert

Additional Description

Overview

The Liebert Autograph Collection contains chiefly British (as well as other European and American) historical and literary manuscripts and autographs, including items by James Boswell, Jr., Sir Joseph Banks, Marie Corelli, Eugene V. Debs, Camille Pissarro, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Henry Huxley, Samuel Johnson, Ouida, and Alfred Tennyson. The Liebert Correspondence consists of letters written to Liebert by Ian Fleming, Beverly Nichols, John Cowper Powys, and Thornton Wilder.

HERMAN W. LIEBERT (1911-1994)

Herman Wardwell ("Fritz") Liebert, Yale Class of 1933, was a bibliophile, literary scholar and collector, the author of several works about Samuel Johnson, and the first Librarian of The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Many of the literary and historical manuscripts he acquired personally over the years he eventually gave to the Yale Library. During his tenure as Librarian of The Beinecke Library (1963-1972), he also was actively involved in the direct acquisition of materials for the library's collections.

For additional information, see the numerous references to Herman W. Liebert in the index to The Yale University Library Gazette, and memorials written at the time of his death and printed in the Gazette, Vol. 70, Numbers 1-2 (October 1995).

Subjects

Related Names

Creator

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Herman W. Liebert Manuscript Collection
Status
Under Revision
Author
by Beinecke Staff
Date
August 1996
Description rules
Beinecke Manuscript Unit Archival Processing Manual
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.

Suggest a Correction