Scope and Contents
The collection includes correspondence and documents relating to Tocqueville's and Beaumont's visit to the United States, 1831-32, and investigations of the American penitentiary system.
Locations of some originals from which the Yale Tocqueville Manuscripts copies were made are unknown. Some are known or believed to have been destroyed. For further information, contact the curator.
Dates
- circa 1802-1960
- Majority of material found within 1831 - 1840
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Extent
28.95 Linear Feet ((86 boxes) + 1 roll)
Language of Materials
French
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
Biographical/Historical Sketch
Table of Abbreviations Used in this Catalogue
Bt. - Gustave de Beaumont (1802-1866).
Bt. la Ch. - The chateau de la Borde, Beaumont la Chartre, Sarthe. The family Gentilhommiere of Beaumont's parents and his own home in later life. (now sold)
Doysie - Abel Doysie, in charge of having copies of French Diplomatic Archives made for the Library of Congress. His secretaries made the copies for White (below) of the Tocqueville American Manuscripts which White found at Redier's office in Paris and set aside temporarily to be copied. These copies were well done by two women: Mme. Desorments and Mademoiselle Anacreon (Mme. Jouhet) on long, lined, legal-size sheets, using the key numbers of White's inventory 3W (1920-1921) (see E.IV.e.).
Fabius - Emmanuel Fabius of Paris, joint owner of many Lafayette manuscripts, and donor of some Tocqueville items to GWP in 1956.
GWP - George Wilson Pierson, who began working on the Yale Tocqueville Archive in 1928 or 1929.
H. - Harvard (Widener) Library.
HJC - Harold Jefferson Coolidge.
HSP - Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Hunt. - Huntington Library, California.
Jardin - Andre Jardin: See E IV.e for information re A.J.; also see E.VI.e.8.
Langavant - Mme. de Langavant of St. Malo, a descendant of Beaumont's brother, Achille.
Larminat - Madeleine (Mme. Michel) de Larminat, daughter of Mme. de Beaumont-Hennocque and great grand-daughter of Gustave de Beaumont. Donor or vendor of most of the Beaumont manuscripts in the Yale Tocqueville Mss., 1953, 1955, 1956, 1964, 1969, 1973.
LC - Library of Congress: Ms. Division.
MHS - Massachusetts Historical Society.
NYHS - New York Historical Society.
Photo - Photograph or photostat.
Pub. Arch. C. - Public Archives of Canada.
Redier - Antoine Redier, author of Comme disait M. de Tocqueville ... (1926), in whose Paris office White found many Tocqueville manuscripts.
Redier Mss. - Tocqueville manuscripts in Redier's Paris office in the years 1920-21.
Robson - Prof. Robson, formerly working on Francis Lieber at the Huntington library (Hunt).
Romanet - Romanet family, branch of Bt. family.
Stoffels - Stoffels family - especially Mlle. Stoffels d'Hautefort.
T. & B. in Am. - Tocqueville and Beaumont in America (1938) by GWP.
Tocqueville - Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859).
Tocqueville Tocqueville Mss. - His Mss. at Tocqueville chateau in the years 1929-31.
White - Paul Lambert White (1890-1922). It was White who, as a beginning instructor at Yale, first looked up the Tocqueville and Beaumont families, saw Tocqueville and Beaumont Mss. at Tocqueville, at Redier's Paris office and perhaps also in the hands of the Beaumont family, and made three catalogues (plus some extracts and translations) and started having copies made for Yale by Bonnel and by Doysie's copyists.
Processing Information
The list of Yale Tocqueville Manuscripts (aka Catalogue Y) was originally constructed by George W. Pierson in 1938. Subsequently, it was enlarged and revised in 1959, enlarged again and retyped in 1964-66, with corrections and insertions added in 1970 and 1974. In 1995-96, the list was scanned using OCR software and edited and formatted for online display. At that time, some editorial comments, superceded bibliographies of related publications of possible interest, and recommendations for further studies, since completed, were deleted. To consult a copy of the original paper version of this "Catalogue Y", contact the curator.
As a result of the frequent revisions and additions, by several individuals, inconsistencies in the format of entries and abbreviations will be found. In many instances, provenance of items is noted, as is the identity of copyists. The "present" location (or disappearance, known or assumed) of many originals is noted in the typed copy of White's original catalogue: 1W and 3W (see E.IV.e). For further information on provenance and copyists, see "Table of Abbreviations Used in this Catalogue." For additional information concerning the content or form of this list, consult the curator.
For explanations of additional "catalogues" of Tocqueville manuscripts referenced in the list, see section E.IV.e, "Catalogues and Inventories of Tocqueville Manuscript Collections." For information about additional and related holdings in the Beinecke Library, consult the Access Services staff or the curator.
- Beaumont, Gustave de, 1802-1866
- Beaumont, Gustave de, 1802-1866 (Du système pénitentiaire aux Etats-Unis et de son application en France)
- Democracy -- United States
- Pierson, George Wilson, 1904-1993
- Prisons -- United States
- Representative government and representation -- United States
- Republicanism -- United States
- Slavery -- United States
- Tocqueville, Alexis de, 1805-1859
- Tocqueville, Alexis de, 1805-1859 (De la démocratie en Amérique)
- Travelers' writings, French
- United States -- Description and travel
- United States -- Economic conditions -- To 1865
- United States -- Foreign public opinion, French
- United States -- Politics and government -- 1783-1865
- United States -- Social conditions -- To 1865
- United States -- Social life and customs -- 1783-1865
- Women -- United States -- Social conditions -- 19th century
- Title
- Guide to the Yale Tocqueville Manuscripts
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- by Beinecke staff
- Date
- June 1996
- 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
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.