Manuscripts of Edmond Malone, including:
- Letters and papers, 1792-1811;
- Notes and extracts, 18th century;
- A copy of the greater part of Malone's edition of the Plays and Poems of William Shakspeare (London 1790), bound in 13 volumes and interleaved, with many manuscript notes and papers written by Malone.
Malone 1046-1058, with Malone 1059-1060, (15 volumes in all) are all that now represent the '17 vols. 8vo' bought in 1838 for, £10: but it is probable that MS. Malone 29, which came at the same time, unbound, and though now a olio, may represent an original octavo bundle, or even two
Dates
- 18th-19th century
Extent
1.87 linear metres (17 boxes)
Language of Materials
- English
Preferred Citation
Oxford, Bodleian Libraries [followed by shelfmark and folio or page reference, e.g. MS. Malone 38, fols. 1-2].
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Full range of shelfmarks:
Malone 1046-1058; MSS. Malone 29, 38-39, 43
Collection ID (for staff)
CMD ID 10182, 18583
Abstract
Manuscripts of Edmond Malone, 18th-19th century.
Biographical / Historical
Edmond Malone (1741-1812), critic and author, was born in at Dublin, and graduated at Trinity College, Dublin, in 1762. In 1763 he entered the society of the Inner Temple in London, and soon became a friend of Johson, Reynolds, Boswell, Burke, and other literary celebrities. His interest in Shakespeare dates from 1777, and resulted in an edition of his works in 1790 (11 volumes) and many corrections and additions for a new issue which only came out after his death, in 1821 (21 volumes). In connection with Shakespeare, Malone systematically purchased early English plays and formed a very large and valuable collection. In 1782 he exposed Chatterton's Rowley poems, and in 1796 Ireland's Shakespeare forgeries. He issued an edition of Dryden in 1800. On 5 July 1793 he received the honorary degree of DCL at Oxford, having in that year been engaged in research at the Ashmolean Museum and Bodleian. Further details are given in the Dictionary of National Biography.
Other Finding Aids
Falconer Madan, et al., A summary catalogue of western manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford which have not hitherto been catalogued in the Quarto series (7 vols. in 8 [vol. II in 2 parts], Oxford, 1895-1953; reprinted, with corrections in vols. I and VII, Munich, 1980), vol. V, nos. 28441-28458.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The manuscripts were purchased from Thomas Rodd, the London bookseller, in 1838.
Separated Materials
This collection originally comprised a 'Catalogue of the Library of the late Edmund Malone Esq.', a list of his printed books, alphabetically arranged under the headings 'Shakespeare', 'Poetry and Plays', 'History, etc.', with the watermark of the paper bearing the date 1817 (Summary Catalogue no. 28458). This manuscript has now been transferred to Bodleian Library Records.
- Title
- Malone Papers
- Status
- Published
- Author
- Collection Level Description by Emily Tarrant; EAD version 2020 by Pauline Soum-Paris
- Date
- EAD version 2020
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Bodleian Libraries Repository
Contact:
Weston Library
Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3BG United Kingdom
specialcollections.enquiries@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Weston Library
Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3BG United Kingdom
specialcollections.enquiries@bodleian.ox.ac.uk