The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!
This month we’re featuring two new collections from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library, both of which feature historic correspondence. These handwritten letters (as well as photographs in one collection) give us an intimate look into the personal and professional lives of the writers and the recipients, as well as the culture and period in which they lived.
Charles E. Mudie Papers: An English author and publisher, Charles Edward Mudie (1818–1890) founded “Mudie’s Select Library,” an innovative library that introduced the concept of lending books through a circulating system operated by subscription membership. The letters in this digital collection are not only between Mudie and his family (including his wife and son who helped the Library run smoothly), but also between Mudie and contemporary writers such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Thomas Carlyle, Wilkie Collins, and Robert Browning.
William Allingham Papers: William Allingham (1824–1889) was an Irish poet and editor who, along with his wife Helen Allingham (née Patterson), a watercolorist and illustrator, were well-acquainted with the members of the Pre-Raphaelite movement and collaborated with some in the publication of Allingham’s poems. In addition to letters between Henry and Helen Allingham, the letters in this digital collection are also between Mudie and Pre-Raphaelites and contemporary writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Everett Millais, Anne Isabella Ritchie (née Thackeray), and William Michael Rossetti.
Here are a few of our favorite items from these two new collections:
Want to see more?
Visit the IDHH to view more collections and items from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library or to view more letters and correspondence.