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William Isbister Collection
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
William Isbister was a British publisher. In 1858, he partnered with Alexander Stuart Strahan to found the publishing firm of Strahan & Co., which moved from Edinburgh to London in 1862. In its early years the company specialized in devotional works, illustrated literature for children, and inexpensive reprints of American ns2:titles. After moving to London, the firm also published fiction, poetry, and essays by popular authors of the day. The firm also established several important periodicals, including Good Words (founded in 1859 under the editorship of Norman Macleod), the Sunday Magazine (1864), and the Argosy (1865), which were notable for the high quality of the woodcuts. Due to financial difficulties, in 1872 Strahan was forced to resign from the company. In 1874 the name of the original firm was changed to W. Isbister & Co. In 1905, Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons acquired the Isbister publishing business.
The collection consists of correspondence mainly from Victorian novelists and other writers to W. Isbister & Co., publishers of Good Words and the Sunday Magazine. Correspondence from other publishers, theological writers, printers and artists, the majority of which are British, is also included. Correspondents include Richard Doddridge Blackmore, B. L. Farjeon, Dinah Craik Muloch, Hesba Stretton, Mrs. Oliphant, Augustus J. C. Hare, E. H. Plumptre, and others.
The correspondence is arranged alphabetically by author.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
Folder inventory added by Alicia Corona '2013 in 2011.
People
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Date
- 2008
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
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