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Joseph Hill Collection of William Cowper
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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 Cowper was an English poet. Born in 1731 in Great Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, Cowper was schooled in Markyate and Winchester and trained for a career in law. However, he found himself ill-suited for the profession and instead was appointed a commissioner in bankruptcy. He suffered from severe mental instability and was institutionalized on several occasions. A true romantic, Cowper wrote much of his poetry in honor of the women in his life. Among his most famous compositions are The Task and The Journey of John Gilpin. Cowper died in 1800.
Joseph Hill was a close friend of Cowper who served as his mentor in matters of business.
Consists primarily of correspondence of Joseph Hill with Cowper and with members of the Cowper circle of family and friends. Four letters by Cowper are included. The collection also contains miscellaneous financial documents, engravings, and a copy of a poem about Cowper.
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
The following sources were consulted during preparation of biographical note: Biography from British Authors Before 1800 (1952).
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.
This collection was processed in 2002. Finding aid written in 2002.
Biography written by Jessica Marati, '08.
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Date
- 2002
- Access Restrictions
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Collection is open for research use.
- 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.
Collection Inventory
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(signature difficult to read)
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(with a letter of Mrs. S. Hill, October 19)
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(copy of letter to Joseph Hill, with letter of Mrs. S. Hill, Wargrave Hill, Friday, October 18)
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(fragment, with receipt on verso, May 16, 1741)
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(fragment)
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(receipt)
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(fragment)
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(to John Sargent)
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(to J. Carthew, missing)
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(with letter from William Pratt 1798)
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(with copy of letter from C. Ashley, October 16, 1806)
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(copied from the Bath Mercury, May 26, 1800)
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