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Forman Family 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
Harry Buxton Forman was born in Camberwell, England, in 1842. His literary career began in 1869 with a series of articles in Tinsley's Magazine which were reprinted in 1871 as Our Living Poets. Other works include Poetical Works and Other Writings of John Keats in four volumes, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Her Scarcer Books (1896), and Hitherto Unpublished Poems and Stories by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1914). Forman and Thomas James Wise were implicated in a commercial forgery scheme spanning the years 1886 to 1916. During this period, they produced over fifty forgeries, specializing in British poetry and literary works of the nineteenth century. Many of their fabrications were cleverly manufactured owing to Forman's vast knowledge of the printing trade. His elder brother, Alfred William Forman (1840-1925), also a man of letters, was born in London on 13 September 1840. He became interested in Richard Wagner, and translated the libretto of Der Ring des Nibelunge which was privately printed (1873-1875) and favorably received by Wagner. Maurice Buxton Forman, Harry's youngest and favorite son, followed in his father's footsteps. After finishing college, he tried several jobs before ending up at the Post Office. Maurice was well acquainted with his father's literary work and friends. He and Thomas James Wise sorted the Buxton Forman Collection after his father's death in 1917, prior to its sale as part of the estate.
The collection consists of selected correspondence and literary material of H. Buxton Forman, his brother Alfred, and his son Maurice. Correspondents include J. S. Cushing, James Thayer Gerould, Paul Lemperly, John Sampson, and A. H. Warren. Also included is a copy of "Genesis, The Seven Days of the Created World," a poem attributed to William Blake.
Arranged by accession number.
The collection was formed as a result of a Departmental practice of combining into one collection material of various accessions relating to a particular person, family, or subject.
Various AM.
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.
Finding aid written by James Flannery on February 16, 2006. Folder Inventory added by Hilde Creager (2015) in 2012.
No appraisal information is available.
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Date
- 2006
- 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.
Collection Inventory
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