Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1696

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

1.2 linear feet (4 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Eric Partridge collection of correspondence with Eileen M. Whitney (Wrigglesworth), 1962-1970, Ms. Coll 1696, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1962-1970, 1972 (inclusive) and 1962-1970 (bulk)

Creator:

Partridge, Eric, 1894-1979 and Whitney, Eileen M., 1922-2006

Form:

Love letters

Abstract:

Eric H. Partridge (1894-1979) was a New Zealand-born British lexicographer whose work focused on the English language. He is best known for his work on slang and other unconventional usages. The collection consists entirely of correspondence with Eileen M. Witney (Wrigglesworth) (1922-2006) from the years 1962-1972 (1962-1970 bulk). The letters are predominantly romantic in their subject, while also containing details of daily life and the logistics of their relationship. These letters were sold to the Penn Libraries Special Collections in 1970 by Partridge, with the proceeds being sent to Wrigglesworth.

Eric Honeywood Partridge was born in Waimata Valley, Gisborne, New Zealand, on February 6, 1894, to John Thomas Partridge and Ethel Annabella Norris. He moved to Australia with his family in 1907. In 1914, he enrolled in the University of Queensland but left to join the Australian infantry at the start of World War I, where he served in Egypt, Gallipoli, and on the Western Front.

He returned to his studies in 1921 at Oxford University, England, completing his degree in 1923. After, he held positions as a junior lecturer at the University of Manchester and as a full lecturer at the University of London. In 1925, he married Agnes Dora Vye-Parminter. Their daughter, Rosemary Ethel Honeywood Mann, was born in 1933.

In 1927 he founded Scholartis Press, which he ran until its closure in 1931. During the Second World War, Partridge served in the Royal Army Education Corps, later publishing multiple volumes on British military slang.

He is best known for his work as a lexicographer of the English language, having published more than 40 books, with a focus on slang and other unconventional usages. His notable works include A Dictionary of Clichés (1978), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English (1958), Usage and Abusage (1942), and A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, which has been published in more than 10 editions since 1937.

He died in Moretonhampstead, Devon, England, in 1979, at the age of 85.

Eileen M. Heyden was born April 22, 1922, in Essex and died January 18, 2006, in Nova Scotia. In 1951, she married Michael R. Witney and became Eileen M. Witney, giving birth to a daughter, Anna D. Witney the following year. She resided in London during the mid-1960s, marrying Arthur G. Wrigglesworth in 1966.

Partridge lived with Arthur and Eileen M. Wrigglesworth in London while working on his Dictionary of Catch Phrases, first published in 1977.

During the 1960s, Partridge was in a romantic relationship with Witney/Wrigglesworth, which is documented in their extensive correspondence. These letters were sold to the Penn Libraries Special Collections in 1970 by Partridge, with the proceeds being sent to Wrigglesworth.

This collection consists of correspondence between Eric Partridge and Eileen M. Witney (Wrigglesworth) spanning the years 1962-1972 (1962-1970 bulk). The letters are predominantly romantic in subject, while also containing details of daily life and the logistics of their relationship.

Series I. Partridge, Eric letters to Witney, Eileen, 1962-1964 contains letters written by Partridge and sent to Witney. From June 1963 until May 1964, some letters are on lightly annotated manuscript waste.

Series II. Witney, Eileen, letters to Partridge, Eric, 1962-1970, 1972 contains letters written by Witney to Partridge. Eileen M. Witney married Arthur Wrigglesworth in 1966 and became Eileen M. Wrigglesworth.

This collection may be useful to researchers interested in the private life of Eric Partridge, or in romantic correspondence more broadly. Researchers interested in Partridge's work as a lexicographer will find little within the content of the letters; however, there is some correspondence on reused manuscript waste in Series I. Box 3.