Alfred C. Berol Collection of Lewis Carroll
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The Alfred C. Berol Collection of Lewis Carroll is one of the pre-eminent collections of Lewis Carroll (a pseudonym of Charles L. Dodgson) materials in the United States. It contains his correspondence, manuscripts (firsts, autographed copies, presentation copies, and proofs), drawings, and photographs. It also contains drawings by his foremost illustrators John Tenniel and Harry Furniss. Additionally, there is a wide cross section of ephemeral materials related to Lewis Carroll which illustrate his work's contemporary and ongoing cultural impact, as well as, Alfred C. Berol's correspondence and notes on the provenance of the materials in the collection.
Historical/Biographical Note:
Alfred C. Berol (1892-1974), who assembled this substantial collection of Lewis Carrol letters, manuscripts and ephemera, was the president of the Eagle Pencil Company (later renamed Berol Corp.) of Danbury, Connecticut. Though an avid collector of a wide array of rare books and manuscripts, Berol was a particularly ardent collector of Lewis Carroll materials .
Lewis Carroll, the pseudonym used by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was born in Daresbury, Cheshire, England in 1832. He was a writer, teacher, photography enthusiast, mathematician and Oxford don. While Lecturer in Mathematics at Oxford, Dodgson met Alice Liddell who was the daughter of the Dean of Christ Church College. Alice Liddell became the inspiration for Dodgson's abiding classic of children's literature: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Arrangement
In general, the folders are arranged alphabetically by subject/author heading.
The files are grouped into six series.
Missing Title
- Series I: Correspondence
- Series II: Manuscripts
- Series III: Drawings
- Series IV: Photographs
- Series V: Related Materials
- Series VI: Provenance
- Oversize - Series II
- Oversize - Series III
- Oversize - Series IV
- Oversize - Series V
- Oversize - Series VI
Scope and Content Note
This finding aid describes a portion of the Alfred C. Berol collection of Lewis Carroll materials, which can by found at the Fales Library. The Fales Library is the primary special collections division of the NYU libraries, housing over 200,000 volumes of English and American Literature from 1700 to the present. Strengths of the Collection include the development of the English and American novel, with an emphasis on the Gothic, the Victorian novel, the Edwardian Novel, and New York Writing.
The Alfred C. Berol Collection of Lewis Carroll is one of the pre-eminent collections of Lewis Carroll materials in the United States. The archival portion of the collection contains correspondence, manuscripts (firsts, autographed copies, presentation copies, and proofs), drawings, and photographs of Charles L. Dodgson. It also contains drawings by his foremost illustrators John Tenniel and Harry Furniss. Many of the items in the collection are unique. Additionally, there is a wide cross section of ephemeral materials related to Carroll which illustrate his work's contemporary and ongoing cultural impact. It also contains Alfred C. Berol's correspondence and notes on the provenance of the materials in the collection.
This finding aid is the result of reprocessing the collection and imposing standard manuscript processing rules on the materials. The preliminary checklist of the collection prepared by John Frost and George Winchester Stone in 1975, soon after the collection arrived at NYU, never adequately provided for either intellectual control of the materials or adequate and efficient scholarly access to the materials. This finding aid rectifies the numerous inconsistencies, repetitions, and errors in the preliminary checklist, finally giving the research scholar an adequate tool for truly effective access to the Alfred C. Berol Collection.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
SERIES 1: Correspondence
The letters have been processed at the item level, and the correspondence is arranged alphabetically by recipient. If there is more than one letter to a recipient, the letters are arranged chronologically, with the undated letters appearing at the end of the sequence.
An exemplary entry from this section:
1. Dodgson, Charles
To the Duchess of Albany; ALs, 2pp
Christ Church, Oxford, November 30, 1893
(XIX 557)
Each entry may have up to five fields, the first the name of the author of the letter, the second the name of the recipient, the third a description of the letter, the fourth the place and date of the letter's composition. The fifth field is for notes, and if the letter was marked with a number in grease-pencil by Frost as he made up his checklist, that number is found in parentheses at the beginning of the notes field. Not all documents have been marked by Frost, and some documents may have no notes field at all. Some items may also have a Cohen number, which will appear at the very end of the record.
Subseries A contains correspondence from Charles L. Dodgson to numerous contemporaries.
Subseries B contains correspondence to Charles L. Dodgson from numerous contemporaries.
Subseries C has contemporary correspondence which does not involve Dodgson.
Subseries D contains calling cards.
SERIES 2: Manuscripts
The manuscripts have been processed at the item level.
An exemplary entry from this section:
492. Dodgson, Charles
"My first's a drink resembling wine;" Ms, 1p [n.p.], February 23, 1880
(III 42)
Acrostic originally sent to Alexandra Kitchin.
The first field has the author's name, the second either the title (if there is one) or the first line (if there is no title), the third a description of the document, the fourth the place and time of the document's composition, and the fifth has notes. If John Frost marked the text in grease-pencil with a number, that note appears in parentheses at the beginning of the notes field. Not all documents have been marked by Frost, and some documents may have no notes field at all.
Subseries A contains manuscripts by Charles L. Dodgson.
Subseries B contains proofs with holograph corrections.
Subseries C contains manuscripts not by Dodgson.
SERIES 3: Drawings
The drawings have been processed at the item level.
An example of an entry from this section:
521. Dodgson, Charles
Untitled; Drawing, pen and ink
[n.p.], [n.d.]
(I 1) Russian Drawings. Multiple heads and Russian annotations. Holograph on verso.
The first field contains the artist's name, the second its title, the third a description of the document, the fourth the place and date of its composition, and the fifth has notes. If John Frost marked the text in grease-pencil with a number, that number appears in parentheses at the beginning of the notes field. Not all documents have been marked by Frost, or Cohen and some documents may have no notes field at all.
Subseries A contains drawings by Dodgson.
Subseries B contains drawings by others including Harry Furniss and John Tenniel.
SERIES 4: Photographs
The photographs have been processed at the item level.
589. Dodgson, Charles
Photo of Benjamin and Sarah Terry
Modern Photographic Print, Negative Number[1342]
[n.p.][n.d.]
2 full length figures, one seated other standing. Against a cloth backdrop.
The first field contains the artist's name, the second the photograph's subject, the third a description of the photograph (which will occasionally include the number with which Dodgson marked his negatives], the fourth the place and date of its composition, and the fifth notes. Most photographs have not been marked by Frost or Cohen, though there are some cross references to Frost numbers when the photograph relates to a letter or other text in some way.
Subseries A contains prints of photographs by Charles Dodgson.
Subseries B contains one glass negative of a Dodgson photograph.
Subseries C contains prints of photographs by Dodgson's contemporaries.
SERIES 5: Related Material
These files have been processed at the folder level.
The entries should be self explanatory.
Subseries A contains advertisements using the collection.
Subseries B contains articles and offprints on Dodgson and his works
Subseries C contains ephemera.
Subseries D contains entire magazines which have articles relating to Dodgson and/or his works.
Subseries E contains newspaper clippings regarding Dodgson and his books.
Subseries F has Dodgson reprints
Subseries G contains theatrical adaptations, programs, and posters.
SERIES 6: Provenance Notes
These files have been processed at the folder level.
The entries should be self explanatory.
Subseries A includes checklists regarding the Berol Collection.
Subseries B includes typescript versions of selected Dodgson letters.
Subseries C includes correspondence by Berol, scholars, collectors, and dealers relating to the development and provenance of the Berol collection.
Subseries C1 has correspondence to Alfred C. Berol, arranged alphabetically by author
Subseries C2 has correspondence to and from others
OVERSIZE
Three flat oversize boxes at the end of the collection contains oversize materials from series 2 through 6.
Subjects
Genres
People
Topics
Places
Access Restrictions
Repository permission is required for access. Please contact NYU Special Collections, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Use Restrictions
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); The Alfred C. Berol Collection; MSS 057; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.
Provenance
The Alfred C. Berol Collection of Lewis Carroll was donated to NYU by Mrs. Madelin Rossin Berol and her son Kenneth Berol in 1975, soon after Mr. Alfred C. Berol's death. The preliminary checklist of the collection was prepared by John Frost and George Winchester Stone in 1975.
Separated Material
There is no information about materials that are associated by provenance to the described materials that have been physically separated or removed.
