Beinecke Osborn fc183 | Manuscript Verse Miscellanies

Title	A Collection of Pieces &ca in Prose and Verse. Selected from the most approved Authors, P. Simpson 1792.
Archive	Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Call Number	Beinecke Osborn fc183
Complete	Yes
Description	P. Simpson, 1790–1793. 90 poems. Mostly eighteenth-century poetry, namely conduct poems, pastoral poems, poems about the poor, epitaphs, and epigrams.
Format	Folio
Book Size	33.2cm x 20.9cm
Filled Page Count	245 pages
Item Count	95
Poem Count	90
Periods	1761-1790 1791-1820
First Line Index	No
Digitized	No
Region	[Unknown]
Additional Genres	Prose - narrative
Print Sources	Lady's Magazine; or Enterta... London Magazine New Universal Magazine Universal Magazine
Major Themes	Conduct, morality Courtship, marriage Death, afterlife Devotional writing, religio... Humour, wordplay Passions, Sentiments Major themes prominent among the manuscript contents in alphabetical order.
Minor Themes	Animals, pets Classical themes Love Solitude, loneliness, retir... Other themes of interest among the manuscript contents in alphabetical order.
Links	hdl.handle.net
Bibliography
Citation	“Beinecke Osborn fc183.” Manuscript Verse Miscellanies, 1700–1820, edited by Betty A. Schellenberg, Simon Fraser University, https://mvm.dhil.lib.sfu.ca/manuscript/126. Accessed 7 Dec. 2025.
Created	2019-09-04 1:13:44 PM
Updated	2024-01-13 3:00:23 PM

First Line	Context
Father of All! in every Age	pp. 222–224 Local title: The Universal Prayer. Attributed author: Pope. Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
The Curfew tolls the Knell of parting Day	pp. 225–230 Local title: An Elegy, written in a Country Church Yard. Attributed author: Gray. Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a

First Line

Context

pp. 222–224

Local title: The Universal Prayer.

Attributed author: Pope.

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: n/a

pp. 225–230

Local title: An Elegy, written in a Country Church Yard.

Attributed author: Gray.

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: n/a

Feature	Note
Author attributions	Frequent.
Binding	Pre-bound paperbook. No writing into the gutter; two paper additions inserted at the end. Contemporary half calf over marbled paper boards.
Catchwords	Yes, occasional.
Decorations - hand-drawn	Interesting bird devices to mark the ends of items on pp. 164 and 176. Manicule at the end of p. 153 next to an annotation.
Hands	Single, calligraphic.
Indications of use	Two small loose-leaf love poems inserted at the end of the book, one potentially pasted to what would be p. 245: “A Song” and “My Friend & Pitcher/ A Song in the Poor Soldier.” Cross-outs are very rare—this is a fair copy book. One exception is the author attribution for “The Hermit” (p. 80), which was originally attributed to Beattie, then corrected to say Parnell. Occasional contextual annotations.
Item formatting	Calligraphic titles. Various swirls and devices between items. Lines between sections of poems.
Organization	pp. 167–171 section of epigrams; pp. 177–8, 180–81 features three poems related to the Duchess of Devonshire.
Ownership mark	Name on the title page.
Page layout	Full but not crowded pages. Paginated by the compiler—"Page —".
Table of Contents	Yes, three pages following the title page.
Title page	Yes. The title page features a red border (the only coloured ink in the manuscript). There is also a half-title page before the title page which reads, "Selected Pieces from Various Authors. November 25th, 1790.”