Beinecke Osborn c116 | Manuscript Verse Miscellanies

Title	Untitled
Archive	Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Call Number	Beinecke Osborn c116
Complete	Yes
Description	Anna Sharpe, ca. 1751–1790. 38 items, some possibly in the hand of later owner Anna Maria Sharpe. Primarily lighthearted poems.
Format	Quarto
Book Size	18cm x 15cm
Filled Page Count	68 pages
Item Count	38
Poem Count	35
Periods	1761-1790
First Line Index	Yes
Digitized	Yes
Region	[Unknown]
Additional Genres	Prose anecdotes
Print Sources
Major Themes	Courtship, marriage Death, afterlife Family Illness Major themes prominent among the manuscript contents in alphabetical order.
Minor Themes	Humour, wordplay Satire - social Other themes of interest among the manuscript contents in alphabetical order.
Links	firstlines.folger.edu collections.library.yale.edu
Bibliography
Citation	“Beinecke Osborn c116.” Manuscript Verse Miscellanies, 1700–1820, edited by Betty A. Schellenberg, Simon Fraser University, https://mvm.dhil.lib.sfu.ca/manuscript/23. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
Created	2019-09-04 1:13:44 PM
Updated	2023-07-19 4:14:12 PM

Contributor	Role
Mr. Sharpe	Major author
Anna Sharpe	Primary compiler
Anna Maria Sharpe	Owner

First Line	Context
Before creating Nature will'd	p. 39 Local title: A riddle by a young lady. Attributed author: n/a Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
Careful Observers may foretel the Hour	p. 2 Local title: A description of a shower in London. Attributed author: n/a Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
I'm [not] High-Church, nor Low-church, nor Tory, nor Whig	p. 29 Local title: Honble Mr. A. H___'s answer to the question put to him What art thou. Attributed author: Honble Mr. A. H. Adaptation: n/a Other variants: First line: I'm not High Church, nor Low Church, nor Tory nor Whig... Other: n/a
Since you, dear Doctor, sav'd my Life	pp. 31–34. Local title: F.H. to Sr. H.S—n who (under GOD) sav'd his Life, and desired him to send him all the Rarieties he collect in his Travails. Attributed author: F.H. Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
Take, holy earth, all that my soul holds dear	p. 161. Local title: On Mrs Mason who died of a consumption at Bristol Wells Attributed author: her Husband. Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
Whoe'er like me, with trembling anguish brings	p. 61 Local title: Epitaph on Mrs. Mason who died of a consumption at Bristol; by her husband Attributed author: Mason Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
Wou'd you think it, my Duck! (for the fault I must own)	pp. 35–36. Local title: Miss Jenny H—mil—tn to Miss Duck. Attributed author: Miss Jenny H—mil—tn. Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a

Feature	Note
Author attributions	Regular.
Binding	Pre-bound paperbook. The majority of the book is blank. Full morocco, gilt decoration, page edges. Marbled endpapers.
Decorations - hand-drawn	Humorous diagram labeled "A Bill of Fare."
Hands	Possibly several hands, but one primary, another at the beginning - possibly sequential.
Indications of use	Signature page shows attempts to calculate Anna Sharpe’s birthdate. Enclosed sheet of poems. Ownership mark suggests paperbook was a gift from her father. Some items reflect exchanges within social network.
Original poetry	Yes: poems that appear to be by Anna Sharpe’s father, one by Anna Sharpe herself (On Sleep), one to Anna Sharpe, maybe more.
Ownership mark	Written on flyleaf: "Anna Sharpe. Given by her father Mn. Sharpe. May 28th 1751." In another hand on the same page: "Anna Maria Sharpe 1790."
Page layout	Paginated (majority of the book is blank, and pages are numbered only as far as they are filled).