Leeds Brotherton Lt 104 | Manuscript Verse Miscellanies

Title	Poems of various kinds by the late Revd. Peter Pinnell...
Archive	Brotherton Library
Call Number	Leeds Brotherton Lt 104
Complete	Yes
Description	Anonymous compilation of poems by Peter Pinnell, ca. 1749–1790. 59 items. Example of a one-author collection followed by a short section of poems by different authors.
Format	Quarto
Book Size	24.5cm x 20cm
Filled Page Count	68 pages
Item Count	59
Poem Count	58
Periods	1731-1760 1761-1790
First Line Index	Yes
Digitized	Yes
Region	Eltham, London, Middlesex Kent London, Middlesex Middlesex Rochester, Kent Shorne, Kent
Additional Genres	Prose dialogue
Print Sources
Major Themes	Courtship, marriage Death, afterlife Devotional writing, religio... Humour, wordplay Major themes prominent among the manuscript contents in alphabetical order.
Minor Themes	Animals, pets Imitation, parody Latin poetry Passions, Sentiments Other themes of interest among the manuscript contents in alphabetical order.
Links	firstlines.folger.edu www.literarymanuscriptsleeds.amdigital.co.uk.proxy.lib.sfu.ca
Bibliography
Citation	“Leeds Brotherton Lt 104.” Manuscript Verse Miscellanies, 1700–1820, edited by Betty A. Schellenberg, Simon Fraser University, https://mvm.dhil.lib.sfu.ca/manuscript/307. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.
Created	2019-09-04 1:13:45 PM
Updated	2025-09-22 11:17:52 AM

Contributor	Role
[Anonymous]	Primary compiler The date of Pinnell's death is written in the compiler's hand, so the compiler can't be Pinnell himself, though possibly a family member or friend of his.
Samuel Bishop	Major author
William Coyte Senior	Major author
Peter Pinnell	Major author

First Line	Context
A Knife, dear Girl, cuts Love, they say	ff. 86–87r. Local title: Sent by a Gentleman to his Lady, with a Present of a Knife. Attributed author: the Revd. Mr. Bishop of Merchant Taylor's School Head Master in 1788. Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
Take, holy earth, all that my soul holds dear	ff. 93–94r. Local title: An Epitaph upon Mrs Mason, who died at the Hot-Wells, Bristol. Attributed author: her Husband the Reverend William Mason, author of "Elfrida and Caractacus." Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
To thee dear wife,—and all must grant	ff. 87–89r. Local title: By the same sent to his Wife with a Pocket looking Glass. Attributed author: the Revd. Mr. Bishop of Merchant Taylor's School Head Master in 1788. Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
Why droops the head, why languishes the eye	ff. 1–9. Local title: Sermon in Verse. Attributed author: Not individually attributed, but in the largely original section of the manuscript, and following a page that attributes all poems to Peter Pinnell, so the attribution is likely assumed (Peter Pinnell). Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a

Feature	Note
Author attributions	Regular; rare until f. 81, but these are all the poems original to Pinnell, then other attributions are regular.
Binding	Pre-bound paperbook. Multiple blanks; writing never approaches close to the spine. Medium brown leather with blind tooling on the outside covers and spine and marbling on the inside covers and endpapers.
Catchwords	Yes.
Hands	Single. ff. 81–103 the hand is much more formal, but the letter shapes are consistent with the rest of the manuscript, so seemingly the same hand.
Indications of use	Last item crossed-out (f. 103r). Ruled-lines on f. 95v (and no other page)—perhaps someone intended to use this page for handwriting practice.
Item formatting	Rarely lines between items, but occasional dark lines between stanzas eg. f. 63.
Organization	Poems are mostly copied on the recto pages: ff. 82v, 83v, 94v, 97v–102v are the only versos filled.
Original poetry	Yes. The first page of the manuscript attributes the poems to Peter Pinnell. Seemingly most, if not all, of the poems up to f. 82 are Peter Pinnell.
Page layout	Mostly unpaginated (ff. 1–9 paginated in ink [possibly by the compiler; this is the entirety of the first item], but the rest is paginated in pencil, probably by an archivist).
Title page	First page: "Poems of various kinds by the late Revd. Peter Pinnell D.D. Prebendary of Rochester, & Vicar of Eltham and Shorne in Kent. He died August 16. 1783.—Aged 63.—"