Folger MS M.a.163 | Manuscript Verse Miscellanies

Title	Untitled
Archive	Folger Shakespeare Library
Call Number	Folger MS M.a.163
Complete	Yes
Description	Anonymous, 1786–1798. 120 poems. A very feminocentric collection with many female-authored works. Manuscript appears connected to the Cavendish-Ponsonby-Crewe network; the Tighe family; the Ladies of Llangollen
Format	Wove paper, no watermarks.
Book Size	25cm x 19 cm
Filled Page Count	335 pages
Item Count	121
Poem Count	120
Periods	1791-1820
First Line Index	No
Digitized	No
Region	CO Wicklow, Ireland Denbighshire, Wales Derbyshire Ireland Lichfield, Staffordshire Llangollen, Wales Rosanna, CO Wicklow, Ireland Staffordshire Wales
Additional Genres	Prose letters
Print Sources	Northern Antiquities
Major Themes	Celebrities Courtship, marriage Death, afterlife Local interest Solitude, loneliness, retir... Women Major themes prominent among the manuscript contents in alphabetical order.
Minor Themes	Animals, pets Family French poetry Humour, wordplay Italian poetry Literature Music, song, opera Nature Passions, Sentiments Public affairs Shakespeare Theatre, drama Visual arts Other themes of interest among the manuscript contents in alphabetical order.
Links	hamnet.folger.edu
Bibliography
Citation	“Folger MS M.a.163.” Manuscript Verse Miscellanies, 1700–1820, edited by Betty A. Schellenberg, Simon Fraser University, https://mvm.dhil.lib.sfu.ca/manuscript/4. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Created	2019-08-27 10:39:26 AM
Updated	2024-10-18 1:09:18 PM

Contributor	Role
[Anonymous]	Primary compiler
Frances Macartney Greville	Major author
Matthew Lewis	Major author
Helen Cranstoun D'Arcy Stewart	Major author
Mary Blachford Tighe	Major author

First Line	Context
Dear Mem'ry, guardian of each past delight	Page: n/a; item #80 Local title: Sonnet. By Mrs St. George (written at Llangollen 23rd July 1793. Attributed author: Mrs St George. Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: Copied here before it's first publication.
Gentle breath of melting sorrow	Page: n/a; item #42. Local title: Untitled. Attributed author: n/a Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
Painful source of many a sorrow!	Page: n/a; item #115. Local title: On the word last. Attributed author: n/a Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
Sweet instrument of him for whom I mourn	Page: n/a; item #15. Local title: Mrs Sheridans address to her Brothers Violin. Attributed author: Mrs Sheridan. Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
Tell me, ye prim adepts in Scandal's school	Page: n/a; item #18. Local title: A Portrait Address'd to a Lady with the Comedy of the School for Scandal. Attributed author: R.B. Sheridan Esqr. Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
The rose had been wash'd, just wash'd in a shower	Page: n/a; item #35. Local title: An Accident. Attributed author: n/a Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
The sun sets in night, and the stars shun the day	Page: n/a; item #38 Local title: The dying Indian. Attributed author: Ann Home Hunter. Adaptation: n/a Other variants: First line: "The sun sinks to night, and the stars shun the day..." Other: n/a
Time was, when many a cheerful thought	p. 22 Local title: n/a Attributed author: By Mrs. ****** Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
When Horace wak'd his lyric strains	Page: n/a; item #85. Local title: To the Ladies of Llangollen Vale with the translation of Horace’s Odes. Attributed author: From the translator W. Boscawen Esqr. [also attributed at the end:] W.B. Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: Original to this manuscript; dated Sept 18th 1795.

Feature	Note
Author attributions	Rare.
Binding	Original half calf, marbled paper board covers are detached. Presently in fragile condition.
Catchwords	Often.
Hands	Single very fine, decorative hand, especially on front and final pages.
Indications of use	Social sphere represented suggests the compiler was not just getting this material from public/print sources. Very feminocentric collection.
Item formatting	Dividing lines between poems, but of varying forms (single line, double line, single line with spiral).
Organization	Title page that reads: “"The following Collection commenced October An. MDCCLXXXVI." Second last leaf on verso reads: "The Foregoing Collection was completed December 4th MDCCXCVIII."
Original poetry	Yes; many seem to be original within compiler’s circle – aristocratic friends, travellers in area of Llangollen, final poem accompanying a cow, etc.
Page layout	Unpaginated (except for pencil pagination pp. 1–20). Lots of white space.
Title page	Yes.