UChicago Library Codex Ms. 549

• Major author

• Major author

• Major author

• Major author

• Major author
• Primary compiler

• Major author

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vol. 2, pp. 97–99

Local title: Presented to a Lady With a Book of Poems.

Attributed author: n/a

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: Potentially original to this manuscript.

vol. 2, pp. 75–76

Local title: To Mrs: Blofeld who requested me to Write some lines but refused to give me a subject.

Attributed author: William Heath Marsh.

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: Original to this manuscript.

vol. 2, pp. 261

Local title: Ode

Attributed author: unattributed.

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: n/a

vol. 1, p. xxix

Local title: To Mrs: Blofeld on her Selection of Poetry.

Attributed author: By The Revd William Marsh.

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: Original to this manuscript.

vol. 2, pp. 50–52

Local title: To a Lady who had expressed her approbation of some of the Authors productions, and solicited the sight of some further effusions of his Muse.

Attributed author: William Heath Marsh.

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: Original to this manuscript.

Regular; also includes regular source attributions. Attributions typically appear at the end of an item in the bottom right-hand corner of the last page.

Pre-bound, from multiple paperbooks. 40 and 100 blank pages at the ends of volumes 1 and 2, respectively.

Green Morocco with a striped texture; gold tooling; marbled endpapers.

Single, excluding the manuscript inserts and last four pages of volume 2. 

Appears to reflect a local coterie including Mrs and Mr Blofeld, Revd. William Heath Marsh, Diana Lathom, Revd James Willins, and possibly others around the turn of the nineteenth century. The book seems like Marsh's presentation record of the exchanges and there's no indication that he exchanged/shared the book with his local network.

Multiple metapoems about the compilation process or the exchange of poetry, most notably: “To Mrs: Blofeld on her Selection of Poetry By The Revd William Marsh” (i, v1), “To Mrs: Blofeld who requested me to Write some lines but refused to give me a subject” (v2, 75–76), and “Presented to a Lady, With a Book of Poems” (v2, 97–99).

Scrap of print, potentially used as a bookmark in volume 1 between pages 127 and 128.

Multiple manuscript inserts in volume 2, mainly original poetry by members of the same circle.

Demonstrated interest in the Seaton Prize (Cambridge) (v. 1, p. 195; v. 1, p. 201; and v. 2 p. 70).

Rare footnotes in volume 1.

Interesting series v. 2 pp. 26–31 which are a poem, an imitation by Marsh, and a note about that imitation from Marsh to Mrs. Blofeld.

The last four pages of the second volume are copied in a different, potentially later hand; these pages are also unpaginated so probably not a part of the compiler's vision for the collection.

No lines under titles.

Frequent dashes between items.

Occasional use of numbered stanzas.

Poems addressed to or intended for the Blofelds begin each volume so the Marsh/Blofeld connection sort of frames the collection.

Items aren't necessarily organised by theme but they do follow certain interests: volume 1 begins with pastoral and morality poetry largely from the 16^th and 17^th centuries, then turns towards classical themes, and, finally, the poems are grouped by author. Volume 2 begins with original poetry and poetry about public affairs, then falls into a larger section of original poetry (primarily by Marsh); around p. 115 the volume turns back towards copied classical themes and religious poems until around p. 197 where there’s more original and public affairs poetry.

Yes, plenty, mostly in the second volume. 

The first poem of each volume is original; then in volume 1 there are three other original poems on pp. 159–166, 174–175, and 296. Volume 2 has a lot more original poetry, primarily by Marsh but also by Diana Lathom (pp. 43–45, 77–81, and 120–123); also a couple poems by a Revd James Willins (around p. 115) and “the late Miss Caroline Symmons” (pp. 250–254).

Only the attributions to original poems.

Generous use of space.

No margins or header/footer rules.

Paginated (though the last four pages of volume two are unpaginated, likely because they were a later addition by another hand).

No.

The alphabet is written out one letter at a time across the first 26 pages of volume 1, but no contents are listed (i.e., only the intention of an index).