Beinecke Osborn c157 | Manuscript Verse Miscellanies

Title	Untitled
Archive	Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Call Number	Beinecke Osborn c157
Complete	Yes
Description	Anonymous; perhaps Thomas Siw---, ca. 1750–1781. Two sections: a poetry compilation and a commonplace miscellany (ca. 1813–1835)—this entry pertains only to the first section. 96 items. Interest in women’s self-assertion, poems by Cambridge men, and Latin and Greek. Sources often identified as manuscripts or magazines.
Format	Quarto
Book Size	21cm x 17cm
Filled Page Count	129 pages in first (poetry) section, 267 pages total
Item Count	96
Poem Count	85
Periods	1731-1760 1761-1790
First Line Index	Yes
Digitized	No
Region	[Unknown]
Additional Genres	Prose
Print Sources	Gazetteer and New Daily Adv... General Advertiser General Evening Post Gentleman's Magazine Grub Street Journal Jackson's Oxford Journal London Magazine Middlesex Journal and Eveni... Morning Herald Owen's Weekly Chronicle The Whitehall Evening-Post
Major Themes	Celebrities Conduct, morality Death, afterlife Public affairs Women Major themes prominent among the manuscript contents in alphabetical order.
Minor Themes	Animals, pets Greek poetry Imitation, parody Latin poetry Satire - political Satire - social Visual arts Other themes of interest among the manuscript contents in alphabetical order.
Links	firstlines.folger.edu
Bibliography
Citation	“Beinecke Osborn c157.” Manuscript Verse Miscellanies, 1700–1820, edited by Betty A. Schellenberg, Simon Fraser University, https://mvm.dhil.lib.sfu.ca/manuscript/41. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Created	2019-09-04 1:13:44 PM
Updated	2023-07-19 4:24:19 PM

Contributor	Role
Sneyd Davies	Major author
Thomas Si[wyld]	Primary compiler
Horace Walpole	Major author

First Line	Context
'Twas on a lofty vase's side	p. 44 Local title: An ode on a favorite cat called Selima which fell into a china cistern. 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. 4 Local title: To all whom it may concern to know me. Attributed author: n/a Adaptation: n/a Other variants: First line: I am neither High-Church nor Low Church, nor Tory, nor Whig... Other: n/a
In Charles the Second’s Golden Days	pp. 122–123. Local title: A new song in imitation of The vicar of Bray. Attributed author: n/a Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
Mistaken fair, lay Sherlock by	pp. 7–8 Local title: To the Lady Tankerville on her Reading Sherlock Upon Death Attributed author: Ld. Chesterfield Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: at the bottom of the page: "The Answer. Turn Over." – i.e. guide to reader; p. 8 – The Answer Extempore to the foregoing Verses by a Young Lady: "No fault in Sherlock can I Spy..."
Wou'd you think it, my Duck! (for the fault I must own)	pp. 114–115. Local title: Miss Hambleton to Miss Duck upon her having refused a great Offer in favour of Mr. M—re. Attributed author: Miss Hambleton. Adaptation: n/a Other variants: Minor differences in word order, diction and spelling from Folger M.b. 23. Other: n/a

Feature	Note
Author attributions	Frequent. Many poems copied from journals and magazines with their sources and dates identified. Note next to one of the poems that they "were given to me by the author Sneyd Davies," accompanied by a pasted-in newspaper clipping of his death.
Binding	Post-bound, after compilation (writing right into the gutter). “POETRY” handwritten on spine. Vellum.
Hands	Two; one (careful, decorative) for the first section, followed by a distinctive change on p. 125 to the second hand, which is much more informal.
Indications of use	Instructions to reader at the bottom of p. 7 and p. 65 (solution to riddle/enigma). Remains of pressed flowers. Last section of the manuscript contains a number of knitting recipes, attributed to various acquaintances. p. 93 – note re: Epitaph “enter’d a Second time by Mistake.” First hand shows signs of erasure. Later compiler has written a few short sententia on inside front cover.
Item formatting	Horizontal ruled lines under item headers and at the ends of items.
Original poetry	Possibly; the added gossiping song at the end of the book could be original, but the compiler seems to be primarily a copier of print and manuscript poetry.
Ownership mark	Written on front cover: "Poems Thomas Si[wyld]."
Page layout	In part one, ruled lines down left-hand margins. Rules can be very close to margin when lines are long. Paginated (up to p. 228, then the next page is numbered 230, no pagination after this).
Printed items	Pasted-in newspaper clipping about Sneyd Davies' death.