Soame Jenyns, 1730.

19 items.

Perhaps a retained copy of poems written for Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, his daughter Margaret Cavendish Harley, and her circle of friends (presentation copy is British Library Add. MS 70494).

Flattery, panegyric.

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.

Anonymous, 1728.

79 items.

Primarily witty poetry, both high and low; some serious political and moral poems.

Gabriel Lepipre, ca. 1744–45. 

252 poems.

Mostly sociable verse, especially arising out of interactions with women, and public affairs. 

Anonymous member of the Porter family, late eighteenth-century.

4 volumes, 2039 poems. 

Contemporary poetry, many items commonly included in manuscript verse miscellanies. 

Anonymous, maybe Diana Burroughs, ca. 1774–1787.

85 poems.

A mix of original and well-known poetry with a high proportion of original occasional verse.

Norfolk circle of EM and Diana Burroughs.

Anonymous, ca. 1810–1820.

50 poems. 

Many poems with naval themes, accompanied by illustrations and watercolours of ships and harbours; also includes comic epitaphs, and songs with manuscript music voice settings.

Charles Parr Burney, ca. 1803. 

354 pages.

Primarily elegies, love poems, and occasional verse, with some patriotic and religious verse, and short comic verses. 

A large section copied from a Crewe Hall album composed during the 1780s, reflecting the work of the Crewe coterie. 

George Montagu, ca. 1769–1790. 

77 poems.

Verses attributed to George and Frederick Montagu, and copies of poems by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, and others.

* As of yet, this manuscript has not been examined due to 2021-2022 pandemic access restrictions. This description is a temporary placeholder based on catalogue entries and Union First Line Index records.

Frances Glanville Boscawen and Julia Evelyn, begun in 1746.

120 poems.

Popular and original poetry on various themes. Large section of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.

Mr. Davis, ca. 1750–1765.

146 items.

Pastorals, love poems, and poems on aging with one about inability to perform sexually.

Kidlington circle with key to coterie pseudonyms on final page.

Daughter or granddaughter of Elizabeth Amherst Thomas, 1798.

46 poems.

Entirely original Elizabeth Amherst Thomas poems compiled retrospectively, often whimsical, witty, resisting stereotypes about women.

Eleanor Peart, 1768.

Organized chronologically and thematically.

182 poems. 

A high proportion of original poetry; strong emphasis on the pastoral including the use of pastoral pseudonyms.

Peart-Bate coterie.

William Taylor of South Weald, ca. 1730.

61 poems.

Miscellaneous poetry collection including many Latin and Jacobite-related poems, in addition to original poetry. Irregular folio numbering suggests a post-bound compilation.

Tickell family, 1787–ca. 1828.

35 poems.

Poems about love, friendship, and artistic pursuits, as well as commemorative poems about deaths in the family.

Soame Jenyns, 1729.

Presentation copy of Beinecke Osborn c147, only slightly different contents. Poems written for Margaret Cavendish Harley, her father, Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, and her circle of friends. 

18 items.

Flattery, panegyric. 

E.L.T. Bale, ca. 1730–1740 (possibly begun as early as 1710s though). 

This entry concerns the poetry end of the manuscript only.

48 poems.

Poems from popular periodicals, a few Latin poems, and a series of Horatian odes versified in English.

Mrs. Stapleton for Miss Mary Arnold, ca. 1780s–1790s. 

212 poems.

A gift for formal or informal educational use. A lot of riddles and poems about flowers; emphasis on items written by young ladies. Most items about or intended for women.

Mary Woodyeare Tibbits, ca. 1800.

A later owner, Mary Isabella Hood, used the volume to press flowers and leaves.

113 poems.

A book structured upon the narrative of her life, almost entirely original poems.

Charles Plumptre ca. 1730.

79 poems.

Includes school exercises; some poems possibly from friendship circle that includes John Hoadly and Isaac Hawkins Brown; could be connected with Newcombe’s school in Hackney; satires on women; poems by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.

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

Anonymous, seemingly ca. 1755. 

Second volume seems to be organized thematically, with blank leaves left to be filled in later on the same theme (a good example of an organizational system in progress). 

82 items.

Initially focused on high-profile writers of the turn of the century, though the second volume contains mid-century work. 

J. Wright, ca. 1700–ca. 1715.

Apparently owned and used by William Bromley immediately after the composition of the book by J. Wright.

100 items, 65 poems.

Very mixed book, containing extracts, poems, epitaphs, anagrams, antiquarian notes, satiric poetry etc.; Lots of recorded info re: languages, mathematics, etc.; Jacobite-related material.

Anonymous, 1724–1728.

109 poems.

Almost entirely early eighteenth-century poetry. Many contemporary satirical pieces, and items from Mist's Weekly Journal.

Anne Blandford, ca. 1795–1805.

113 poems.

Emphasis on apparently original writings/occasional writings by Hannah More, and More's sisters and friends in youth that might not be found elsewhere.

Hannah More circle.

A.T.W, 1793–ca. 1800.

A lot of retrospective editing including comments and cross-outs. 

153 poems.

Many poems by or about important figures of literature and the stage; also epitaphs, inscriptions and letters; many poems by women.

Verses collected by John Dixon ca. 1780–1817, then copied posthumously by his daughter, Judith Dixon Beecroft.

Six volumes.

Popular eighteenth-century poetry.

Louisa Grey, ca. 1780s.

Some items specified as not for circulation. 

150 poems.

Many poems about women, love; some epitaphs.

Charlotte Burney Francis Broome, 1771–ca. 1806.

82 poems.

Mostly original poetry by members of the Burney family with themes of family, courtship/marriage, and death.

Hester Thrale Piozzi, ca. 1818.

183 poems.

Mostly other authors, some original work, often addressed to her daughters.

Mary Capell, ca. 1740–1751.

Verso pages are filled with explanatory notes identifying people and places from the poems.

87 items.

Political satire, love poems; poems about poetry (writing, collection, gifts of poetry), the arts, and prologues and epilogues.

The final section of poems seems to be associated with the Yorke-Grey coterie. 

E. Beardwell, 1724.

31 poems.

Pastorals, georgics. 

Anonymous, ca. 1715.

72 items.

Essentially the "greatest hits" of Finch, Granville, and Waller, with some Pope thrown in. 

Anonymous, ca. 1770–1790.

Very good example of attributions of magazine sources.

117 items.

The first half is a very eclectic mix with many epitaphs, Latin doggerel, riddles, prose pieces, etc. interspersed with the poems. The second compiler seems primarily interested in jokes, parodies, quirky items. An apparent interest in Oxford-related items.

Joshua Peart, 1726.

256 poems.

A large eclectic book with a special concentration of pastoral poems and songs, political satire and other poems about politicians, and humorous poems; also contains multiple poems about alcohol and tobacco.

Anonymous, 1715–1717.

318 poems.

Diverse collection of poems, with a significant number of poems satirising women and marriage; also interested in the classics, public affairs, literature, Oxford, theatre, and religious satire.