manoscmr19 Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford Collection, 1862-1920 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Melvin Carlson, Jr. Mortimer Rare Book Room, William Allan Neilson Library, Smith College
Northampton, MA
2007

Smith College. All rights reserved.

 Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Margaret Jessup. 2007-03-09 Finding aid written in English Smith CollegeWilliam Allan Neilson LibraryMortimer Rare Book Room Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford Collection, 1862-1920 Finding Aid MS 252 Melvin Carlson, Jr. 2007

© 2007 Smith College. All rights reserved.

 Collection Overview Spofford, Harriet Prescott, 1835-1924 Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford Collection1862-1920 MS 252 1 box (.5 linear ft.) English Mortimer Rare Book Room
Smith College Northampton, MA
Author, Poet. Letters, manuscript poems and print materials related to Harriet Prescott Spofford. Also included in the collection are letters and literary manuscripts of Richard Smith Spofford. Biographical Note

Harriet Elizabeth Prescott was born in Calais, Maine, on April 3, 1835. She moved with her parents to Newburyport, Massachusetts, in 1849 where she attended the Putnam Free School. She also attended the Pinkerton Academy in Derry, New Hampshire (1853-1855). When her parents became infirm and the family's finances problematic, Prescott started to write. With encouragement from Thomas W. S. Higginson, her stories appeared in the Boston newspapers and later in the Atlantic Monthly. Her first novel, Sir Rohan's Ghost, appeared anonymously in 1860. Other novels followed and her work (poems, essays, stories and travel writings) appeared in the Atlantic, Scribner's, Century and other leading magazines of the day.

In 1865 she married Richard Smith Spofford, Jr. (1833-1888), a Boston lawyer and sometime author. They resided on Deer Island, Amesbury, Massachusetts. Harriet Spofford continued to write and travel. It is at the Deer Island home that she died on August 14, 1921.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford Collection consists of .5 linear feet of letters, manuscript poems and print materials related to Harriet Prescott Spofford. Also included in the collection are letters and literary manuscripts of Richard Smith Spofford.

SERIES I. LETTERS: This series contains letters written by Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford to various individuals. It is arranged in chronological order.

SERIES II. WRITINGS: This series contains a number of manuscripts of Spofford's poems.

SERIES III. PRINT MATERIALS: This series contains some printed advertisements.

SERIES IV. RICHARD SMITH SPOFFORD: This series contains letters and manuscripts by Richard Smith Spofford, husband of Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford, as well as print materials.

Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into four series:

SERIES I. LETTERS SERIES II. WRITINGS SERIES III. PRINT MATERIALS SERIES IV. RICHARD SMITH SPOFFORD Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

The collection is open to research according to the regulations of the Mortimer Rare Book Room.

The Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford Collection is the physical property of the Mortimer Rare Book Room, Smith College. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors of the works or their legal representatives.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford Collection, Mortimer Rare Book Room, Smith College.

Additions to the Collection

Collection is added to periodically with purchases by the Mortimer Rare Book Room.

 History of the Collection

The Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford Collection was initially created from gifts by John Lancaster in memory of Ruth Mortimer (Smith College Class of 1953) in 1994-1995, and is added to with purchases by the Mortimer Rare Book Room.

Processed by Melvin Carlson, Jr., 2007

 Search Terms Spofford, Harriet Elizabeth Prescott, 1835-1921 Spofford, Richard Smith, 1833-1888 American literature-19th century-Biography-Sources Women authors-19th century-Biography-Sources Spofford, Richard Smith, 1833-1888 Additional Information Related Material

Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford Papers, 1860-1917. Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Anna Hempstead Branch Papers, 1780-1937. Mortimer Rare Book Room, Smith College Libraries, Northampton, Mass.

SERIES I. LETTERS 1 1 Letter to James T. Fields, Newburyport, [Mass.], 1864 Mar 29 1 2 Letter to A. A. Hill, Newburyport, Mass., 1864 Dec 29 1 3 Letter to Thanton Marble, Washington, D.C., [1868?] Mar 26 1 4 Letter to Henry R. Howland, Newburyport, Mass., 1868 Aug 31 1 5 Letter to Scribner & Co., Newburyport, Mass., 1872 Jul 27 1 6 Letter to A. G. Constable, Newburyport, Mass., 1874 Oct 29 1 7 Letter to "My dear Sir," Newburyport, Mass., 1885 Nov 18 1 8 Letter to "My dear Sir," Newburyport, Mass., 1887 Nov 4 1 9 Letter to "My dear Sir," Newburyport, Mass., 1887 Jul 29. 1 10 Letter and envelope to Rossiter Johnson, Boston, Mass., 1892 Apr 7 1 11 Letter to Charles T. Scott, Boston, Mass., 1894 Feb 23 1 12 Letter to Mr. Brown, Boston, Mass., 1894 Mar 24 1 13 Letter to Mr. Brown, Newburyport, Mass., 1894 May 24.

[With draft of poem, "Flag Song." to be sung to air: Yankee Doodle.]

 1 14 Letter to Mr. Beusel, Newburyport, [Mass.], [19--] Feb 2 1 14.1 Letter to "My dear editors," Newburyport, [Mass.], [19--] Sep 5 1 15 Letter to Laura A. Brown, Boston, [Mass.], 1900 Jan 25 1 16 Letter to "My dear Sir," Deer Island, near Newburyport, Mass., 1902 Jun 25 1 17 Letter to Mrs. Huchel, Rome, Italy, 1904 Apr 14 1 18 Letter to Mrs. Beal, Deer Island, near Newburyport, [Mass.], 1913 May 28 1 19 Letter to Miss Adams, Boston, Mass., 1919 Feb 3 SERIES II. WRITINGS 1 20 Holograph of poem: The Stern Chase, signed, 1874 Aug 19 1 19 Holograph of poem, signed, n.d.

[Opening line reads: "Just come from heaven …"]

 1 22 Holograph of poem: Christmas, unsigned, n.d. 1 23 Holograph of poem, signed, 1861 Aug 3.

[Opening line reads: "Other barks the sunny reaches …"]

 1 24 Holograph of poem, signed, n.d.

[Opening line reads: "A thousand perfumes …"]

 1 25 Holograph of poem, signed, n.d.

[Opening line reads: "When a soul that shines both strong and sweet …"]

 1 26 Holograph signature, n.d.

[Fragment of a letter.]

 1 27 Signed receipt, 1862 Mar 11.

[Boston, [Mass.], to Messrs. Tichnor & Fields. Receipt for an advancement.]

 1 28 Holograph of poem, unsigned, n.d.

[Opening line reads: "Come, little April winds …"]

 SERIES III. PRINT MATERIALS 1 29 Advertisement for Youth's Companion, n.d. 1 30 Advertisement for Youth's Companion: "Announcement of Youth's Companion for 1877." List of authors including Harriet P. Spofford., 1877 SERIES IV. RICHARD SMITH SPOFFORD 1 31 Letter of R. S. Spofford to Mrs. Spaulding, 1862 Aug 29 1 32 Letter of R. S. Spofford to James T. Brady, New York, N.Y., 1867 Nov 15 1 33 Letter of R. S. Spofford to Dr. Jeremiah Spofford, London, [England], 1873 Nov 7 1 34 Letter and envelope of R. S. Spofford to Edwd. S. Mosely, Washington, D.C., 1884 Mar 3 1 35 Letter of R. S. Spofford to Mr. Wallace, Washington, D.C., 1884 Mar 3 1 36 Letter (dictated) of R. S. Spofford to Apphia Spofford, Boston, [Mass.], 1887 Dec 28 1 37 Holograph of poem: The Factory Bell, signed with initials, n.d. 1 38 Holograph of poem: The loves of Orpheus and Eurydices, unsigned, n.d. 1 39 Holograph of poem: Night, unsigned, n.d. 1 40 Holograph of speech for New Year's, unsigned, n.d. 1 41 Printed broadside of poem: The Shame of the Virginius, n.d.