Curating the manuscripts in the Lady Eccles Oscar Wilde collection: provenance, preservation and access (PhD Placement)
Curating the manuscripts in the Lady Eccles Oscar Wilde collection: provenance, preservation and access (PhD Placement)
Curating the manuscripts in the Lady Eccles Oscar Wilde collection: provenance, preservation and access (PhD Placement)
This placement offers an exciting opportunity to work with one of the British Library’s major literary collections, the Lady Eccles Oscar Wilde Collection, also known as the Eccles Bequest. Bequeathed to the British Library in 2003 following the death of its namesake, collector Lady Mary Eccles (1912–2003), the collection consists of printed books, manuscripts, ephemera and artworks relating to the Irish playwright, poet and author Oscar Wilde (1854–1900). The focus of this placement is on the papers and manuscripts in the Eccles Bequest (Add MS 81619–81884). Among them are some of Wilde’s notebooks and letters, drafts of his poems, lectures and plays, as well as correspondence of notable figures connected to Wilde, including Lord Alfred Douglas and George Bernard Shaw. The primary focus of this placement is to undertake research to document the history and the provenance of the manuscripts collected by Lady Eccles. Additionally, the placement student will create catalogue descriptions for eight correspondence files that remain uncatalogued and help curatorial staff to assess the conservation requirements of the collection. The outcomes of this placement will enhance access to the collection and help to facilitate further research and future outreach activities, such as digitisation, exhibitions and loans. The placement will be supervised by curators in the Modern Archives and Manuscripts team within the Western Heritage Collections department. The Modern Archives and Manuscripts team is responsible for archive and manuscript collections in English and other European languages dating from 1601 to 1950, including historical, literary and scientific collections.
Collection Details