Manuscripts in the William Henderson collection of playbills, etc., approximately 1750-1889 (bulk 1801-1889) Bulk, 1801-1889.

600 items

The Henderson collection consists of 70 unbound folio volumes divided into 4 topical series: Series 1: Music on the British stage (Mus 1-23), Series 2: Shakespeare (Sh 1-23), Series 3: Waverley (W 1-15), and Series 4: Scotch plays (Sc 1-9). Volumes are numbered sequentially within each series. Only 19 of these volumes contain manuscripts. Items are identified by series, volume number, leaf, and an additional identifier if necessary.

The William Henderson collection of playbills, etc. consists of over 8,000 items (chiefly 7,188 playbills) concerning music on the British stage, Shakespeare, stage adaptations of Waverley , and Scottish plays (including plays with Scottish characters), assembled by the music printer and composer William Henderson (1831-1891). The manuscripts within this collection include autograph letters of 19th century authors, poets, artists, composers, vocalists, and actors such as Clara Schumann , Mark Twain , Sir Walter Scott , Sir Arthur Sullivan , Sir William Gilbert , and John Ruskin . Additional manuscript content consists of fragments of manuscript music, annotations, clipped signatures, and facsimiles of manuscripts. This finding aid describes only the manuscripts and facsimiles of manuscripts included in this collection, with the descriptions organized according to Henderson's original division of materials into 4 topics: Music on the British stage, Shakespeare, Waverley , and Scotch plays (or plays containing Scottish characters outside Waverley ). For information on inventories of other content, see the Other Finding Aids note. Manuscripts in Music on the British stage consist of autograph letters, signatures, music fragments, and other miscellaneous documents, illustrating the progress of music on the British stage from the middle of the 18th century to the end of the nineteenth century. Several autograph items by Sir Arthur Sullivan are here, including a letter (Mus 1:77a) and a fragment of a song (Mus 1:116e). Mus 2:33a-b gives news of the first volume of the "Purcell Society." Manuscripts in Shakespeare includes miscellaneous manuscript notes and an autograph letter from John Denham(?). Manuscripts in Waverley includes autograph letters, notes, postcards, signatures, and other miscellaneous documents. Notable items include letters of Sir Walter Scott , James Ballantyne , and Archibald Constable . Manuscripts in Scotch plays includes manuscript comments written on playbills and an autograph letter from John Barnett . Sc 6:42 includes the facsimile signature of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots .

The William Henderson collection of playbills, etc. consists of varied materials (chiefly playbills) concerning music on the British stage, Shakespeare, stage adaptations of Waverley , and Scottish plays, assembled by the music printer and composer William Henderson. This finding aid describes only the manuscript content in the larger collection. The manuscript content includes numerous autograph letters of 19th century authors, poets, artists, composers, vocalists, and actors, as well as fragments of manuscript music, annotations, clipped signatures, and facsimiles of manuscripts.

Processing Information: Processed by Folger Shakespeare Library staff and interns Heather Hill and Antoinette Sherman, 1988-1994.

[Item title and date], William Henderson Collection of Playbills, etc., Folger [item identifier], Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, DC.

William Henderson was born August 5, 1831 in Biggar, Lanarkshire. He began as a compositor with T & A Constable in Edinburgh, and later served as a type music printer with Novello, Ewer & Co., London. In 1861, he partnered with James Cossar Rait and Mantague Spalding as type music printers. The firm of Henderson, Rait, and Spalding was widely known and well respected. Henderson died May 30, 1891 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England.

Select volumes available in microfilm (Film Fo 4414.2 for Music Volume 2; 4414.3 for Music Volume 3).

Typescript list of the Shakespeare playbills (sorted by title of play) is kept at the Reading Room desk. Lists of the Scotch playbills (sorted by theater and date) and Waverley playbills (sorted by shelfmark) are housed with the collection and are available upon request. Manuscripts in Music on the British stage are described in Charteris, Richard. An annotated catalogue of the music manuscripts in the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C. Hillsdale, N.Y., 2005. p. 533-590.

H46347

After being compiled by William Henderson, these materials were at one time owned by the producer and playwright Augustin Daly .

Mr. and Mrs. Folger purchased the Henderson collection on March 19, 1900 from the American Art Galleries, lot 2652 entitled Play-Bills, Etc. A Library of Old Play-Bills, etc. (Collected by William Henderson) , as part of the sale of Augustin Daly's letters and papers.

United States.