UVa Library Press Releases
U.VA. LIBRARY RECEIVES ORIGINAL WASHINGTON IRVING
MANUSCRIPT
Contact: Melissa Cox Norris at (434) 924-4254 or mln4n@virginia.edu
May
29, 2002 - The University of Virginia Library's Special
Collections treasury of manuscripts and rare books
has grown with the donation of an original Washington
Irving manuscript.
The bound manuscript notebook containing Irving's
notes and drafts on his eventual publication The
Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus was given
to the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections
Library by U.Va. Professor Emeritus Vera Granlund
and her husband, Dr. John Granlund, a direct descendant
of Ebenezer Irving, Washington Irving's brother. On
May 8, Vera Granlund and her granddaughter, Kristin
Granlund, a U.Va. student, presented the manuscript
to University Librarian Karin Wittenborg and Michael
Plunkett, director of the Albert and Shirley Small
Special Collections Library. In addition to the manuscript,
they presented a book on the history of the Irving
family and two letters, one from Irving to Mrs. Sanders
Irving and the other from Ebenezer Irving to Washington
Irving. The gift was made in memory of Kristin's father,
the Granlund's son, John.
"We are grateful to the Granlunds for presenting
us with this remarkable piece of literary history.
Because of their generosity, this manuscript will
now be widely known and available for study and research
by scholars around the world," said Wittenborg.
The Columbus manuscript joins other Irving materials
already in Special Collections as part of the Clifton
Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. The
collection contains several hundred Irving letters
dating from 1804 (probably the earliest Washington
Irving letters to survive) to 1859, the year of his
death. Also included are manuscripts of Salmagundi,
the only surviving portions of A History of New
York, The Sketch Book, Bracebridge Hall,
The Crayon Miscellany, Voyages and Discoveries
of the Companions of Columbus, about one half
of Astoria, notes for a portion of the final
manuscript of The Life of George Washington,
and The Vindication of Christmas, as well as
four unpublished manuscripts and two notebooks.
"This
manuscript greatly enriches our Washington Irving
collection," said Plunkett. "It complements
our previous copies of The Life and Voyages of
Christopher Columbus that Irving had annotated
with copious notes and editing changes. Researchers
can now trace from start to end the author's intent
with this piece."
Best known today for his short stories "Rip Van
Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,"
Irving was a popular 19th century American writer.
Born in New York City in 1783, Irving spent considerable
time abroad, where he often drew inspiration for his
writing. While in Spain he wrote The Life and Voyages
of Christopher Columbus (1828).
The manuscript is cataloged in VIRGO, the Library's
online catalog, and available for research in Special
Collections.
The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
houses the University's many outstanding collections
of rare books and manuscripts. The primary focus of
these collections is American history and literature,
in particular, the Tracy W. McGregor Library of American
History and the Clifton Waller Barrett Library of
American Literature. Among the treasures in Special
Collections are Thomas Jefferson's papers and his
architectural drawings of the University of Virginia;
the Paul Mellon Collection of Americana; and the largest
single collection of William Faulkner editions, manuscripts
and personal papers. To learn more about the resources
found in Special Collections, visit the Web site www.lib.virginia.edu/speccol
or call (434) 924-3025.
###
