Fonsie Mealy's THE LIBRARY HOWTH CASTLE September 22nd & 23rd, 2021

130 Imperfections Not Stated info@fonsiemealy.ie Gaisford (Dean Thomas) An extensive collection of letters and other material associated with the V. Rev. Thomas Gaisford (1779- 1855), Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford University and Dean of Christ Church. Gaisford was born at the family home, Iford Manor near Bradford in Wiltshire, and was educated at Winchester and Oxford. He became successively student and tutor at Christ Church; was appointed Regius Professor of Greek in 1811; and was Dean of Christ Church from 1831 until his death. He was a noted classical scholar and published numerous works of Greek literature. As curator of the Bodleian Library and principal delegate of the University Press, he was instrumental in securing the co-operation of some distinguished European scholars who were anxious to have their works published in Oxford. Some of the larger files are letters from these scholars and concern the progress of their work and negotiations for its publication. There is also correspondence with other members of the university, particularly relating to Gaisford’s own college. Christ Church, founded by Cardinal Wolsey and refounded after his fall by Henry VIII, is the largest of the constituent colleges of the university, and one of the most prestigious; it is also unique in that it is part of Oxford’s cathedral establishment, and the dean and chapter are its governing body. The collection includes correspondence from a number of individuals associated with Christ Church: Cyril Jackson, a previous dean; Charles Lloyd, Professor of Divinity and briefly Bishop of Oxford; and Robert Peel, a precocious student who had been tutored by Lloyd and proved a useful patron. To these must be addedWilliam Van Mildert, Professor of Divinity and Bishop successively of Llandaff and Durham, under whom Gaisford had served as a cleric and to whom he was related by marriage (their wives were respectively aunt and niece). While most of these letters are concerned with academic and administrative issues, some also deal with personal matters. The letters of Charles Lloyd in particular are outspoken in their comments about colleagues and contemporary affairs. Gaisford married in 1815 Helen Margaret Douglas; they had five sons and two daughters. The two elder sons, Thomas and John William, were destined for army careers and there is a file of letters from the Military Secretary, Lord FitzRoy Somerset, dealing with their father’s efforts to secure commissions for them. After his wife’s death (1830), Gaisford married (1832) Jane Catharine Jenkyns, sister of the Master of Balliol College. There is a much smaller collection of letters to Gaisford’s eldest son, Thomas Gaisford of Offington, Sussex (1816-1898), a convert to the Roman Catholic Church. Thomas married in 1859 as his second (of three) wives Lady Emily St Lawrence (d 1868), eldest daughter of the 3rd Earl of Howth. Their eldest surviving son, Julian Charles Gaisford-St Lawrence (1862-1932), succeeded in 1909 his uncle the 4th and last Earl of Howth and came to reside at Howth Castle in Co. Dublin. The following is a resume of the Archive: LARGER FILES K.W. Dindorf Karl Wilhelm Dindorf (1802-1883) was an assiduous and prolific scholar of Leipzig with a lifelong interest in classical Greek literature and an impressive record of publishing modern annotated editions of the ancient texts. His correspondence with Gaisford reflects the latter’s important role as principal delegate of the Oxford University Press in presenting Dindorf ’s works to the delegates and negotiating their publication. Letters from Dindorf to Gaisford, 1833-1851, numbered 1 to 45 (nos 1-33 in Latin, the rest in English); with another 15 for 1851-52, ten being in their original envelopes. In all, 60 letters. (The first letter is simply addressed from Leipzig to “Thomae Gaisfordiae, viro illustri, Oxoniam” – but it reached its destination!) With associated papers, including some draft replies from Gaisford; a printed “Advertisement” from Dindorf expressing indignation at the unauthorised reprinting of the 1830 edition of his Poetae scenici Graeci, of which he is about to produce a revised edition (1846); a memorandum from Dindorf to the delegates of the University Press (1848); and a letter of condolence to Gaisford’s widow (1856). Jan Bake and other continental academics A large file of approx. 80 letters etc. to Dean Gaisford in Latin, with some notes and drafts by him in English, re the projected publication of classical works by the Oxford University Press. Mostly from Jan Bake (1787-1864), Professor of Greek and Roman Literature at Leiden University; also some from: – Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl (1806-1876), joint director, philological seminary, Bonn; – Carel Gabriel Cobet (1813-1889), Professor of Greek at Leiden; – Friedrich August Nobbe (1791-1878), Professor of Philology at Leipzig; – Jean Théodore Bergman, Leiden – Jan Hendrik Holwerda – Franz Dorotheus Gerlach (1793-1876), teacher of Latin and librarian at Basel – G.A. Hirschig, Leiden Academic material from Leipzig – Pamphlet: Upsala Academies Catalog 1842 – Pamphlet: Invitation to the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Historisch-Theologisches Gesellschaft zu Leipzig 22-23 Sept 1839 – Pamphlet: invitation to the 30th anniversary of founding of the Historisch-Theologisches Gesellschaft zu Leipzig, from Christian Friedrich Illgen, 11-12 sept 1844. – Statutes of the Gesellschaft – 25 Sept 1844: Letter naming Gaisford an honorary member of the Gesellschaft, with English translation Cyril Jackson Cyril Jackson (1746-1819) was appointed Dean of Christ Church in 1783. He declined offers to be made Bishop of Oxford (1799) and Archbishop of Armagh (1800) and remained at his post until he resigned in 1809. He then settled at Felpham in Sussex, where he remained until his death ten years later. 40 letters from Jackson to Gaisford, from his retirement in 1809 until shortly before his death. Also one letter to him from Thomas D’Oyly, 4 Jan. 1818, and a printed circular dated 7 July seeking subscriptions towards a monument in his memory. Charles Lloyd Charles Lloyd (1784-1829) was a member of Christ Church for 26 years, from his matriculation in 1803 until his death in 1829. He was appointed Regius Professor of Divinity in 1822, and in the same year married Mary Harriet Stapleton. On 4 March 1827 he was consecrated Bishop of Oxford, but died on 31 May 1829. As a lecturer he was a major influence on the future Tractarian scholars, and was remembered with especial warmth by Newman; as bishop he attempted to do away with pluralism in his diocese. On 2 April 1829 he delivered a speech in the House of Lords in favour of Catholic Emancipation which was much resented by the 922. The Correspondence of Thomas Gaisford Dean of Christ Church, Oxford (approx. 384 items)