Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford Collection, 1862-1920
1 box (.5 linear ft.)
Collection number: MS 252
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.
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.
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.
This collection is organized into four series:
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.
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford Collection, Mortimer Rare Book Room, Smith College.
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.
Collection is added to periodically with purchases by the Mortimer Rare Book Room.
Processed by Melvin Carlson, Jr., 2007
| Contact Information |
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Mortimer Rare Book Room
William Allan Neilson Library
Smith College Northampton, MA 01063 Phone: (413) 585-2906 Fax: (413) 585-2904 Email: mrbr@smith.edu URL: http://www.smith.edu/libraries/libs/rarebook |
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SERIES I. LETTERS
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Letter to James T. Fields, Newburyport, [Mass.],
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1864 Mar 29
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Box 1: folder 1
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Letter to A. A. Hill, Newburyport, Mass.,
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1864 Dec 29
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Box 1: folder 2
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Letter to Thanton Marble, Washington, D.C.,
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[1868?] Mar 26
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Box 1: folder 3
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Letter to Henry R. Howland, Newburyport, Mass.,
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1868 Aug 31
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Box 1: folder 4
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Letter to Scribner & Co., Newburyport, Mass.,
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1872 Jul 27
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Box 1: folder 5
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Letter to A. G. Constable, Newburyport, Mass.,
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1874 Oct 29
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Box 1: folder 6
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Letter to "My dear Sir," Newburyport, Mass.,
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1885 Nov 18
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Box 1: folder 7
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Letter to "My dear Sir," Newburyport, Mass.,
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1887 Nov 4
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Box 1: folder 8
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Letter to "My dear Sir," Newburyport, Mass.,
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1887 Jul 29.
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Box 1: folder 9
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Letter and envelope to Rossiter Johnson, Boston, Mass.,
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1892 Apr 7
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Box 1: folder 10
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Letter to Charles T. Scott, Boston, Mass.,
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1894 Feb 23
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Box 1: folder 11
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Letter to Mr. Brown, Boston, Mass.,
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1894 Mar 24
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Box 1: folder 12
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Letter to Mr. Brown, Newburyport, Mass.,
[With draft of poem, "Flag Song." to be sung to air: Yankee Doodle.] |
1894 May 24.
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Box 1: folder 13
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Letter to Mr. Beusel, Newburyport, [Mass.],
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[19--] Feb 2
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Box 1: folder 14
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Letter to "My dear editors," Newburyport, [Mass.],
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[19--] Sep 5
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Box 1: folder 14.1
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Letter to Laura A. Brown, Boston, [Mass.],
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1900 Jan 25
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Box 1: folder 15
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Letter to "My dear Sir," Deer Island, near Newburyport, Mass.,
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1902 Jun 25
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Box 1: folder 16
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Letter to Mrs. Huchel, Rome, Italy,
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1904 Apr 14
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Box 1: folder 17
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Letter to Mrs. Beal, Deer Island, near Newburyport, [Mass.],
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1913 May 28
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Box 1: folder 18
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Letter to Miss Adams, Boston, Mass.,
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1919 Feb 3
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Box 1: folder 19
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SERIES II. WRITINGS
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Holograph of poem: The Stern Chase, signed,
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1874 Aug 19
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Box 1: folder 20
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Holograph of poem, signed,
[Opening line reads: "Just come from heaven …"] |
n.d.
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Box 1: folder 19
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Holograph of poem: Christmas, unsigned,
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n.d.
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Box 1: folder 22
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Holograph of poem, signed,
[Opening line reads: "Other barks the sunny reaches …"] |
1861 Aug 3.
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Box 1: folder 23
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Holograph of poem, signed,
[Opening line reads: "A thousand perfumes …"] |
n.d.
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Box 1: folder 24
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Holograph of poem, signed,
[Opening line reads: "When a soul that shines both strong and sweet …"] |
n.d.
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Box 1: folder 25
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Holograph signature,
[Fragment of a letter.] |
n.d.
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Box 1: folder 26
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Signed receipt,
[Boston, [Mass.], to Messrs. Tichnor & Fields. Receipt for an advancement.] |
1862 Mar 11.
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Box 1: folder 27
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Holograph of poem, unsigned,
[Opening line reads: "Come, little April winds …"] |
n.d.
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Box 1: folder 28
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SERIES III. PRINT MATERIALS
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Advertisement for Youth's Companion,
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n.d.
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Box 1: folder 29
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Advertisement for Youth's Companion: "Announcement of Youth's Companion for 1877." List of authors including Harriet P. Spofford.,
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1877
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Box 1: folder 30
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SERIES IV. RICHARD SMITH SPOFFORD
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Letter of R. S. Spofford to Mrs. Spaulding,
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1862 Aug 29
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Box 1: folder 31
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Letter of R. S. Spofford to James T. Brady, New York, N.Y.,
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1867 Nov 15
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Box 1: folder 32
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Letter of R. S. Spofford to Dr. Jeremiah Spofford, London, [England],
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1873 Nov 7
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Box 1: folder 33
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Letter and envelope of R. S. Spofford to Edwd. S. Mosely, Washington, D.C.,
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1884 Mar 3
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Box 1: folder 34
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Letter of R. S. Spofford to Mr. Wallace, Washington, D.C.,
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1884 Mar 3
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Box 1: folder 35
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Letter (dictated) of R. S. Spofford to Apphia Spofford, Boston, [Mass.],
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1887 Dec 28
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Box 1: folder 36
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Holograph of poem: The Factory Bell, signed with initials,
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n.d.
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Box 1: folder 37
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Holograph of poem: The loves of Orpheus and Eurydices, unsigned,
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n.d.
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Box 1: folder 38
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Holograph of poem: Night, unsigned,
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n.d.
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Box 1: folder 39
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Holograph of speech for New Year's, unsigned,
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n.d.
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Box 1: folder 40
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Printed broadside of poem: The Shame of the Virginius,
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n.d.
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Box 1: folder 41
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