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Adam, R. B. (Robert Borthwick), 1863-1940. Papers (MS Hyde 78): Guide.Administrative Information*2003JM-33 (part), *2003JM-36, *2003JM-71, *2003JM-207, and *2003JM-234 Bequest of Mary Hyde Eccles, Four Oaks Farm, Somerville, New Jersey; received: 2004. Processed by:Rick Stattler and Alyson E. Reichgott There are no restrictions on physical access to this material. A portion of this collection is not housed at the Houghton Library but is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine what material is offsite and retrieval policies and times. Return to the Table of Contents Robert Borthwick Adam was a prominent manuscript collector. He was born in England in 1863 as Robert Borthwick Adam Scott, son of John Scott and Jean (Adam) Scott. In 1872, he was brought to Buffalo, N.Y, and adopted by his uncle, Robert Borthwick Adam (1833-1904), a prosperous department store owner. He assumed his uncle's name and eventually inherited the department store, as well as a substantial collection of British rare books and literary manuscripts, many of them relating to Samuel Johnson. Adam published a four-volume catalog of his private library. By his wife Lena Benjamin Stevens Adam, he had two daughters, Harriet (Adam) (Black) Servis, and Florence (Adam) Conrad; and one son, Robert Borthwick Adam III (1918-1993). Adam died in 1940, and his Johnson collection was sold by his children to Donald and Mary Hyde in 1948. Return to the Table of Contents The correspondence in Series I is between Adam and various writers, scholars, book dealers, and collectors. Key correspondents include R.W. (Robert William) Chapman; A. Edward (Alfred Edward) Newton; A.S.W. (Abraham Simon Wolf) Rosenbach; and Chauncey Brewster Tinker. The Laurence J. Gomme correspondence file in Series II all relates to the negotiations over Adam's Johnson collection after his death, from 1941 until its sale to Donald and Mary Hyde in 1948. The bulk of the manuscripts in Series IV relate to the publication of Adam's library catalogs in 1929 and 1930. The series also contains an annotated proof of Augustine Birrell's rare Aphorisms on authors and their ways. Another important piece is Adam's annotated copy of George Birkbeck Norman Hill's Index to Boswell's Life of Johnson, used for organizing Adam's extra-illustrated sets of Johnsoniana. Most of the photographs in Series V are portraits of Adam's friends and correspondents. Many are inscribed with greetings to Adam. The printing plates in Series VII are the largest portion of the collection by volume. Return to the Table of Contents Organized into the following series: Series I: Correspondence Series II: Files of Laurence J. Gomme Series III: Financial records Series IV: Manuscripts Series V: Miscellaneous Series VI: Photographs Series VII: Printing plates Return to the Table of Contents Return to the Table of Contents |