| AdminHistory | James Orchard Halliwell: born, 1820; educated privately; Trinity College Cambridge, 1837; removed to Jesus College, 1838; Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, 1839; Fellow of the Royal Society, 1839; member of the Astronomical Society and of European and American antiquarian societies; catalogued manuscripts in the Royal Society library; founder and first secretary of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society; left Cambridge without a degree; printed a catalogue of his collection of manuscripts, but financial pressure forced him to sell, 1840; concentrated his studies on Shakespeare; with the antiquary Thomas Wright published ten numbers of 'The Archaeologist and Journal of Antiquarian Science', 1841-1842; catalogued manuscripts at the Chetham Library, Manchester, 1841-1842; married the daughter of the antiquary Sir Thomas Phillipps, 1842; Phillipps ceased contact with the couple, whose financial circumstances were difficult; manuscripts from his collection purchased c1843 by the British Museum were found to have belonged to Trinity College Cambridge, 1844; Halliwell was readmitted to the Museum, 1846; involvement in lawsuits caused repeated financial losses; often constrained to auction his collections; arranged records at Stratford, 1862; initiated the movement for purchasing properties on the site of Shakespeare's residence, 1863; joint secretary of the committee to celebrate the tercentenary of Shakespeare's birth, 1863-1864; the death of his father-in-law gave his wife possession of estates in Worcestershire, and Halliwell could indulge his passion for collecting, 1867; abandoned critical study and devoted himself to studying Shakespeare's life, 1870-1889; following his wife's accident in 1872, assumed the additional surname Phillipps, and took over management of her property, improving and then selling the estates; purchased property near Brighton for a house, 1877-1878; married again, 1879; honorary LLD, Edinburgh University, 1883; died, 1889; donated books and manuscripts to many libraries during his life, and bequeathed papers to Edinburgh University Library. Publications: numerous publications from 1838 until his death, comprising commentaries and editions of various medieval and later texts, including some for the Camden Society, the Percy Society, and the Shakespeare Society; catalogues of his own and other collections of books and manuscripts; histories of various institutions and places, notably Stratford-upon-Avon; lexicographical works; and many publications on Shakespeare, including his 'Life of William Shakespeare' first published in 1848, and editions of his plays. |
| CustodialHistory | Part of the library of Charles Kay Ogden (1889-1957), linguistic psychologist, founder of the Orthological Institute and originator of the language system Basic English, whose interests in language systems are reflected in the subject matter of his collection, which comprised individual manuscripts and manuscript collections dating from the 14th to the 20th century. |