| Description | Manuscript copy [1864?] of Isabella Whitney's 'The copy of a letter, lately written in meeter, by a yonge gentil woman, to her incostant lover. With an admonitio to al yong gentilwomen ... to beware of mennes flattery. Newly joyned to a loveletter sent by a bacheler ... to an inconstant and faithles mayden', made by or for J Payne Collier, with his corrections. |
| AdminHistory | Born in Broad Street, London, 1789; son of John Dyer Collier (1762-1825), a writer and editor, who with his wife was an associate of several notable writers; the son succeeded his father as reporter on 'The Times', c1809; student of the Middle Temple, 1811; his prospects as a lawyer were injured by his earliest separate publication, 'Criticisms on the Bar', 1819; engaged in the study of early English literature from boyhood, and published extensively on 16th and 17th century writers; his employment at 'The Times' ceased following a disagreement with the editor, c1821; a law and parliamentary reporter, dramatic and literary critic, and writer of leading articles at the 'Morning Chronicle' until 1847; secretary to the royal commission on the British Museum, 1847-1850; granted a civil list pension, 1850; moved from London to Maidenhead, 1850; published works on Shakespeare were sometimes founded on spurious documents, and he engaged in dispute with other scholars, although his output also included valuable work on less famous writers; died at Maidenhead, 1883. His library was sold in 1884, and evidence was forthcoming that he was guilty of forgery. |
| 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. |