Lost letter penned by literary giant Dr Samuel Johnson acquired by The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum

The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum has announced the acquisition of a private letter of historical importance written by Dr Samuel Johnson, confirming it will remain in the UK for public display.

Born in Lichfield and best known as the author of A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755, Samuel Johnson was also a playwright, poet, journalist, editor, and biographer, and is highly regarded as one of the 18th century’s most important men of letters.

The letter, penned by Johnson in 1783, had been documented but its location was unknown, and scholars thought it was lost. After 240 years it was discovered in a cupboard amongst other historical letters in a Gloucestershire country home and was sold at auction on the 19^th of September. It is addressed to a twelve-year-old Sophia Thrale, daughter of Hester Lynch Thrale, a British author and patron of the arts. Samuel Johnson regularly corresponded with Hester Lynch Thrale and her children, and these letters became of historical significance, providing great insight into Johnson’s mind and a resource for the study of 18^th century society.

In the letter we read Johnson encouraging Sophia to continue her studies, especially her mathematical pursuits. It demonstrates his enlightened views on the importance of women’s education in the eighteenth century, and the openness he had towards young people in general. This charming correspondence is a rare and documented example of a different side to Johnson, its affectionate and paternal tone shows a softness not often associated with him. It also provides further evidence of Johnson’s interest in mathematics during his later life, not a field he is not known for.

Plans are underway for the letter to go on public display in The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum in Lichfield. This free museum welcomes visitors throughout the year and was once the family home where Johnson spent the first 27 years of his life.

The acquisition was made possible by funding and support from the Friends of the National Libraries, The Johnson Society (Lichfield), Lichfield City Council, and the generosity of Phil Jones, a private donor.

Friends of the National Libraries, founded in 1931, are dedicated to saving our written and printed heritage through awarding acquisition grants to national and regional archives, libraries, and collections.

Nell Hoare MBE, Friends of the National Libraries, said:

‘What a terrific achievement! Trustees of Friends of the National Libraries’ (FNL) were impressed that Samuel Johnson’s Birthplace Museum secured such significant local support at short notice to raise sufficient funds for success at auction against stiff international competition.  We are delighted to have played a part bringing Johnson’s recently re-discovered letter to Sophia Thrale into the museum’s collections, where it will be accessible to all in perpetuity.’

The Johnson Society, founded in Lichfield in 1910, encourages interest in the writings, life, and times of Samuel Johnson, and has remained constant supporters of The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum.

Phil Jones, Chairman of the Johnson Society, said: 

“We are delighted that the Birthplace has been able to secure this important and historic letter, written in Johnson’s own hand, against fierce competition. The Johnson Society has worked closely with the Birthplace and others to make this happen. It is wonderful that a historic artefact has been retained for local people and visitors alike to enjoy.  It demonstrates the ongoing relevance of Johnson and his writing for a contemporary audience.”

The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum is operated by Lichfield City Council.

Councillor Dave Robertson, Lichfield City Council, said:

“Our shared history and heritage should belong to all of us and thanks to the excellent work of our officers, alongside the Friends of the National Libraries, Johnson Society and private individuals. I’m so pleased that the City Council has been able to make sure that this important document stays in the UK and in the hands of the public.”

Councillor Ann Hughes – Mayor of Lichfield, said:

“Wow! I am absolutely delighted that with very generous donations from the Johnson Society, Friends of the National Libraries, Phil Jones, and the help of Lichfield City Council this long-lost letter from Samuel Johnson has been secured for the city. Well done to Kimberley Biddle, our new Museums and Heritage Officer for bringing everyone together to make it happen.”

Exploring Atlases in the Museum library

This month’s blog post is written by Holly Phillips, a University of Birmingham student who carried out a work placement at the museum as part of her studies in English Literature.

Antique Atlases

Nicolaes Visscher’s 1649 Typus Orbis Terrarum, better known as simply Visscher’s atlas, is one of the museum’s oldest collection items. Followed by John Speed’s England Wales Scotland in 1666, the pair of atlases offer insight to historical perspectives of the world and travel in the 17^th century. Due to their small size, they are considered “pocket” atlases. Intricately designed, Visscher and Speed demonstrate the artistic side of cartography now far less common. However, they remain practical in both the usability of their maps and what they can tell us about the history of atlases.

Title pages of Speed’s England Scotland Wales and Visscher’s Typus Orbis Terrarum

Practical Use

Atlases such as these two examples were typically for show as opposed to being used when travelling. However, various details on these 17^th century atlases do indicate their practical use. Like we would see on maps today, scales indicate the real-world translations of distance. The drawings of mountains and animals, also, are not to be underestimated. These are informative of the area’s terrain and possible wildlife. Where mythical creatures are incorporated, this may indicate the fear of the unknown. Alternatively, mythical creatures may point to the cartographer’s desire for its reader to better educate themselves on the mapped area, therefore find out about the real creatures lurking there.

Curious creatures on page 205 of Visscher’s atlas

In Speed’s atlas, extensive text describing each county is provided following each detailed and elegant map. As well as explaining the landscape’s structure, Speed’s notes about air quality are informative to both a health-conscious contemporary reader and a climate-conscious current reader. Speed also offers commentary on the religious tendencies of the countries and counties as well as explaining their economic statuses. At the time, this information would have been difficult to access without thorough research.

Speed’s interpretation of Glamorganshire, Wales.

Living Vicariously

While these examples of particularly distinguished examples of pocket atlases were likely owned by members of a higher class of society, pocket atlases were actually created to ‘meet the needs of the citizens of [the] lowest income’ [1]. The unfeasibility of travel for many during this time could be satiated with the intriguing illustrations and enchanting descriptions found in pocket atlases. Even decades later, the success of travel journals such as Johnson’s A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland continued to indicate this desire to live vicariously through other travellers. This copy of Visscher’s atlas was originally owned by Johnson himself. The pages with his own numbers, notes, and an index, suggest he often looked at the book and likely empathised with this desire to explore more of the world.

Samuel Johnson’s index page in Visscher’s Atlas

Visscher’s atlas would have been many decades old before it came to Johnson. When it was first bought, the purchase may have been more complicated than we might anticipate based on our experience of book buying today. Some atlases were sold with binding on demand, meaning that ‘the customer was king’ and able to choose which sheets and texts they wanted included in their own special editions of endless variety [2]. While these would certainly be a nightmare scenario for a book cataloguer now, the flexibility of these creations speaks to their impressive multipurpose nature that too often goes underappreciated.

1. Dorothy Prescott, A Little Master’s Piece. (Visscher Typus Orbis Terrarum). P.31. [https://latrobejournal.slv.vic.gov.au/latrobejournal/issue/latrobe-79/t1-g-t4.html]

2. Jan Smits and Todd Fell, Early Printed Atlases: Shaping Plato’s “Forms” into Bibliographic Descriptions. P.186. [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15420353.2011.566840]

You can find out more about the earliest books in the Birthplace Museum collection on the British Library’s ‘English Short Title Catalogue’ at http://estc.bl.uk/ . To see our holdings choose ‘Search the ETSC’, ‘Browse Libraries’ and search for ‘The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum’. More records are being added regularly.