The Carlyle Letters Online

1840

The Collected Letters, Volume 12

TC AND WILLIAM DOUGAL CHRISTIE TO THE SECRETARY OF THE NORFOLK AND NORWICH LITERARY INSTITUTION ; 15 July 1840; DOI: 10.1215/lt-18400715-TCWDC-SNNLI-01; CL 12: 197

TC AND WILLIAM DOUGAL CHRISTIE TO THE SECRETARY OF THE NORFOLK AND NORWICH LITERARY INSTITUTION

London / 450 A West Strand / July 15 1840

Sir

We have the honour to enclose to you a Proposal for the establishment of a Library in London on the principal of lending out Books to be read at homes.

The Committee are anxious to possess full & accurate information concerning all similar Institutions already existing and have instructed us to apply to you for any Prospectus Catalogue, Book of Laws etc relating to the “Norfolk and Norwich Literary Institution”1 which you may have it in your power to furnish.

In the absence of any printed document which you may be able to supply, the Committee of the London Library would feel greatly obliged by your informing them briefly on the following points:

1. The constitution of your Library, specifying the Amount of a share on [or] a Subscription.

2. The regulations as to the lending out of books.

3. The number of books.2

We feel assured that you will be happy to assist by complying with our request in forwarding a scheme whose object is to increase the facilities for literary pursuits

I have the honour / to be Sir, / Your obedt Servts

Thos Carlyle
W D Christie

Hony Secs 3

The Secretary of the / “Norfolk & Norwich / Literary Institution”

Sourcenote

TC and WDC [TCWDC]-SON&NLI [SNNLI], 15 July. A copy of this letter, once in possession of the Norfolk & Norwich Library, was apparently destroyed in a fire, 1898, but another copy (that is clearly faulty) had been sent to the London Library before that. Text from the latter, though some obvious mistakes have been corrected. Hitherto unpbd. The sec. was John Quinton.

Footnotes

1. The Norfolk & Norwich Literary Institution had been founded in 1822 to supply the city and county with “books in the higher classes of literature.” From 1839 it shared new premises with the Norfolk & Norwich Museum, St. Andrew's Broad St. In 1886 it amalgamated with the Norfolk & Norwich Library.

2. Shareholders of the Norfolk & Norwich Literary Institution had paid five guineas a share, and one and a half guineas per annum; annual subscribers paid two guineas p.a. By 1829 it had 10,000 vols. and £3,450 had been spent on books. According to the author of A General History of the County of Norfolk (Norwich, 1829) 1107, the Rev. T. Hartwell Horne, of the British Museum, considered “this collection as the foundation or outline of a great library.”

3. From 18 July, minutes were to be kept of the meetings of the committee of the London Library. TC was present on 18 July but not present on 25 July, when he was made a member of subcommittee to carry on business until November. Carlyle and Christie's names are framed at right by a large, right-handed brace, to the right of which appears “Hony Secs.”

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SUBJECT / RECIPIENT INDICES

	Subject terms: London Library LONDON LIBRARY > Committee meetings and minutes LONDON LIBRARY > Secretaries > Christie LONDON LIBRARY > Secretaries > TC NORFOLK & NORWICH LITERARY INSTITUTION Quinton John
	Recipient terms: Norfolk & Norwich Literary Institution Secretary (from TC and W. D. Christie)