Research Catalog

Title

John Donne: contemporary manuscript of his poems, c. 1620.

Author

Donne, John, 1572-1631

Publication

[England] : [John Cave?], [approximately 1620-1625]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Cave, John, -1657
• Mathews, Elkin, 1851-1921
• Jennings, Richard, 1881-1952
• Cave, John, -1657.
• Herrick, Robert, 1591-1674.
• Corbet, Richard, 1582-1635.

Description

1 volume (212 pages in various pagings); 19 cm (4to)

Summary

• Manuscript in ink, containing 72 poems by John Donne, in alternating secretary and italic styles, owned by and presumably in the hand of John Cave, who has signed and dated a prefaced commendatory poem: Io. Ca., Iun. 3, 1620. Traditionally classed as a manuscript "associated with Group III" of contemporary collections of Donne's poems; see Index of English literary manuscripts (cited below), page 249. Varously cited in modern editions as John Cave ms., JC and NY1.
• At back of volume (inverted) are 52 pages containing eleven manuscript poems, chiefly in Cave's hand, of which six are by Richard Corbet; includes also "The country life" (here titled "The countrie life"), by Robert Herrick; "A paradox in praise of a painted woman" (here titled "A paradox of a painted face"), attributed to William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke (here ascribed to "Baker"); "If shadows be a picture's excellence" (here titled "On the black ladie"), attributed to Walton Poole; and "I came from England into France," attributed to Thomas Goodwyn. 24 blank leaves separate the two sections.

Uniform Title

Poems. Selections. 1620

Alternative Title

• Poems. 1620
• Contemporary manuscript of his poems, c. 1620.
• John Cave ms.

Subject

English poetry > Early modern, 1500-1700

Genre/Form

Manuscripts, English – 17th century.

Note

• Title devised from Arents Tobacco Collection catalog entry.
• For detailed description of contents, see CELM (cited below).
• Accompanied by loose sheet with letter from Robert Corbett (brother of Richard?) to his mother, dated Queens College, Oxford, July 30; on verso a fragmentary text, perhaps a translation excercise.

Access (note)

• Restricted access;

Indexed In (note)

• Arents Tobacco Collection. Tobacco: a catalogue
• Index of English literary manuscripts
• Catalogue of English Literary Manuscripts, 1450-1700 (CELM)

Biography (note)

• John Donne (1572-1631) was an English poet, diplomat and Church of England clergyman. His poems circulated widely in manuscript copies during his lifetime, but most were not published until after his death.
• John Cave (died 1657) was a Church of England clergyman. He attended Lincoln College, Oxford, and was ordained deacon and priest at Peterborough in 1619. In 1629 he became rector of his native parish, Pickwell, where he remained until he was ejected from his living during the civil war (1644). He later moved with his family to London, where he died. His only publication was a contribution to Lachrymae musarum (1650), a collection of elegies. Source: Larminie, Vivienne. "Cave, John (d. 1657)," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, 2008, accessed September 1, 2015.
• Richard Corbet (also spelled Corbett) (1582-1635) was an English poet and Church of England clergyman. He was successively bishop of Oxford and bishop of Norwich.
• Robert Herrick (1591-1674) was an English poet and Church of England clergyman. He published a collection of his own verse in 1648 under the title Hesperides.

Provenance (note)

• With contemporary signatures of John Cave and 17th-century autographs of John Nedham, William Adams and Elizabeth Parker on free endpapers. From the collections of T.R. O'Flahertie, C. Elkin Mathews and Richard Jennings (Sotheby's sale, April 28, 1952, lot 12), with their signatures on front flyleaf.

Binding (note)

• Contemporary calf, gilt.

Publications (note)

• Donne, John. The variorum edition of the poetry of John Donne / Gary A. Stringer, general editor. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1994- Volume 2, The elegies, pages lxxiii-lxxiv, xciii.
• Herrick, Robert. The complete poetry of Robert Herrick / edited in two volumes by Tom Cain and Ruth Connolly. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2013. Volume 2, pages 211-214. Here cited as NY19.

Contents

Vpon Mr. Donn's satires / Io[hn] Ca[ve], Iun. 3, 1620. [1] page -- Five satyres ; The letanie ; The storme, and calme / by Mr Iohn Donne ; Iohn Cave, ἐν τῷ εὖ τὸ μέγα. 25, 25-42 pages -- Elegies and epigrammes / by Mr. Iohn Donne. 25 pages -- Miscellanea ; poems; elegies ; sonnetts / by the same author. 26-94, [20] pages.

Call Number

Arents S 191

OCLC

919651312

Author

Donne, John, 1572-1631, author.

Title

John Donne: contemporary manuscript of his poems, c. 1620.

Production

[England] : [John Cave?], [approximately 1620-1625]

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Restricted Access

Restricted access; Rare Books Division; Permit must be requested at the division indicated.

Indexed In:

Arents Tobacco Collection. Tobacco: a catalogue, entry 191

Index of English literary manuscripts, v. 1, pt. 1, page 253, siglum delta 27

Catalogue of English Literary Manuscripts, 1450-1700 (CELM), New York Public Library, Arents Collection, Cat. No. S 191 (Acc. No. 7167) http://www.celm-ms.org.uk/repositories/new-york-public-library-arents-collection.html

Publications

Donne, John. The variorum edition of the poetry of John Donne / Gary A. Stringer, general editor. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1994- Volume 2, The elegies, pages lxxiii-lxxiv, xciii.

Herrick, Robert. The complete poetry of Robert Herrick / edited in two volumes by Tom Cain and Ruth Connolly. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2013. Volume 2, pages 211-214. Here cited as NY19.

Biography

John Donne (1572-1631) was an English poet, diplomat and Church of England clergyman. His poems circulated widely in manuscript copies during his lifetime, but most were not published until after his death.

John Cave (died 1657) was a Church of England clergyman. He attended Lincoln College, Oxford, and was ordained deacon and priest at Peterborough in 1619. In 1629 he became rector of his native parish, Pickwell, where he remained until he was ejected from his living during the civil war (1644). He later moved with his family to London, where he died. His only publication was a contribution to Lachrymae musarum (1650), a collection of elegies. Source: Larminie, Vivienne. "Cave, John (d. 1657)," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, 2008, accessed September 1, 2015.

Richard Corbet (also spelled Corbett) (1582-1635) was an English poet and Church of England clergyman. He was successively bishop of Oxford and bishop of Norwich.

Robert Herrick (1591-1674) was an English poet and Church of England clergyman. He published a collection of his own verse in 1648 under the title Hesperides.

Provenance

With contemporary signatures of John Cave and 17th-century autographs of John Nedham, William Adams and Elizabeth Parker on free endpapers. From the collections of T.R. O'Flahertie, C. Elkin Mathews and Richard Jennings (Sotheby's sale, April 28, 1952, lot 12), with their signatures on front flyleaf.

Binding

Contemporary calf, gilt.

Added Author

Cave, John, -1657, scribe, former owner.

Mathews, Elkin, 1851-1921, former owner.

Jennings, Richard, 1881-1952, former owner.

Container of (work): Cave, John, -1657. Upon Mr. Donn's satires.

Container of (work): Herrick, Robert, 1591-1674. Country life.

Corbet, Richard, 1582-1635. Poems. Selections.

Research Call Number

Arents S 191