Guide to the Henry Johnson Papers, 1870-1915
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Henry Johnson papers, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine.
The George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, like all archives and special collections libraries, is the creation of human beings who have collected, organized, and described things in ways that reflect personal, cultural, societal, and institutional biases. Although we strive to preserve and present collections in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections, we acknowledge that our systems are neither neutral nor perfect. We encourage you to let us know if you encounter materials, descriptive language, or practices that are offensive or harmful, particularly those for which inadequate context or warning is offered. We are committed to modifying and updating our descriptive practices to use respectful and inclusive terminology and appreciate your help in this work. We look forward to supporting you in your research and learning together.
Henry Johnson (1855-1918) graduated from Bowdoin in 1874, and continued his studies in Europe until 1877. He then returned to Bowdoin as instructor of modern languages, was appointed professor in 1881, and held the Longfellow Chair in that discipline from its establishment in 1882 until his death.
During that time, Johnson also served as Librarian of the College (1880-85), Curator of the Museum of Art (1881-87; 1892-1914), and Director of the Museum of Art (1914-18).
Johnson published several books of poems, a descriptive catalogue of Bowdoin's art collections, a variant edition of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, an edition of Schiller's Ballads, and a highly acclaimed English translation of Dante's Divine Comedy.
Johnson married Frances Robinson in 1881; they had two children. Volumes from Johnson's collection of rare books, including many Bibles and editions of Dante and Shakespeare, came to the Library in the 1940s and 1970s.
The collection contains correspondence, notes, drafts, documents, lectures and other material concerning the life and career of Henry Johnson (1811-1945). It includes extensive correspondence with family members, publishers (including the Yale University Press and D.C. Heath & Co.), artists, including Kenyon Cox, Abbott Thayer and Elihu Vedder, and Bowdoin friends and colleagues; drafts and notes for his published works; documents relating to his family; photographs of Industry, Maine, the Johnson ancestral home; and records relating to his years at Bowdoin.
Letters, deeds, receipts, agreements and other documents (1811-69) relating to Johnson's ancestors and family; followed by financial records (1838-73). Much of the earliest material relates to the town of Industry, Maine, its school and the family members living there. Later material concerns Professor Johnson's father, Richard Elliot Johnson, his father's family and his early education.
Arranged chronologically.
No restrictions.
1811-1869, undated
Financial material, 1838-1873
Johnson's correspondence (1870-1918) includes personal, family and professional letters filed chronologically, beginning with his college years. It includes a regular, almost weekly, exchange with his father; letters from his fiancee‚ (1880-81); correspondence with publishers and with Bowdoin officers and colleagues. There are also letters from three of the four artists involved in decorating the rotunda of the Walker Art Museum: Kenyon Cox, Abbott Thayer and Elihu Vedder. A detailed chronological list and alphabetical name index of non-family correspondence is available for in-house use.
Arranged chronologically.
No restrictions.
1870-1874
1875-1878
1879-1885
1885-miscellaneous
1886-1888
1888-1890
1890-1891
1892-1894
1895-1897
1898-1900
1901-1904
1904-1905
1906-1908
1909-1911
1912-1913
1914-1915
1916-1918 & undated
Records relating to Johnson and his immediate family, including diaries, financial material, documents, essays, notes and genealogies; grouped by type, the material is arranged alphabetically. Sections include college themes, including his commencement part; scattered diaries and journals (1870-1905); documents (1881-1945), among them marriage certificates, deeds, wills, etc.; material concerning his immediate family (for more information see the Chase-Johnson Papers); financial records (1870-1914), including bank and royalty statements; notes and notebooks; travel records (1875-1913); and ephemera (1871-1917).
Arranged alphabetically.
No restrictions.
College themes
Diaries and journals, 1870-1905
Documents, 1881-1945
Ephemera, [ca. 1871-1900]
Ephemera, [ca. 1907-1917 and n.d.]
Family material
Financial, [ca. 1870-1917]
Financial, [ca. 1910-1914]
Miscellaneous
Notes and notebooks
Travel records, [ca. 1875-1913]
Notes, drafts, lectures, proofs and other materials, mostly undated, relating to Johnson's career as professor, author, and member of the Bowdoin College staff. It includes scholarly notes on various subjects; lectures read before various groups; essays, poems and book drafts, published and unpublished. Grouped by material type (i.e. poems, essays, notes, or translations), it is arranged alphabetically. Special sections on the works of Dante and Shakespeare, his two major subjects of study, combine all types of material.
Arranged alphabetically.
No restrictions.
Course material
Divine Comedy (draft on cards)
Divine Comedy
Proofs
Notes
La Vita Nuova
Essays
Notes
Ambition - Teaching
History of Art
Museum of Art - catalog draft
Notes and outlines
Ca. 1877-1917
On Sacred Themes
Seer and Other Poems
Where Beauty Is
Lectures
Macbeth
Merchant of Venice
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado About Nothing
Notes, 1879-1884
Sonnets
Venus and Adonis
Venus and Adonis (draft on cards)
Translations and foreign language works
"Harmony of Greek New Testament with English version by HJ with the collaboration of Harry de Forest Smith," 1891
Clippings on various subjects, both dated (1873-1945) and undated. Broken very broadly, they are largely unarranged, and include obituaries of Johnson, his family members and friends; articles and poems by Johnson; reports of art exhibits; reviews of his published works; and information on his hometown of Industry, Maine.
Not arranged.
No restrictions.
1873-1945, undated
Photographs of Industry, Maine, the ancestral home of the Johnson family which is referred to in the early family records. The images, many of which are cyanotypes, record the town's buildings, daily life and people. The photographer is unknown.
Not arranged.
No restrictions.
Industry, Maine
Industry, Maine