Sir Hall Caine papers

Collection

Identifier: MS 0010

Staff Only

Finding aid note: Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Scope and Contents

The collection primarily consists of 189 letters addressed to Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine, a prominent British novelist and secretary to Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the poet and painter. The bulk of the correspondence is hand-written signed letters. There are many typed signed letters, along with other forms of correspondence, such as a telegram. Caine lived from May 14, 1853 until August 31, 1931. Caine greatly admired Rosetti and the Pre-Raphaelite writings and much of the correspondence centers around the movement. Literary themes, especially related to events of the day, predominate the subjects of the letters. Many prominent intellectuals wrote to Caine, including Sir James M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan; Sir Arthur Wing Pinero, a leading playwright of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods; Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery and British prime minister from 1894 to 1895; Israel Zangwill, a writer and Zionist; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a Scottish writer best known for his series of stories about Sherlock Holmes; and Sir Walter Besant, an English novelist and philantropist.

Correspondence in this collection is contained within one letter-sized document case measuring .5 linear feet. The collection is arranged alphabetically by the writer's name and chronologically if there is more than one letter by the writer. The only exceptions to this arrangement are the personal files of Caine containing personal papers and family correspondence. The collection is in good condition.

Dates

Creation: 1882 - 1947

Creator

Caine, Hall, Sir, 1853-1931 (Person)

Access Restrictions

This material is open for research.

Conditions Governing Access

Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish from the Papers of Sir Hall Caine must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

Biographical Note

Sir (Thomas Henry) Hall Caine was born on May 14, 1853 in Cheshire, England. He grew up in Liverpool, and after leaving school at 14, began working for an architecture firm. He began reading the writings of John Ruskin and became an active member of the Ruskin Society. He wrote regularly for the Liverpool papers.

Caine was entralled by the poetry of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and befriended the poet in 1879. He eventually went to live at Rossetti's London home and remined there until Rossetti's death in 1882. Through Rossetti, Caine was introduced to the Pre-Raphaelite circle, making many good friends, including Ford Madox Brown, William Sharp, Frederic Shields, and Theodore Watts.

Caine produced fifteen romantic novels, and became extremely popular and famous. His novel, The Christian was the first novel in Britain to sell 1 million copies.

Caine championed campaigns for votes for women, marriage law reform, and workers' rights. During the First World War he contributed Allied propaganda for the Daily Telegraph newspaper. He was knighted in 1917. He died on August 31, 1931.

Vivien Allen, ‘Caine, Sir (Thomas Henry) Hall (1853–1931)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2011 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/32237, accessed 29 March 2016]

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract:

The collection primarily consists of letters addressed to Sir Hall Caine, a prominent British novelist and secretary to Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the poet and painter. Caine lived from May 14, 1853 until August 31, 1931. Caine greatly admired Rossetti and the Pre-Raphaelite writings and much of the correspondence centers around the movement. Literary themes, especially related to events of the day, predominate the subjects of the letters.

Arrangement

Correspondence in this collection is contained within one letter-sized document case measuring .5 linear feet. The collection is arranged alphabetically by the writer's name and chronologically if there is more than one letter by the writer. The only exceptions to this arrangement are the personal files of Caine containing personal papers and family correspondence.

Other Finding Aids note

"A Guide to the Jacobs Collection" by Beth Wray, 1976. WRC Ref. z 6616.c22 W54.

Acquisition Information

These letters were purchased from Douglas Jacobs, a bookdealer.

Processing Information

The original title of this collection was named the "Guide to MS 10 Jacobs Collection of Autograph Correspondence." The collection was named after Douglas Jacobs, the book dealer from whom the collection was acquired.