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Jeremy Taylor Collection

ca. 1613-1667

The Jeremy Taylor Collection was acquired by the University Libraries in 1972, from Robert Gathorne-Hardy, who was a Taylor scholar, bibliographer, and collector, and the author, with William P. Williams, A Bibliography of the Writings of Jeremy Taylor to 1700 : With a Section of Tayloriana (1971).

This collection of Jeremy Taylor-related materials is the largest and most comprehensive collection held outside of the British Museum and the Bodleian Library. Significant items in the collection include all the various editions of Holy Living printed in Taylor's lifetime. One copy has the signature and corrections in Taylor's own hand, and was exhibited in 1951 at the Victoria & Albert Museum. A copy of Taylor's Of the Sacred Order (Oxford, 1632), one of three known copies on large paper, in a contemporary Oxford binding of dark blue morocco is included. In addition, this collection includes the first edition of Vaughan's Golden Grove (1600); a first edition of Eikon Basilike (1649), Arthur Rowden's copy of Barksdale's Remembrancer of Excellent Men (1670), and Katherine Philips' Poems (1664). There are five original letters of Taylor's in the collection, several of which have not yet been published.

Nearly all of the volumes in this collection have been annotated by Gathorne-Hardy as part of his research; this includes annotations that note references to Taylor in passing, when Taylor is not the central focus of the text. In addition, we also hold Gathorne-Hardy's manuscripts relating to his research on Taylor, and a small cache of William Proctor Williams' manuscript materials relating to his work on Taylor. To see if we own particular titles, please search our online catalog.

Useful reference books about this collection:

Gathorne-Hardy, Robert. A Bibliography of the Writings of Jeremy Taylor to 1700 : With a Section of Tayloriana. DeKalb : Northern Illinois University Press, 1971.

Rare Books Reference. BX5199.T3 G375 1971a

Williams, William Proctor. Jeremy Taylor, 1700-1976 : An Annotated Checklist. New York : Garland Pub., 1979.
Jeremy Taylor Collection. BX5199.T3 W5

Williams, William Proctor. The Robert Gathorne-Hardy Jeremy Taylor Collection. DeKalb, 1973.
Rare Books Reference. Z8861.8 .W545X

Porter, Harry Boone, 1923-. Jeremy Taylor, liturgist (1613-1667). London : Published for the Alcuin Club by S.P.C.K., 1979.
Jeremy Taylor Collection. PR3729.T13 A8661979

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