Thomas Pennant Barton Collection (Rare Books & Manuscripts)

Since BPL's acquisition of Thomas Pennant Barton's library of Shakespeare and early English drama in 1873, scholars and BPL librarians have researched and published on the collection, bringing these materials to the attention of wider audiences.

The following resources highlight Barton's concerted efforts towards building a significant collection of rare editions in pristine condition and the continued work of BPL staff to make the Barton collection accessible to the public. Links to many of these articles, along with other resources, are provided below.

Thomas Pennant Barton

• Cannon, Carl L. American Book Collectors and Collecting: From Colonial Times to the Present. New York: H.W. Wilson, 1941, pp. 318-19.
• Dickinson, Donald C. Dictionary of American Book Collectors. New York: Greenwood, 1986, p. 30.
• Wright, Edith A. Building the Barton Collection, Biography of Thomas Pennant Barton Based on His Correspondence With His Publishers. Manuscript. BPL, MS Am.1345. 
• Bouchardy, Étienne. Portrait of Thomas Pennant Barton. 1835. Donated to the Boston Public Library by Julia Hunt Barton. BPL, G.Cab. 3.190. See the digitized portrait in Digital Commonwealth.

Catalogs

• Bibliotheca Heberiana: Catalogue of the Library of the Late Richard Heber. Thirteen parts in five volumes. 1834-1837. Available online through HathiTrust. 
  • See volume two, part 4, day 10, lots 2012, 2014, and 2021 
• Boston Public Library. Catalogue of the Barton Collection. Boston: Boston Public Library, 1888. Available online through the Internet Archive.

Collection Context, History, and Overview

• Wynne, James. Sketch of Thomas P. Barton’s Library. New York: C. A. Alvord, 1860. BPL, G.360.15 no. 1 FOLIO. Available online though Internet Archive.
• Wadlin, Horace. The Public Library of the City of Boston. Boston: Boston Public Library, 1911, pp.128-132.
• Alden, John. “America’s First Shakespeare Collection.” Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, vol. 58 (1964), pp. 169-173. Available online through JSTOR (BPL access). 
• Cannon, Carl L. American Book Collectors and Collecting: From Colonial Times to the Present. New York: H.W. Wilson, 1941, pp. 318-19. 
• Smith, Robert. "The Formation of Shakespeare Libraries in America." The Shakespeare Association Bulletin, vol.4 no.3 (July 1929), pp. 65-74. Available online through JSTOR. 
• Correspondence regarding Thomas Pennant Barton's Library. BPL, MS 7339. Finding aid available online.

BPL Publications

• Annual Reports of the Trustees of the Boston Public Library. See the following reports for details about the acquisition and management of the Barton Collection.
  • 1873 (twenty-first annual report)  
  • 1874 (twenty-second annual report)
• “The Barton Library” BPL Bulletin, 1st series, no. 26 (August 1873), p. 164. This paragraph mentions the purchase of the Barton Library and briefly discusses the Shakespeare portion of the collection. 
• “English Drama in the Barton Collection.” BPL Bulletin, 1st series, no. 45 (April 1878), p. 344. A list of some of the significant early editions of English drama in the Barton Collection.
• “The Barton Library.” BPL Bulletin, 4th series, vol. 3, no. 3 (July-September 1921), pp. 173-77. This short article describes Barton’s collecting interests and highlights some significant items in the Barton Collection at BPL. 
• "The Clawson Sale and the Library: Elizabethan and Jacobean First Editions in the Barton Collection." BPL Bulletin/More Books, 6th series, vol. 1 (1926), pp. 217-21. BPL has supplemented the original purchase of the Barton Collection with additional purchases over time. The library's participation in the Clawson sale (1926) added seven volumes of 17th century English literature to the collection.
• Furness, Henry Howard. “Shakespeareana.” BPL Bulletin, 4th series, vol. 5, no. 3, (July-September 1923), pp. 217-221. A reprint of Furness’ 1882 report on the Barton Collection with changes and additions to the collection noted.  
• Barton, Thomas Pennant. “The Library’s First Folio of Shakespeare.” BPL Quarterly, vol. 10 (1958), pp. 63-77. This essay, originally published by Barton in 1860 as Description of a Copy of the First Folio Edition of the Plays of Shakespeare Now in the Library of T.P. Barton, was reprinted in the BPL Quarterly to make it more accessible to the public.