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SPECIAL COLLECTIONS REPORT: THE PATER COLLECTIONS IN OXFORD By Bernard Richards (Brasenose College) One might have thought, since he was closely associated with Oxford for about forty years, that the place would be rich in Pateriana, but it is not, and we know less about Pater than about some seventeenth- and eighteenthcentury figures. How is this to be explained? Firstly he was a private and reticent person, not given to long and expansive letters; the same was true of his sisters, so that what he did not destroy as he went along they did. Also he did not like clutter, and disposed of things as soon as he could. This is not uncharacteristic of a certain kind of Oxford don: Maurice Platnauer (Principal of Brasenose from 1956 to 1961) used to throw away correspondence at the earliest possible moment. Also Pater was parsimonious, and liked to use the backs of letters and manuscripts for drafts. He had the great virtue of not writing in books (neither his own or those he borrowed), so that not much is to be gleaned from that source. It is then possible, but not I think likely, that some more minor information might come to light in Oxford libraries, but I would not anticipate much being added to what is listed here. Queen's College Pater's undergraduate college. The main interest here is the record of books borrowed by Pater. These are listed by Billie Inman in Walter Pater's Reading (New York: Garland, 1981). Unlike many other Oxford colleges Queen's does not have a separate collection of works of alumni, so that one cannot do a rapid survey of the works of his contemporaries. Brasenose College Here too it is possible to discover which books Pater borrowed from the library (also listed by Inman). Brasenose does have an excellent collection of works by alumni (begun by W. Buckley in the nineteenth century), so that one can see at a glance what his colleagues, pupils and other members of the college were producing. There is a collection of Pater's works—some with corrections and emendations in his hand (Fellows of Oxford colleges are reluctant to let mistakes stand) . There are also some books from his library —including his Villon and Romola. The letters are published in L. Evans' edition of the correspondence. An inventory of the contents of his room at his death has survived. The Bursary records are full, so that there is no difficulty in finding out what Pater ate and drank. A manuscript diary of F. Madan contains a wealth of information on Brasenose in Pater's time—including the occasional remark or opinion of Pater. There is a colossal amount of Busselliana, including an autobiography in manuscript. Bussell was one of Pater's close friends. Dr. Robert Shackleton recently presented to the library Thomas Wright's scrap-book, including many working notes for the biography. Shrove Tuesday Ale Verses are printed each year, and allusions to Pater are found in those of the last century. 149 150 Worcester College A copy of the Macmillan's Magazine piece "The Child in the House" with alterations in Pater's hand so that the work could be printed by H. 0. Daniel as An Imaginary Portrait (1894). See Samuel Wright, A Bibliography of the Writings of Walter H. Pater (Folkeston: Dawson, 1975), pp. 94-96. Corpus Christi College Manuscript journal of S. R. Brooke, with memories of Pater and the "Old Mortality" Society. Campion Hall Rich in work relating to Gerard Manley Hopkins, Including undergraduate essays marked by Pater, who was his tutor for a time. Blackfrlars Four holograph letters to Marc Andre Raffalovich, the risqué figure attracted to Pater when strongly cautioned against meeting him by Sidney CoIvin . Not printed by L. Evans, i) April 25, 1884, returning "two characteristic sonnets in MS." and explaining that he had been busy with his writing during the Easter vacation, ii) Sept. 15, 1884. Invitation to come and stay in Oxford, even though it is "rather dull for visitors just now." Hi) Dec. 11th (year ?) Thanks for sending a "quaintly arrayed" copy of his poems. "The melange of sentiment and satire it presents...

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