#22 Birkbeck Hill Johnson
This unique item is part of a much larger collection. It’s not unusual for libraries to have multiple copies of the same work, but in this case, we’re able to use what we have to trace the evolution of a work from writing to publication.
1. These volumes are George Birkbeck Hill’s edition of Boswell’s Life of Samuel Johnson.
2. It is the editor’s annotated edition, meaning the text is interleaved with blank pages, so that the author could add content. We can see that, although the commentary was already extensive, Birkbeck Hill still had more to add.
3. While the original edition of Boswell was published in 2 volumes, Birkbeck Hill’s runs to 6 volumes, contained in 12 individual books!
4. It was published in 1887, so this copy must date from before that. It has a gilt-edged top, but the side is only roughly cut, indicating that this is a draft copy, not the final version.
5. On each page, text from Boswell is at the top, while commentary, explanation and citations from Birkbeck Hill are below. On some pages, the amount of Birkbeck Hill considerably outdoes Boswell.
6. Birkbeck Hill was born in 1835, and was educated at his father’s school in Tottenham before coming up to Pembroke.
7. While at Oxford, he became close, lifelong friends with Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris, as well as starting his writing career.
8. Due to typhoid fever, he was unable to finish his studies fully, and received an honorary fourth class degree. He would later receive honorary degrees to recognise his contribution to literature.
9. He continued to write while running the school his father had founded, and when he retired, he devoted himself to it, becoming the foremost commentator on Johnson’s works.
10. In the process of this, he amassed a huge Johnson library, which he left to Pembroke on his death. The Birkbeck Hill collection now forms a large part of our Samuel Johnson Collection, including editions of Johnson’s works, runs of journals he was involved in, and the works of Johnson’s circle of friends.
