Anne Lynch Botta.
Anne Lynch Botta Archives
The majority of Anne Lynch Botta’s extant papers are housed in the John Hay Library at Brown University. In addition to this large collection, small samplings of her letters may be found scattered in generic databases and in the collections of her many friends.
Below are links to each of the archives / databases with short annotations describing the relevant materials housed in each.
Anne Charlotte Lynch Botta Papers || John Hay Library, Brown University
The Anne Lynch Botta Papers. Brown University is located in Providence, Rhode Island, where ALB lived for nearly five years in the 1840s, during which time she produced her anthology The Rhode Island Book (1841) in celebration of the state’s history. The Anne Lynch Botta Papers collection is by far the largest archive of ALB’s papers and consists of over 200 items relating to ALB. These items are divided into six series and four addenda. The series are categorized as follows:
Series 1: Letters written by Anne Charlotte Lynch Botta Bulk, 1866-1877
Series 2: Letters received by Anne Charlotte Lynch Botta 1851-1894, undated
Series 3: Letters received by Vincenzo Botta 1892-1894
Series 4: Letter received by Thomas R. Lynch 1870
Series 5: Letter received by Mrs. Julia M. Lynch 1894
Series 6: Miscellaneous material 1805, undated
Almost all of the material in these series have been digitally photocopied and may be viewed online. The majority of the material consists of correspondence between ALB and her extensive acquaintanceship, but the collection also includes manuscript poems by ALB, engravings or portraits of ALB, and the partial correspondence of ALB’s husband, Vincenzo Botta. Correspondence is organized alphabetically within categories and includes letters from a span of significant figures that reveal the breadth of ALB’s connections. Among the most noticeable are the following exchanges:
1 letter from ALB to Rufus Wilmot Griswold, well-known American editor and Edgar Allan Poe’s libelous literary executor
1 letter from ALB to Edgar Allan Poe, American editor, poet, and author of “The Raven”
1 letter from ALB to Lew Wallace, Union General, governor of the New Mexico Territory, and author of Ben-Hur
2 letters from ALB to Mrs. Gerald Ford, granddaughter and biographer of Noah Webster
10 letters from Ralph Waldo Emerson, founder of the American Transcendental movement
3 letters from ALB to Fitz-Greene Halleck, American poet and member of the “Knickerbocker Group” of writers
5 letters from Julia Ward Howe, author of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”; 3 are addressed to ALB, 2 to Vincenzo Botta
2 letters from N. P. Willis, editor of the Evening Mirror when it published “The Raven” by E. A. Poe
2 letters from Sara Jane Lippincott, popular author of children’s literature under her pseudonym “Grace Greenwood”
1 letter from Mary Mapes Dodge, American author of Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates
3 letters from Helen Hunt Jackson, American author and indigenous rights activist
The collection also contains the following addenda:
Addendum 1 - This addendum contains photostats of letters written by and to the Bottas. This addendum has not been digitized.
Addendum 2 - This addendum contains letters by or to the Bottas, an ALB manuscript poem, and two engraved portraits. This addendum is fully digitized.
Addendum 3 - This addendum contains a few letters by ALB, clippings she collected from her readings, and an ALB manuscript poem. This addendum is partially digitized.
Addendum 4 - This addendum contains letters to the Bottas, ALB biographer Paul J. Scheips’ research, and student essays collected by Sarah E. Ballard. This addendum is partially digitized.
The majority of this collection has been photocopied and may be viewed online; additionally, detailed descriptions of most of the items are available in the online Inventory list.
New York Public Library || New York City, NY
The New York Public Library has several miscellanea by ALB in both its Manuscripts and Archives Division and Digital Collections.
The NYPL’s Digital Collections currently holds digitizations of 890,375 items from their physical archives. These digital records include photocopies of five letters written by ALB to her friend E. A. Duyckinck, editor of The Literary World and significant force on the New York literary scene. In addition to these letters are two handwritten invitations to her salon here and here.
The NYPL’s Manuscripts and Archives Division consists of approximately 29,000 linear feet of materials organized in over 5,500 collections. Included in this archive is one folder of ALB letters and miscellany, which contains letters to the following figures:
Horace Greeley - editor of the New York Daily Tribune
Lew Wallace – Union General, governor of the New Mexico Territory, and author of Ben-Hur
Mrs. Gordon Ford – granddaughter and biographer of Noah Webster
These manuscripts have not yet been digitized.
Sarah Helen Whitman Papers || John Hay Library, Brown University
The Sarah Helen Whitman Papers. Held by the same library as the Anne Lynch Botta Papers, the Sarah Helen Whitman Papers include several pieces related to ALB:
15 letters from ALB to SHW in Series 7. Correspondence to Sarah Helen Whitman
1 letter from SHW to ALB in Series 6. Correspondence from Sarah Helen Whitman
The materials in this collection have not yet been digitized but are available for viewing upon special request to the Center. Detailed descriptions of most of the items are available in the online Inventory list.
Abernethy Collection at Middlebury College || Middlebury, Vermont
The Abernethy Collection consists of materials collected by Julian W. Abernethy, Middlebury professor of American and British Literature. The collection includes first editions, manuscripts, and other miscellanea, primarily from 19th—21st century American authors. Among those miscellanea are the Botta, Anne C. Lynch papers, which occupy Box 2, Folder 23 of the collection. While the materials in this folder have not been digitized, two letters related to Lynch from other portions of the archive have been photocopied and may be viewed through Archive.org:
1 letter to ALB from Julia Ward Howe, author of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”
1 letter by ALB to “Sir”
Rufus W. Griswold Papers, 1785-1897 (Bulk: 1834 – 1857) || Boston Public Library
The Rufus W. Griswold Papers, 1785-1897 at the Boston Public Library contains 1285 items related to journal editor and anthologizer Rufus W. Griswold. These materials primarily consist of Griswold’s professional correspondence with other writers in his capacity as editor but also encompasses personal correspondence. The collection further features many items related to Edgar A. Poe, for whom Griswold served as literary executor and who therefore acquired many of Poe’s papers upon the poet’s death in 1849.
Buried amidst these competing factions are two letters by ALB:
1 letter by ALB to Rufus Griswold, well-known American editor and Edgar Allan Poe’s libelous literary executor
1 letter by ALB to Edgar Allan Poe, American editor, poet, and author of “The Raven”
tems in this collection are organized alphabetically; the items are contained in 20 boxes. Portions of this collection has been digitized and may be viewed through Digital Commonwealth, an initiative of the Boston Public Library founded in 2006 to aid in expanding the availability of their archival material to the public. Undigitized materials may be requested for viewings.
Archival Anecdote: This collection was donated to the Boston Public Library by Mrs. Rufus Griswold in 1900.
Mabbott Poe || University of Iowa Library
The Mabbott Poe collection consists of materials assembled by Thomas O. Mabbott while conducting research for his scholarly edition of Poe’s complete works. Included in this collection is a handwritten transcription of a letter by ALB inviting Poe to attend her salon and asking him to recite his newly published and wildly popular poem “The Raven” to her assembled guests.
The Overbury Collection || Barnard College Archives and Special Collections
The Overbury Collection, housed at Barnard College, was compiled by Bertha Van Riper Overbury, one of the first students to complete a four year degree at the prestigious women’s institute after its founding in 1889. The collection fills 23 boxes and includes nearly 3,000 items (primarily manuscripts and letters) by a variety of American authoresses including such notables as Edith Wharton, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Emily Dickinson, Helen Keller, Louisa May Alcott, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Gertrude Stein.
Included in this collection are two letters by ALB (here and here) and a photograph of ALB (here).
The collection has not yet been digitized but its digital finding aid is highly detailed. The collection is available for inspection at the Barnard College Archives.
ArchiveGrid
ArchiveGrid contains more than 5 million record descriptions of materials housed in over 1,000 archives. Due to this scope, ArchiveGrid generates a helpful list of 80+ items relating to ALB that are available across multiple university collections together with links to each item in the collection; however, none of these links lead to digitized copies of materials.