Corson, James Clarkson, 1905-1988 (Scottish librarian and scholar)
Dates
- Existence: 1905 - 1988
Biography
James Clarkson Corson was born in Edinburgh on 30 June 1905. He was educated at Daniel Stewart’s College from 1911 to 1924 before entering Edinburgh University to read history. Having graduated in 1928, Corson stayed on to prepare a Ph.D. on Doctrines of Resistance and Non-Resistance during the Revolution of 1688 (1934). Before completing his postgraduate work, however, Corson had taken up a post at the University Library. At first he was employed as an Assistant Librarian, but he soon rose to the position of Deputy Librarian in 1939, where he was to remain until his retirement in 1965. Today Corson is best known to Scott scholars for his 1943 publication A Bibliography of Sir Walter Scott: A Classified and Annotated List of Books and Articles Relating to his Life and Works 1797-1940 and for his Notes and Index to Sir Herbert Grierson's Edition of the Letters of Sir Walter Scott (Oxford, 1979), both of which remain standard reference works in the field. His most durable legacy, however, is one of the most diverse and significant archives of Scott materials. The Corson Collection, almost certainly the world’s largest self-standing collection of Scottiana, was sold to Edinburgh University under an agreement in 1978, and was transferred to the University Library in Edinburgh in 1989, a year after Corson’s death.
Found in 19 Collections and/or Records:
Abbotsford Library papers, 1950s-1980s
Correspondence, 1930s-1980s
Consists of letters sent to James Clarkson Corson by fellow scholars, publishers, and members of the public with an interest in Scott. Some of the correspondence is addressed to Corson in his capacity as Honorary Librarian of Abbotsford, but is filed along with his other correspondence. In most cases, there are also typed copies of Corson's replies.
Corson Collection
Corson Collection of Sir Walter Scott materials, 18th-20th century
Cuttings of newspaper articles relating to Sir Walter Scott, 1931 - 1988
This series contains cuttings from British newspapers that relate, in the widest possible sense, to the life and works of Sir Walter Scott.
Education, 1911-1934
Consists of: Corson’s Ph.D. thesis, 'The English Revolution and the Doctrines of Resistance and Non-Resistance, 1688 to 1714' (Edinburgh, 1934); Miscellaneous notes on librarianship and bibliography.
Extracts, photocopies, and transcripts of critical articles on Sir Walter Scott, 19th-20th century
This series contains extracts, cuttings, photocopies, photostats and transcripts of articles, essays, and reviews devoted to Sir Walter Scott.
Life Membership of the Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club given to James C. Corson, 24 January 1947
Life Membership of the Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club given to James C. Corson. The card reads: "Received from James C Corson Esq. the sum of two guineas, in payment of his subscriptions as a life member of the Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club".
Management and documentation of Corson Collection, 1917 - 1988
Manuscripts and copies of manuscripts relating to Sir Walter Scott, 18th-20th century
This series contains:
- Manuscripts all or partly in Sir Walter Scott's hand;
- Original manuscript letters from, to, or about Sir Walter Scott;
- Manuscripts of works about or relating to Sir Walter Scott;
- Copies of manuscripts relating to Sir Walter Scott.