Lewis Walpole Library

Lewis Walpole Library is a research library specializing in British art and culture of the long eighteenth century, with a world-renowned collection of satirical prints, British literature, and manuscripts. It is a department of Yale University and is located in the historic village of Farmington, Connecticut. The library serves as a major center for scholarship on the Georgian era, supporting research through fellowships and academic programs.

History

The library's origins trace back to the collecting passion of Wilmarth Sheldon Lewis and his wife, Annie Burr Auchincloss Lewis, who began acquiring materials related to Horace Walpole and his circle in the 1920s. In 1933, they established the library at their estate in Farmington, Connecticut, to house their growing collections. A pivotal moment came in 1960 when the Lewises formally bequeathed the entire library, along with their Colonial Revival home and its grounds, to Yale University. This gift ensured the institution's future as a permanent research center, with subsequent directors like Herman W. Liebert and Margaret K. Powell overseeing significant growth in its holdings and scholarly profile.

Collections

The core of the collections is built around the life and work of Horace Walpole, the famed author of *The Castle of Otranto* and creator of Strawberry Hill House. It holds the most comprehensive assemblage of Walpoliana in the world, including his extensive correspondence with figures like Thomas Gray and Madame du Deffand. Beyond this, the library possesses an exceptional array of over 30,000 satirical prints by artists such as James Gillray, Thomas Rowlandson, and William Hogarth. Its holdings also include significant manuscripts, watercolors, drawings, paintings, and rare editions of works by Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and Samuel Johnson, providing unparalleled resources for studying the Augustan Age and the Regency era.

Building and location

The library is situated on a 14-acre campus in the heart of the Farmington historic district, centered on the Lewis's former residence, a notable example of Colonial Revival architecture. The main research and reading room is housed in a modern, climate-controlled addition constructed to preserve and provide access to the fragile collections. The pastoral setting, which includes period gardens and several auxiliary buildings, offers a scholarly retreat reminiscent of an English country house, fostering an environment conducive to focused study of British culture.

Research and access

As a department of Yale University, it is integrated into the university's vast library system, including the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library and the Yale Center for British Art. The library awards competitive research fellowships to scholars from around the world and hosts an active schedule of academic seminars, conferences, and symposia. While the reading room is open to qualified researchers by appointment, many of its catalog records and a growing number of digitized items, such as prints from the Yale University Library Digital Collections, are accessible online to the global academic community.

Publications and exhibitions

The library has a strong tradition of scholarly publication, most notably the monumental multi-volume edition of *The Yale Edition of Horace Walpole's Correspondence*, a project initiated by Wilmarth Sheldon Lewis. It regularly produces catalogues raisonnés, collection guides, and exhibition catalogs that disseminate research on its holdings. The institution also mounts both physical and online exhibitions that explore themes in British art and society, often drawing connections between its historic prints and contemporary issues, thereby engaging a wider public audience with the visual culture of the eighteenth century.

Category:Yale University Category:Research libraries in the United States Category:Libraries in Connecticut Category:Art museums in Connecticut Category:Buildings and structures in Farmington, Connecticut