Tennyson : 'Poems by two brothers' original manuscript

Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892, Tennyson, Charles

Tennyson

<p style='text-align: justify;'>A small rebound duodecimo notebook containing the manuscript copy of <i>Poems by Two Brothers</i>. Trinity Additional Manuscripts a. 187 contains six additional manuscript poems belonging to <i>Poems by Two Brothers</i> as well as correspondence between Charles and Alfred Tennyson and Jackson, the publisher. A notarized bill of sale dated February 9, 1827, recording the transfer of copyright from the authors to Jackson, is catalogued as belonging to Trin. Add. MS. a. 1873 but has been tipped in to the rebound volume.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Ricks published only those poems attributed to Alfred Tennyson in his edition. Hallam Tennyson published a facsimile edition in 1893 of the 1827 first edition (<i>Poems by Two Brothers</i>. London and New York: Macmillan and Co., 1893). In his facsimile, Hallam Tennyson attempted to identify the authors of the various poems as either C.T., A.T., or F.T. (Fredrick Tennyson). I refer to Hallam Tennyson's facsimile (or second) edition with the notation 'HT'.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Throughout, the printer has taken great liberty with titles, spacing, and punctuation. The 'Wh' that appears in red ink in the manuscript means 'white space', and this and all other markings in red ink belong to the printer. I euphemize the numerous compositors, printers, and copyreaders as 'Jackson'.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>My identification of the hands for each poem should be understood to be conjectural. Nowhere in this volume does Alfred Tennyson write with the clear and characteristic hand that he uses in later compositions, and very often the hands of Alfred and Charles are indistinguishable. At best, the slant, the 's', and the 'd' provide the only consistently distinguishing characteristics.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>John Charles Yearwood, Jr.</p>