COLL P 06

Reference code

COLL P 06

Title

Papers of Provost James, 1918 - 1936

Level

Series

Administrative / Biographical history

M.R. James ('Monty') came to Eton as a King's Scholar in 1876. His tutor was Henry Luxmoore, for whom he retained a lifelong affection. He had a successful Eton career, being in the Newcastle Select twice and winning the Newcastle Scholarship in 1882, the Wilder Divinity Prize the same year, the Prince Consort's 2nd French Prize in 1881 and editing the Eton College Chronicle. In 1882, he went to King's College, Cambridge, where his academic successes continued. He became a Fellow in 1887, before being elected Provost in 1905 and thus Senior Fellow at Eton. From 1893 - 1908 he was also Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum and he produced numerous catalogues of manuscripts at Eton and elsewhere. He also worked on Apocryphal literature. In 1918 he was elected Provost of Eton in succession to Dr Warre, having in practice carried out much of the Provost's work for some years because of Dr Warre's illness. He remained Provost until his death. He was awarded the Order of Merit in 1930 and received many honorary degrees. In addition to his academic publications he is known for his many ghost stories.

Date

1882 - 1936

Content description

These papers relate mainly to Provost James' connection with Eton as Fellow and then Provost (the Governing Body papers predating his Fellowship were presumably background reading received on his appointment). They often contain material of some importance, for example COLL/P6/4 the presentation by Lord Rosebery of the portrait of William Ewart Gladstone by Sir John Everett Millais.

Provenance

Some papers found at Eton. Letters to Angus Mackay Fairweather were presented by his son

Arrangement

The papers were scattered throughout the archives and showed no traces of discernible order, although there are several rather miscellaneous bundles that appear to have been put together by James himself. These have therefore been preserved.

Associated material

COLL/ARCH and COLL/LIB include work by James on the College's archives and manuscripts. ED 403 is a letter from M.R. James.

Finding aids

The main finding aid is a typescript list.

Publication note

DNB Michael Cox: M.R. James, An Informal Portrait (OUP, 1983) Samuel Lubbock: A Memoir of Montague Rhodes James (CUP, 1939) Richard William Pfaff: Montague Rhodes James (Scholar Press, 1980)