MS 681 05

MS 681 05

Moulton-Barrett archive: Sketchbooks and scrapbooks kept by members of the Moulton-Barrett family

File

[19th century]

2 boxes and 2 volumes

A series of eight sketchbooks and scrapbooks kept by members of the Moulton-Barrett family:

1: A small sketchbook bound in red morocco with "album" scratched on the front. This presumably belonged to Elizabeth Barrett-Browning since the majority of pencil sketches in the book are signed "EBB". There is an elaborate white and pink book label on the verso of the front page with "Miss Barrett, November 22nd 1842" written in red ink. The book also contains cuttings of cartoons and caricatures and what appear to be copied out poems.
2. An even smaller notebook bound in quarter brown leather over marbled paper covered boards. This belonged to Alfred Price Barrett Moulton-Barrett and it contains sketches of clerks who worked at the Paddington Accounts Office of the Great Western Railway. The clerks have been identified and are listed on a loosely inserted leaf that also contains their age, date of entering service, department and salary.
3. A heavily stained and waterlogged volume that contains many tipped-in greetings cards, cuttings and some sketches. This belonged to Alfred Moulton-Barrett's children. One sketch in particular is of Edward Moulton-Barrett as a parrot and there is a handwritten mocking rhyme underneath it. The volume also contains handwritten instructions about embroidery or sewing.
4. A scrapbook bound in purple cloth blocked in gilt and black with "scrapbook" on the front board. This belonged to Alfred Moulton-Barrett. It contains a number of unsigned colour portraits at the beginning of the scrapbook, with greetings cards and caricatures tipped-in afterwards.
5. An album bound in green cloth that belonged to Alfred Moulton-Barrett. It contains a number of sketches, some in colour, of members of the family and individuals related to them. There are also envelopes addressed to Elizabeth Barrett-Browning and others, and miscellaneous greetings cards. The portrait of 'Ba' in this volume has been extracted, possibly by the previous owner. There is a photograph of Alfred in old age pasted to the front page.
6: An album bound in green cloth and blocked in gilt and black with a colour illustration on the front cover and "scraps" written below. This consists mainly of newspaper cuttings that follow the lives of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett-Browning, with reproduced photographs. Handwritten index at front of the volume. This belonged to Alfred Moulton-Barrett's family.
7: A large album bound in grey cloth with elaborate gilt and colour tooling on the front board, containing newspaper cuttings that follow the life of Robert Browning. These cuttings originate predominantly from 'The Pall Mall Budget'. This belonged to Alfred Moulton-Barrett's family.
8: A large album of grey paper covered boards that has been repaired with half green morocco. This belonged to Alfred Moulton-Barrett and it contains a large number of sketches by him, and at least one by Elizabeth Barrett-Browning too. The sketches tend to be of the Moulton-Barrett family or people related to them, including household staff. The colour portraits of individual family members now in a red cloth volume in Ky.8 were extracted from this album by previous owner Edward R. Moulton-Barrett.

Part of the Edward R. Moulton-Barrett bequest.