Collection ID: 0002 | Metadata type: TEI | TEI XML | Data

Title

Minutes and records of the Guardians

Authors

• Asylum for Orphan Girls (London, England)
• Fielding, John, Sir, 1721-1780

Call number

Ms. Codex 1623
(Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Rare Book & Manuscript Library)

Alternate identifiers

• bibid: 5456346
• http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/5456346

Publisher

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries

Origin

Date

1758-1783

Place

London

Summary

2 volumes of records of an institution established in a former inn in the Lambeth area of London to provide housing, care, and education to orphaned and poor girls, originally between the ages of 8 and 12. The first volume is the first minute book of the guardians of the Asylum or House of Refuge for Orphans and Other Deserted Girls of the Poor, beginning with their first meeting on 10 May 1758. Sir John Fielding, brother of the novelist Henry Fielding, was one of the original Guardians and played a central role in the establishment of the Asylum. The minutes document the clothing and food of the girls; the staff hired, including a matron, a plainwork teacher, a cook, and a gardener; the process of admitting girls and information about the girls admitted; a benefit held for the Asylum at the Sadler's Wells Theatre; financial support of the Asylum through individual subscriptions; and expenses. The minutes cover meetings up to 25 February 1761. The second volume contains orders and rules excerpted from the minutes from 1758 through 1783 (f. 25r). A small ticket printed with the words Asylum, Tea and Coffee, is laid in the second volume.

Notes

• Ms. codex.
   
• Title supplied by cataloger.
   
• Pagination (Volume 1): Paper, 88 leaves; [i-v], 1-112, [i-ii], 113-160, [i-ix]; contemporary pagination in ink, upper outer corners.
   
• Foliation (Volume 2): Paper, i + 176 leaves; 1-16, [17-176 (f. 27-176 blank)]; contemporary foliation in ink, modern foliation in pencil, upper right recto.
   

Extent

2 volumes (88, 176 leaves) : Volume 1: 311 x 200 (311 x 182) mm. bound to 319 x 208 mm.; Volume 2: 305 x 196 (319 x 173) mm. bound to 310 x 208 mm. +

Support

Paper

Binding

Contemporary (18th-century) blind-tooled leather over pasteboard; Volume 1 has marbled endleaves.

Layout

Written in 28-30 (Volume 1) and 23-24 (Volume 2) long lines; left vertical bounding line (Volume 1; Volume 2, f. 1-17).

Script

Written in cursive script.

Provenance

• Sold by Pickering & Chatto (London), 2012.
   

Subjects topical

• Charities--England--London--18th century
• Orphanages--England--London--Early works to 1800
• Orphans--England--London--Early works to 1800

Genres

• Codices
• Administrative records
• Minute books
• Minutes
• Manuscripts, English--18th century
• Manuscripts, European

Licenses

• Text

  This description is ©2016 University of Pennsylvania Libraries. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

• Text

  All referenced images and their content are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/