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Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was an established poet, novelist, and playwright who championed Aestheticism and its “art for art’s sake” mantra. He is best known for the works The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), and De Profundis (1897), all of which include explicit or implicit themes of homoeroticism and homosexuality. Wilde was a queer man in intimate relationships with art critic Robert Ross (1869–1918) and poet Lord Alfred Douglas (1870–1945). He was imprisoned for two years due to his homosexuality and queer literary production under Britain’s Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885 (which criminalized same-sex relations between men).
The Clark Library’s collection of Oscar Wilde material is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. It includes nearly every edition of every printed book by and about Wilde; Wilde’s works in translation; correspondence between Oscar Wilde and his literary circle; manuscripts related to or composed by Wilde and his circle; Wildeiana, miscellaneous materials related to Wilde and his impact on popular culture; and forgeries of Wilde’s work and correspondence. Clark, Jr. acquired the nucleus of the Clark Library’s Oscar Wilde collection in 1929 (from Dulau and Company, London). The following subsections are a sampling of the collection.
Examples of Early Editions:
Examples of Wilde in Translation:
Examples of Fine Press Books:
This collection includes the main correspondence of Wilde and his literary circle. It includes letters by Wilde, Douglas, More Adey (1858–1942), Robert Ross, and others.
This collection centers literary manuscripts by Wilde (e.g., speeches, plays, and poems). There are some manuscripts by members of Wilde’s circle, like Max Beerbohm (1872–1956), Douglas, Christopher Millard (1872–1927), Helena Modjeska-Chlapowska (1844–1909), and William Morris (1834–1896). In addition, the collection consists of miscellaneous manuscripts by Wilde and his circle, such as petitions, a birthday book, autographs, bills, invoices, drawings, a medical prescription, and correspondence.
Examples of Literary Manuscripts:
Examples of Miscellaneous Manuscripts:
The Clark Library's Wildeiana collection presents miscellaneous materials relating to Wilde and his circle, including photographs, portraits, caricatures, performances, lectures, clippings, memorabilia, and more.
Examples of Photographs (Series 1, 1858–1994):
Examples of Portraits (Series 2.1, 1858–1998):
Examples of Caricatures (Series 2.2, 1874–1946):
Examples of Theatrical Productions (Series 3.1, 1883–1998):
Examples of Reviews and Articles (Series 3.2, 1876–1997):
Examples of Sheet Music and Associated Items (Series 3.3, 1882–1914):
Examples of Oscar Wilde in America (Series 3.3, 1882–1883; 1978–1990):
Examples of Collection Management, Exhibits, and Relations with Other Collections (Series 4.1, 1887–1996):
Examples of Memorabilia and Realia (Series 4.2, 1912–2019):
Christopher S. Millard’s Collection of Oscar Wilde News Clipping Albums
Materials include:
Samuel Wright (1905–?), a researcher of nineteenth-century English writer Walter Pater (1839–1894), collected material related to Wilde and Douglas.
Materials include:
Bobby Fong (1950–2014) was a Professor of English at Hamilton College in New York, and he wrote his dissertation on Wilde. This Clark Library collection contains notes, correspondence, reference materials, and typescripts related to Fong’s dissertation research at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library from 1977–1978.
T. Perceval Gerson (1872–1960) was a medical doctor, leader of the Hollywood Bowl Association, and director of the Southern California Branch of the ACLU. His collection on Wilde consists of clippings, ephemera, bookseller descriptions, and more.
Materials include:
A.J.A. Symons (1900–1941) was an English writer and bibliographer who wrote about Wilde’s life and work. Symons was in contact with living members of Wilde’s circle. His collection on Oscar Wilde includes his own scholarly work on Wilde and materials he collected during his research.
Materials include:
Father Cuthbert Dunne (1869–1950) was an Irish Passionist priest who baptized Wilde on his deathbed in 1900 and officiated Wilde’s funeral. This collection consists of Dunne’s papers, memories, correspondence, and transcriptions of newspaper accounts related to Wilde’s death.
Materials include:
The Clark Library collects confirmed or probable forgeries of Oscar Wilde’s works. The collection includes correspondence and manuscripts.
Series 1: Forgeries from “André Gide” and Dorian Hope (1920–1957)
Series 2: Forgeries from “Pierre Louÿs (1920–1922)
Series 3: Material on forgeries by Mrs. Chan-Toon collected by Chrisopher Millard (1908–1926)
Series 4: Letters from “Oscar Wilde” to Leonard Charles Smithers (1880–1900)
Series 5: Miscellaneous Forgeries
To find manuscripts, printed books, ephemera, and more related to Oscar Wilde and his circle go to UC Library Search. Click on “Advanced Search,” select the “Subject” field, and type either “Oscar Wilde,” “Max Beerbohm,” or “Alfred Douglas.” To find works by specific authors, select the “Author” field and type “Wilde, Oscar, 1854–1900,” for example. You can also do a keyword search either in the simple search or in the “Any field” field of the “Advanced Search.” Once you have search results, you can limit to the Clark Library by selecting it from the “UCLA Locations” facet.
For detailed inventories of archival collections related to Oscar Wilde and his circle consult the Clark Library's page on the Online Archive of California (OAC).