Final Projects: Annotated Bibliography

I've decided to wrap up this blog (well over a year after my last entry) with copies of my final projects. Of course, this is all my work- and you can't copy it or own it, or if you choose to use it, you must credit me.

Annotated Bibliography
Items relating to St. Paul's Cathedral

Crotchet, Dotted. “St. Paul's Cathedral (Continued)” The Musical Times, Vol. 48, No. 768. (Feb. 1 1907), pp 81-89.
This ten page article outlines the history of the Cathedral again, paying close attention to Wren's design as well as how the design was created to house and be a centre for listening to music throughout the years. In addition to the architectural comments, the author also quotes another scholar of St. Paul's history, Charles Welch, who wrote an article entitled St. Paul's Cathedral and its early literary associations. Welch's article is said to mention that nearly half of the booksellers who were prominent in London in the 1550s resided within the cathedral churchyard, indicating that St. Paul's indeed has a long history of associations with literature and books in general.

Hitchcock, Jeannette M. "Some London Libraries." Pacific Bindery Talk 11 (1938): 12-16.
Written in 1938, Hitchcock (a rare-books librarian at Stanford University) outlines her experience meeting with Gerald Henderson, a sub-librarian of St. Paul's Cathedral. At the time this article was written, three volumes from the original library (pre-1666) were held in the Cathedral Library (though now we know that only one such item resides in the library as of July 2007). Hitchcock eloquently describes the physical surroundings of the Cathedral Library, as well as briefly outlining a history of the library beginning in 1707 and the types of items that currently (as of 1938) reside in the library. Also mentioned is the arrangement of books (by size) and also the process by which an individual would be able to track an item down via means of classification.


"The Library." St. Paul's Cathedral. Dean and Chapter, St. Paul's Cathedral. 10 Aug. 2007
Serving as the official website of St. Paul's Cathedral Library, this page outlines some of the holdings within the library (mainly historical, ecclesiastical and patristic literature). Information relating to access (hours, location, contact information) as well as a brief history of how the collection was created after the Great Fire of 1666 (donations from Henry Compton and John Mangey) exists on this website. An interesting fact that is listed here that one may not come across elsewhere is that though the Cathedral still acquires materials, the library currently only acquires items relating to “major works on the history of the Church in England, on Wren and the building of the Cathedral, the Church in the City, and ’alumni’ material.”

Lynton, Norbert. “A Wren Drawing for St. Paul's” The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 97, No. 623. (Feb., 1955), pp. 40+42-44.
This article discusses drawings of Christopher Wren's first model of St. Paul's Cathedral. Though it is questionable whether Wren himself penned the drawings, it is evident that many changes took place between the design of the model (which was to portray the new St. Paul's to be erected after the last ruins fell from the original church in 1668) and the design of the actual church that stands today. Lynton describes the differences between the model and today's church, but also draws parallels between Wren's other designs such as the Trinity College Library in Cambridge. The model itself stood in the St. Paul's Cathedral Library during the time this article was written, but now resides in the Reading Room.

Matthews, Walter R., and W. M. Atkins. History of St. Paul's Cathedral. London: Phoenix House Ltd., 1957. 1-380.
Yet another book written about the history of the cathedral, History of St. Paul's Cathedral is a detailed account of the building, re-building and the societal significance of St. Paul's within British history. Included in this account are details surrounding the configuration of the library, as well as the financial problems that existed in creating and re-creating the library after the Great Fire. Individuals who were integral parts of library history are also mentioned, such as Sparrow Simpson's re-binding of 3,400 books and William R. Inge's (a dean of St. Paul's in 1920) refusal to spend additional money on the library.

Reed, A.W. “Literary Research in London” The Review of English Studies, Vol. 2, No. 5. (Jan., 1926), pp. 62-69.
Reed begins discussing going about performing Literary Research in London, but quickly reminds the reader that literary research can become antiquarian research. He narrows down the definition of literary research to include biography, bibliography, philology (the love of words) and of course literature itself. Reed goes on to discuss his own opinion of how one would best carry out literary research in the city of London. In these guidelines he includes the importance of becoming a reader at the British Museum, acquainting oneself with the Public Records Office, Guildhall Library (for additional town/public records), the library at Lincoln's Inn, among others. He includes guides and references to literature that would assist a researcher in deciphering nearly illegible handwriting, public records legalese, etc. I include this article in this bibliography, as I believe it would have been a helpful guide to my own research while studying in London.

Robbie, H. J. L. “An Undescribed MS. of Donne's Poems” The Review of English Studies, Vol. 3, No. 12. (Oct., 1927), pp. 415-419.
This article discusses three of John Donne's manuscripts, the first is held by the University Library in Cambridge (at the time of publication of this article). The second Donne manuscript that is mentioned in the article is housed at the St. Paul's Cathedral Library. The manuscript contains several poems, satires, elegies and letters. Whether or not it is actually the work of Donne is debatable. Robbie mentions that a cathedral librarian believed that a symbol on the inside front page of the manuscript indicated that it was written by Donne, though others believe the symbol could represent a number of other potential authors as well. The third manuscript mentioned in this article is held privately by an individual, and not discussed at length other than to suggest that it too is a compilation of poems and writings by the author, possibly for one of his patrons.

Saunders, Ann. St. Paul's: the Story of the Cathedral. London: Collins & Brown, 2001. 1-218.
With beautiful photographs, engravings and artistic interpretations of St. Paul's Cathedral's long history, Saunders outlines the the church's medieval beginnings in the City of London and chronicles it's metamorphosis into today's St. Paul's. Chapters outline not only the church's medieval roots, but also Christopher Wren's early designs, the Great Fire of London, and the trials and tribulations that Wren faced while building the church. Saunders also writes of the celebrations and annual events held at the church, which helps identify St. Paul's as an almost eternal centre for unity among Londoners.


"St Paul's: The new church." Old and New London: Volume 1 (1878), pp. 249-62. 15 Aug. 2007
This article was accessed via the British History Online website, which houses hundreds of printed and electronic documents relating to the history of the British Isles as a free service. This particular article discusses not only the architectural history of St. Paul's, but also briefly discusses the library and its holdings under the chapter “Nooks and Corners of the Cathedral.” This piece descriptively outlines the physical beauty and intricate design of the church as well as the individuals who were prominent during certain time periods of importance to the church history.

Wisdom, Jo. Personal interview. 30 July 2007.
During a brief personal interview with the current librarian of St. Paul's Cathedral Library, Jo Wisdom shared just some of the daily workings of the cathedral library. Included in this interview, Wisdom made mention of preservation practices, obstacles and issues surrounding preservation of the collection (particularly in regards to environmental concerns), classification of the collection, and the main objectives of the St. Paul's Cathedral Library. Much more could be learned from Jo Wisdom, if time permitted. However upon further research of the library history, one could easily begin to appreciate the responsibility that coincides with being the lone St. Paul's Cathedral Librarian.