Mary Anne Atwood Papers, 1882-1910

John Hay Library , Special Collections
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401-863-2146
email: hay@brown.edu

Published in 2012

Collection Overview

Title:	Mary Anne Atwood papers
Date range:	1882-1910
Creator:	Atwood, Mary Anne, 1817-1910
Extent:	2 linear feet
Abstract:	The Mary Anne Atwood Papers contains letters and manuscripts for the period 1882-1910. Most of the letters in the collection are written from M.A. Atwood to Mme. Isabelle de Steiger. The collection also includes other letters written and received by Atwood, manuscript drafts and notes. According to the admirers of Mary Anne Atwood, "Mrs. Atwood was truly an adept [of the metaphysical tradition]. The last one." "The Atwood material is very important for the study of a vanished Britain, when Neo-Platonism and High Ideas influenced the nation. But, as Mrs. Atwood says, they went in for power and threw their spiritual heritage out the window."
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library , Special Collections
Collection number:	Ms.Atwood

Scope & content

The collection contains letters and manuscripts for the period 1882-1910 concerning theosophy, alchemy, the occult, free will, metaphysics, neoplatonism, ontology, and philosophy. The bulk of the letters are between Mrs. Atwood and Mme. Isabelle de Steiger.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Allen, George William
• Atwood, Mary Anne, 1817-1910
• Besant, Annie Wood, 1847-1933
• Blavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna), 1831-1891
• De Steiger, Isabelle (Lace), 1836-1927
• Maitland, Edward, 1824-1897
• Massey, Charles Carleton
• Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max), 1823-1900
• Peck, W
• Penny, A. J. (Anne Judith), 1825?-1893
• Shirley, Ralph, 1865-1946
• Sinnett, A. P. (Alfred Percy), 1840-1921

Subject Topics

• Alchemy
• Mysticism
• Occultism
• Religion
• South African War, 1899-1902
• Theosophy

Occupations

• Authors

Document Types

• Letters (correspondence)

Subject Topics

• Education

Arrangement

The Mary Anne Atwood Papers is divided into 5 series. Four of the series contain correspondence.

• Series 1. Letters to Mme. Isabelle de Steiger
• Series 2. Drafts of letters to various people
• Series 3. Fragments of letters to various people
• Series 4. Manuscripts
• Series 5. Letters received by Mrs. Atwood and Mme. de Steiger

Correspondence is ordered chronologically. The series containing letters received by Mrs. Atwood and Mme. de Steiger are first grouped by the author of the letter, then ordered chronologically. The series containing M.A. Atwood's manuscripts are grouped in the following order: drafts, fragments, notes and copies.

Biographical Note

Born in 1817, the daughter of Thomas South, Mary Anne Atwood would author two books. In 1846 she published (under a pen name) Early Magnetism, in its Higher Relation to Humanity as Veiled in the Poets and the Prophets. In 1850, under her maiden name, M.A. South, she published A Suggestive Enquiry into the Hermetic Mystery, a book which put forth an early statement of the theory that the true goal of alchemy was spiritual perfection. A short time later Mrs. Atwood regretted publication of this work, fearing she had revealed too much of matters that would be better kept secret. She subsequently bought up as many copies of the book as possible and destroyed them. Nevertheless, a few copies survived and in 1918, some years after her death, a new edition of the work was brought out, with an introduction by Walter Leslie Wilmshurst and memorabilia of Mrs. Atwood. A further printing appeared in 1920, but the book remained a scarce one until 1960 when it was again reprinted from the Wilmshurst edition by Julian Press, New York.

On both of the above works Mrs. Atwood collaborated with her father and after his death she wrote nothing more for publication. In 1859 she married Alban Thomas Atwood, vicar of Leake, Yorkshire. They had no children. Alban Atwood died in 1883. Mary Anne Atwood lived out her life at
Knayton Lodge, Thirsk [England]. She died on April 13, 1910. Her last words were: "I cannot find my center of gravity."

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:	Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation:	Mary Anne Atwood Papers, Ms. Atwood, Brown University Library.
Contact information:	John Hay Library , Special Collections Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Tel: 401-863-2146 email: hay@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The collection was purchased from sources in Britain in 1967.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Finding aid encoded by Jamie Radke
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2012-12-05
Revisions:	2003-02-06 Revised to EAD 2002 standard by Judy Dowling 2004-12-13 Revised to local encoding standards by Patrick Yott 200-07-29 Revised to local encoding standards by Jennifer Betts 2012-12-06 Revised to RIAMCO encoding standards by Karen Eberhart
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Other information:

Brown University Library catalog record for this collection: Mary Anne Atwood Papers

Inventory

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