[Commonplace book], [ca. 1639].

1 v. (243 p.) ; 17 x 11 cm.

English

For information on the source of acquisition, consult the appropriate curator.

Tobias Alston (1620-ca. 1639), was the sixth son of William Alston of Sayham Hall, Suffolk, by his second wife, Anne Neuce. Many of the items in the commonplace book may have been transmitted to him by his half-brother Edward, who was a contemporary of Robert Herrick's at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.

Autograph manuscript of a collection of about 250 primarily light, satirical, or amatory English poems by various authors. In addition to twelve poems by Robert Herrick, primarily on love, the manuscript also contains poems by Thomas Carew, John Donne, Ben Jonson, Sir John Harington, Michael Drayton, George Wither, and others, as well as 17 poems in Latin. Other items include several pieces relating to Cambridge University and Suffolk, as well as numerous bawdy poems, drinking songs, political and religious verse satires, epigrams, and epitaphs both humorous and serious. Titles of these poems include An epitaph on Luce Morgan; Upon the Parliament 1624; A Puritan and A Papist; and several poems on Prince Charles' and the Duke of Buckingham's journey to Spain in 1623. Also in the manuscript is a copy of the love poem titled "Shall I die?," attributed to Shakespeare in a Bodleian manuscript. At the end of the manuscript are notes and verses in later hands.

August 08, 2005

Tobias Alston, Commonplace Book. James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Tobias Alston, Commonplace Book. James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Commonplace books.