Collections & Research

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The Lewis Walpole Library welcomes questions and comments about its collections and resources, research, programs, and the Library itself.

Staff at the Lewis Walpole Library are available to assist researchers in identifying and using materials in the Lewis Walpole Library during its open hours. Researchers are also encouraged to contact the Library in advance to schedule an appointment with the appropriate curator or subject specialist.

Contact information:

Please send reference inquiries, informational questions, or provide feedback via:

• email: walpole@yale.edu
• telephone: 860-677-2140
• fax: 860-677-6369
• mail: The Lewis Walpole Library, P.O. Box 1408, Farmington, CT 06034

For more contact information for the Library click here.

The Library makes every effort to respond to reference inquiries within 24 hours during open hours.

Primary responsibility for particular collections and resources in the Library are as follows:

• Books and Manuscripts: Margaret K. Powell, W. S. Lewis Librarian and Executive Director
• Prints, Drawings, and Paintings: Cynthia E. Roman, Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Paintings
• Decorative Arts:  Susan Walker, Head of Public Services
• Digital Collections:
  • The Yale Edition of Horace Walpole's Correspondence: George Ouellette, Senior Programmer/Analyst, and Ellen Cordes, Head of Technical Services
  • Digital Image Collection: collection questions / comments:  Susan Walker, Head of Public Services, and site technical questions / comments:  George Ouellette, Senior Programmer/Analyst
  • Recent Antiquarian Acquisitions blog: Todd Falkowski, Library Service Assistant
  • Strawberry Hill Database: Cynthia E. Roman, Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Paintings
  • YIPP (Yale Indian Papers Project): Paul Grant-Costa, Executive Editor, Yale Indian Papers Project

A full staff directory is available by clicking here.

Photoduplication/Rights & Reproductions

To place a request for digital images, microfilm, or copyflo of collection items, please refer to Rights and Reproductions--Policy and Ordering Instructions, (click here). The Library no longer provides photographs or slides. The Library will, upon request, make reproductions for personal study and research. Depending upon the format and age of the material, the Library may either photocopy or digitally capture the item requested. Any photoduplication is subject to approval. For a price schedule, please click here.

Whom we serve

The Lewis Walpole Library will respond to all questions pertianing specifically to the Library, its collections, resources, research, programs, or policies. The full range of reference services is offered to members of the Yale community. The Library does not answer general reference questions that do not pertain to the Library's collection submitted by non-affiliates.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who was Lewis Walpole? Answer: There was no one called Lewis Walpole (at least, not here). The name of the Library refers to Wilmarth Sheldon Lewis, and his wife, Annie Burr Lewis, whose collection of eighteenth-century books, manuscripts, graphic works, and decorative arts, many of which had belonged to Horace Walpole, was bequeathed to Yale University. For more information about the Lewises and the history of the Library, click here.
• So who was Horace Walpole? Answer: Horace Walpole was the youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole, England's first Prime Minister, and was known as an author, politician, collector, antiquarian, and letter-writer. Walpole lived from 1717-1797, and his many letters were collected, transcribed, annotated, and published by W.S. Lewis in the 48-volume Yale Edition of Horace Walpole's Correspondence, now available electronically (click here). Walpole's house, Strawberry Hill in Twickenham, England, was built in the gothic style and housed his collection of books, (some of which he wrote, and some of which he printed at the Strawberry Hill Press on the grounds), manuscripts, prints, paintings, decorative arts, and antiquities. The collection was dispersed, largely in a sale of 1842, and to see many of these items on the Strawberry Hill Database, click here.
• Can anyone just come to the Library? Answer: Anyone over the age of 12 (those 12 -16 must be accompanied by an adult) who wants to have a tour of the inside of the Library and the current exhibitions may come during the Library's public hours 2-4:30 on Wednesday afternoons or by appointment at other times. Researchers whose work requires the use of the Library's collections are requested to make an appointment. For information about exhibitions, click here; for tours, click here; for reader guidelines, click here.
• Who is eligible to apply for a Fellowship or Travel Grant? Answer: Graduate students engaged in doctoral dissertation work, junior scholars, senior scholars, those with academic affiliations and those without--all are eligible to apply for a fellowship or travel grant. For details about Fellowships and Travel grants, click here.
• How do I get to the Library? Answer: The easiest way to get to the Library is by car as public transportation options are limited. Members of the Yale community are encouraged to contact the Library for assistance in arranging transportation to the Library. For detailed driving instructions and public transportation information, click here.
• Are you open in the evening or on weekends? Answer: No. The Library is only open during the day, Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., (open at 9 on Tuesday mornings). For Library hours, click here.
• Can we rent the place for a private function? Answer: No. The Library building and grounds are not available for private rental.
• Can I take photos of the collection materials? Answer: Yes, for study use only. The Library's photography policy has recently changed, and we now allow researchers to take their own images of collection materials, for study use only. This is offered on an experimental basis. Researchers must use a camera provided by the Library. Any images required for publication must be provided by the Library for that purpose.
• Can I take photos of the buildings and grounds? Answer: Yes, but permission must be obtained from the Librarian for photography within the building, and other restrictions may apply.
• Who can stay at the Timothy Root House? Answer: Fellows, Travel Grant recipients, and Master Class participants may stay at the Timothy Root House for the duration of their research period at the Library. If a reader who is not a Fellow or an invited consultant wishes to apply for residency at the Root House, he or she will need to provide a professional reference in advance of arrival. The offer of accommodation is made to support research here, and it is expected that the reader will use this library throughout his or her stay for up to one week on a space available basis. No family or friends may stay in the Root House without express written permission of the Librarian.
• Can I still sign up to attend a Master Class even if I'm not a Yale student? Answer: Most master classes at the Library are intended for students enrolled at Yale University; however, the Library occasionally offers a Master Class to a broader community. See the description of each Master Class for information about who may attend. Master Classes information is available here.
• May I bring my students to the Library for a class session? Answer: Yes! Library staff are very happy to work with you to tailor a class session and to assist you in selecting collection materials to meet your curricular goals. For more information click here.
• What is that little red house on the property? Answer: The little red house was built in the eighteenth-century by Thomas Curricomp, a Tunxis Indian in Farmington. It is now called the William Day Museum of Indian Artifacts and houses prehistoric lithic materials found on the Farmington property. The museum was closed in 2005. For more information click here.
• Why is YIPP (the Yale Indian Papers Project) at the Library? Answer: The project is in keeping with the Lewises' interests: both in local history and in the tradition of the documentary editing project, The Yale Edition of Horace Walpole's Correspondence, of which W.S. Lewis was Executive Editor. Furthermore, the YIPP documents bring the perspective of the Native Atlantic world to the Library's focus on the British world of the eighteenth century, a world that encompasses the Atlantic coast of North America in the period. To access the Yale Indian Papers Project, click here.
• Is everything in the collection catlaoged on Orbis? Answer: No. Efforts are ongoing to catalog the collection in its entirety in Orbis, but there are still parts of the collection that can only be found using card catalogs here at the Library or using other printed or electronic indexes. For more information about finding collection materials click here.
• Why can't I find something I'm looking for in the Digital Image Collection? Answer: Not everything from the collection has been digitized. For many of the items in the Digital Image collection metadata is still minimal, so even if something is included, a search for a subject or person's name may not yield results. For more information about searching the digital image collection click here.
• I have some tags or suggestions about an image. How can I provide them to you? Answer: To provide feedback on individual images on the digital image collection, please use the contact information at the top of this page to reach us by email, phone, fax, or mail.
• Is it possible to provide feedback on a specific item, collection, or the whole site? Answer: Yes. We welcome feedback. To provide feedback on individual items please use the contact information at the top of this page to reach us by email, phone, fax, or mail.
• How do I find other digital collections related to the British eighteenth-century studies? Answer: The Library website has two pages with links to other related digital collections, some of which are freely available over the web and some of which are available only by subscription to Yale researchers. To access these links for text sources click here, and for links to other digital image collections click here.
• Where else can I find out about what's going on at the Library? Answer: The Library lists news and events on the main page of its website as well as on the news & events page and includes more details on the appropriate page within the site. Announcements are also made on the Library's Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/TheLewisWalpoleLibrary, via the Yulib listserv, and frequently on broader scholarly and other library listservs and by email distribution. Exhibitions are posted on the Farmington Patch Events calendar. Recent Antiquarian Acquisitions are announced on the blog of that name, and it is possible to subscribe to an rss feed so new blog posts are automatically sent to you.
• How do I get on an email list for future announcements? Answer: Send a request with your name and email address to us at walpole@yale.edu.