TEMPLEMAN LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY OF KENT, CANTERBURY

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS: THEATRE COLLECTIONS

Brief Biography; Family Tree

ITEMS IN THE CALTHROP BOUCICAULT COLLECTION

UKC/CALB/BIO : F205469

1839
1840
2.8.1846
17.3.1862

Material relating to the life of Dr. Dionysius Lardner, possibly Dion Boucicault's biological father, including

• item 1 -- a receipt from the Parliament Office for photographic prints of the "Lardner Divorce Proceedings 1839", dissolving Lardner's marriage to his first wife, Cecilia Flood; a pencilled note indicates that Calthrop sent these prints to Albert Johnson;

• item 2 -- in 1840 Lardner eloped with Captain Richard Heaviside's wife, Mary Spicer Heaviside; there are handwritten notes taken by Calthrop from the "Annual Register 1840" at Bromley Reference Library regarding the court proceedings in the case Heaviside v. Lardner, and notes about the elopement, confrontation between the two men, and subsequent marriage between Lardner and Mary;

• item 3 -- copy of the marriage certificate of Dionysius Lardner and Mary Spicer in France, 1846;

• item 4 -- 2 letters from a French archivist responding to a request for help to find Dionysius Lardner's last will -- he refers Calthrop to a different source;

• item 5 -- 4 items of correspondence regarding Calthrop's attempts to locate Lardner's will, including 2 letters from a London solicitor, 1 letter from a French solicitor, and a transcript of a letter by Calthrop;

• item 6 -- copy of Dionysius Lardner's will, made in 1862, translated from the French (copy possibly obtained from Archives de la Seine)

• item 7 -- a letter from the British Vice-Consul in Paris, dated March 27, 1963, informing Calthrop that no person of the name of Lardner is currently listed in the Paris phone directory; she also informs him that two marriages of people named Lardner are recorded at the British Embassy, namely D. Lardner and M. Spicer (1846), and S. Lardner and Baron H. L. W. C. G. von Ziegesar (1871), and that transcripts can be obtained from Somerset House;

• item 8 -- certified copy of the register of the marriage between "Susan Lardner, British Subject, of New York" and "Hermann Lewis William Charles George Baron von Ziegesar of the Parish of Dietz in the Duchy of Nassau, Germany", on 14th October 1871;

• item 9 -- a page of notes by Christopher Calthrop mentioning references to Dionysius Lardner in the diaries of William Charles Macready, who was a friend of Lardner's. The notes also mention a supposed novel by Boucicault titled The Adventures and Works of Hugh Darley, but it seems that Caslthrop was unable to find a copy.

Plays Mentioned in these Documents

IRISH HEIRESS, THE

Names Mentioned in these Documents

: Lardner, Dionysius, Dr., 1793-1859
: Lardner, Cecilia, Mrs. (nee Flood)
: Heaviside, Richard, Captain
: Spicer, Mary, Miss
: Lardner, Susan, Miss
: von Ziegesar, Hermann Lewis William Charles George, Baron
: Macready, William Charles, Mr., 1793-1873

Organisations Mentioned in these Documents

: Parliament Office (Accountant's Department), House of Lords, London
: Bromley Reference Library
: Lewes Town Hall
: Somerset House, London
: Archives de la Seine
: British Embassy, Paris

UKC/CALB/BIO : F205472

1827 - 1831
1833
1836
1838
1836 - 1845
1.1876

Material relating to the professional and scientific career of Dr. Dionysius Lardner, including

• item 1 -- 3 letters from correspondents at University College London informing Calthrop that Dionysius Lardner was appointed as Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy in 1827 and probably held the post from 1828 for three years; they also say that the College Library holds letters by Lardner;

• item 2 -- a photocopied article from Spectrum (no. 147/1977) titled "Ada Byron -- the romantic computer programmer" by Terence McLaughlin, about Babbage's "difference engine", which mentions Lardner;

• item 3 -- 2 letters from the archivist at British Transport Historical Records stating that Lardner gave evidence regarding the London and Brighton Railway Bill in May 1836; also, that no evidence that Dion Boucicault was employed by the London and Birmingham Railway has been found;

• item 4 -- a letter from L. T. C. Rolt, author of a book on Isambard Kingdom Brunel, mentioning the relationship of Lardner and Brunel, and Lardner's railway experiments; there is also a passing reference to the Abbots Ripton accident, in which Dion Boucicault's son Dion William was killed;

• item 5 -- notes by C. Calthrop on Lardner's book "The Steam Engine Familiarly Explained" and passages excerpted from an exchange of letters in The Times between Lardner and "A Looker-on" in 1845;

Names Mentioned in these Documents

: Lardner, Dionysius, Dr., 1793-1859
: Byron, Augusta Ada, Miss
: Babbage, Charles, Mr.
: Boucicault, Dion, (Dionysius Lardner), Mr., 1820-1890
: Brunel, Isambard Kingdom, Mr.
: Boucicault, Dion William, Mr., 1855-1876

Organisations Mentioned in these Documents

: University of London
: University College London (and Library)
: London and Brighton Railway
: London and Birmingham Railway
: British Transport Commission

UKC/CALB/BIO : F205481

1848

Material relating to Boucicault's bankruptcy in 1848:

• item 1 -- transcripts from The Times, October - December 1848, regarding Boucicault's appearances in the Insolvent Debtors' Court; the defendent's name is given in The Times as "Dion de Boucicault" or "Dion (de) Bourcicault"; various previous addresses at which Boucicault lived are mentioned; one Times article quotes remarks by Boucicault about Dr. Dionysius Lardner; financial matters related to the death of Boucicault's first wife, Anne Guiot, are also mentioned; there is also a reference to an article in the Illustrated London News, Nov. 11, 1848;

• item 2 -- a sheet of notes in Christopher Calthrop's hand relating to the 1848 bankruptcy and mentioning The Knight of Arva and several other pieces; the source for these notes is unknown.

Plays Mentioned in these Documents

USED UP
ESMERALDA
KNIGHT OF ARVA, THE
SANS REAL
FALSE COLOURS
LETTER OF INTRODUCTION, THE

Names Mentioned in these Documents

: Boucicault, Dion, (Dionysius Lardner), Mr., 1820-1890
: Hart, John, Mr.
: Levy, Edward Lawrence, Mr.
: Levy, Lawrence, Mr.
: Hughes, Mr. (counsel for Mr. Levy)
: Nichols, Mr. (supporting counsel for Mr. Levy)
: Cooke, Mr.
: Webster, Benjamin, Mr.
: Benedict, Mr.
: Addison, Mr.
: Lardner, Dionysius, Dr.
: Guiot, Anne, Mme

Organisations Mentioned in these Documents

: Insolvent Debtors' Court, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn, London

UKC/CALB/BIO : F205468

1962 - 1969

3 letters from correspondents named Lardner, in response to enquiries by Christopher Calthrop as to whether they are descendents of Dr. Dionysius Lardner; none have much information to give; one cites an unflattering reference to Dionysius Lardner in L. T. C. Rolt's George and Robert Stephenson: The Railway Revolution.

Names Mentioned in these Documents

: Lardner, Dionysius, Dr., 1793-1859
: Burke, Mr.
: Lardner, Miss
: Thackeray, William Makepeace, Mr., 1811-1863
: Rolt, L. T. C., Mr.
: Stephenson, George, Mr.

UKC/CALB/BIO : F205482

9.7.1845
1848

Material relating to the marriage between Dion Boucicault and Anne Guiot, especially the date, place and manner of Anne Guiot's death

• item 7 -- a negative response from the Directeur General des Archives de France in response to an enquiry from Christopher Calthrop about the last wills of Dr. Dionysius Lardner and Anne Guiot, explaining that it would be necessary to know the name of the notary who has received the will.

Names Mentioned in these Documents

: Guiot, Anne, Mme
: Boucicault, Dion, (Dionysius Lardner), Mr., 1820-1890
: Morier, David, Mr. (British ambassador to Switzerland, 1832-1848)
: Lardner, Dionysius, Dr., 1793-1859

Organisations Mentioned in these Documents

: Parish Church of St. Mary Lambeth, Surrey, England
: Somerset House, London
: Schweizer Alpen Club (SAC - Die Alpen), Altdorf, Uri, Switzerland
: Bureau des Deces, Paris
: Minutier des Notaires Parisiens, Paris
: Archives Federale, Berne, Switzerland
: Public Record Office, London
: Stadtarchiv Aachen, Germany
: Archives du Department de la Seine et de la Ville de Paris
: Archives de France, Ministere d'Etat Affaires Culturelles, France

UKC/CALB/BIO/PHO : F205470

Date unknown

Black and white photograph of an oval oil portrait of Dionysius Lardner, "from sketches and descriptions provided by the Lardner family", according to a note by C. Calthrop on the back of the photograph. This is accompanied by a brief typed note on Lardner's life and connection to Dion Boucicault, probably also by Calthrop.

Names Associated with this Image

: Lardner, Dionysius, Dr., 1793-1859
: Boucicault, Dion, (Dionysius Lardner), Mr., 1820-1890
artist : Fortunee Tita de Lisle, Edith, Miss

Copyright: National Portrait Gallery

UKC/CALB/BIO/PHO : F205471

1840s - 1850s

Copy of a lithograph portrait of Dionysius Lardner by Daniel Maclise (alias Alfred Croquis), captioned "Dion Lardner / The Editor of 'The Cabinet Cyclopedia'."

Names Associated with this Image

: Lardner, Dionysius, Dr., 1793-1859
artist : Maclise, Daniel, Mr., 1806-1870 (alias Alfred Croquis)

Copyright: Possibly National Portrait Gallery, who hold an original print.

ITEMS IN THE FAWKES BOUCICAULT COLLECTION

UKC/BOUC/BIO : 0648704

Photocopied marriage certificate between Dionysius Lardner and Mary Spicer on 2 August 1846.

(1964)

Names Mentioned in this Document

author : Boucicault, Dion, (Dionysius Lardner), Mr., 1820-1890
: Lardner, Dionysius, Mr.
: Spicer, Mary, Miss

UKC/BOUC/PHO : 0648531

Black and white photograph of a painting of Dr. Dionysius Lardner by Craig Alexander

Names Associated with this Image

: Lardner, Dionysius, Dr., 1793-1859
artist : Craig, Alexander, Mr.

UKC/BOUC/PHO : 0648553

National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, Westminster, London, England

Photograph of a portrait of Dionysius Lardner by Fortunee de Lisle

Names Associated with this Image

: Lardner, Dionysius, Dr., 1793-1859
artist : De Lisle, Fortunee

UKC/BOUC/PHO : 0648554

National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, Westminster, London, England

Photograph of a portrait of Dionysius Lardner by Thomas Bridgford

Names Associated with this Image

: Lardner, Dionysius, Dr., 1793-1859
artist : Bridgford, Thomas, Mr, (1812-1878)

22.6.1839

Transcriptions of a petition Cecilia Lardner made to Lord Brougham after the desertion of her husband with Mrs Heaviside.

correspondent : Lardner, Cecilia, Mrs

recipient : Brougham, Lord

27.8.1849

Transcriptions of a petition Caroline Lardner made to Lord Brougham after the desertion of her brother with Mrs Heaviside.

correspondent : Lardner, Caroline, Miss

recipient : Brougham, Lord

Please email specialcollections@kent.ac.uk with any enquiries.
(Last updated 29th June, 2007)

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