About the George Finlay Papers
The George Finlay Papers contain materials created by and related to the British Historian and Philhellene George Finlay, his father John Finlay, Greek-American Philhellene George Jarvis, and British Philhellene Captain Frank Abney Hastings, dating from 1791 to 1949. Most of the collection consists of George Finlay’s meticulous records of his travels, personal and official correspondence, his personal expenditures, copious memoranda on strategy and on military and political organisation, journal entries, maps, facetiae, scrapbooks, personal notes on people—Greeks and others—and on revolutionary events, newspaper cuttings mainly on Greece and international affairs, as well as Finlay’s original manuscripts of the History of the Greek Revolution (1861) as well as corrected proofs of Finlay’s other published works.
Also included are the papers of Finlay’s father, John, two journals of Greek American philhellene, George Jarvis, and those of Finlay’s fellow British philhellene, Captain Frank Abney Hastings. The Hastings papers, which Finlay purchased in 1830, include personal and official correspondence, ship’s logs, notes that he took on board or ashore, as well as memoranda on strategy and on the naval organisation of the revolutionary forces. Collectively, these records reveal a great deal about the character, motivations, ideas, as well as the military and political judgements of these British individuals, as well as of many others, both British and Greek, with whom they interacted during the Greek War of Independence as well as many of Finlay's other interests, such as Classical and Byzantine history, natural history and politics.
Leake to George Finlay. Queen Anne St., London, 3 July [1852]. Is returning George Finlay's Thiersch. Criticism of T's views on the Tsakonians ('very ingenious but very German in its prolixity and ultra criticism'). Regrets George Finlay is having to print his history at his own expense.
Letters loose mostly from George Finlay to William M. Leake. See also George Finlay's copy of John Howard Marsden's Memoir of Leake with letters bound in (FIN/GF/A/42.).
Meteorological notes and cuttings. Includes old paper envelope with label.
Visiting cards of Etienne Dragoumis; Mr. N. Senior; Lady Sebright, Baroness d'Everton; Rigas Palamides; Petros Mavromichalis; Leon Heuzey (Membre de l'Ecole Française d'Athènes).
John Anderson to George Finlay. Helensburgh, 22 April 1837.
Congratulates George Finlay on his history; asks for news of Greece; sends work of H. Miller (previously loose in front of J. A., Scenes and Stories from the History of the Church of Scotland ..., Edinburgh, 1849).
Sir William Robert Wilde to George Finlay. 199 Great Brunswick St., Dublin, 13 June 1839.
Varieties of murex found in Elis. Geological discussion of fossils of animals found by George Finlay in Marathon. State of Greece (loose, in bad condition, at end of W. R. Wilde, Narrative of a Voyage . . ., vol. 1, Dublin, 1840).
W. R. Wilde to George Finlay. 199 Great Brunswick St., Dublin, 22 March 1840.
To introduce Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Pine who are visiting Athens; they bring George Finlay a copy of W's Narrative . . ., 2 vols., Dublin, 1840. Requests information on present condition of Greece and Otho, also casts of ancient Greek heads taken out of tumuli or tombs (loose at end of book +loose newspaper cuttings on Sir William Wilde).
The Revd. Henry D. Leeves to Helen Finlay. 25 December 1838.
Sends The Picture Bible for the Young, London, 1834, as Christmas present to Helena (sic) Finlay (letter loose in book).
The Revd. John H. Hill to George Finlay. Athens, 8/20 January 1840.
Thanks for George Finlay's present; praises his research (stuck on front flyleaf of Trans. Roy. Soc. Lit. of the United Kingdom, vol. 3, London, 1839, containing several papers by George Finlay).
? to George Finlay. Athens, 20 January 1840. Thanks for George Finlay's paper On the Battle of Marathon (stuck on front flyleaf of Trans. Roy. Soc. etc. see above R. 9. 2).
? to George Finlay. Athens, 19 October 1841. Thanks for receipt of pamphlet; appreciation of George Finlay's work on Greece (stuck on front flyleaf of Trans. Roy. Soc. of the United Kingdom, vol. 3, London, 1839).
Hand-drawn map of the plain of Eleusis and the Sacred Way (previously loose in Trans. Roy. Soc. of the United Kingdom, vol. 3, London, 1839).
Hand-drawn map of Eleusis (previously loose in Trans. Roy. Soc. of the United Kingdom, vol. 3, London, 1839).
Hand-drawn map of Marathon (previously loose in Trans. Roy. Soc. of the United Kingdom, vol. 3, London, 1839).
P. Griffith to George Finlay. Athens, 6 November 1846. Request for loan of book on sport (previously loose in The Sportsman's Directory, London, 1838).
David Finlay to George Finlay. H.M. Ship Rodney, Piraeus, 12 April 1847. Hopes to meet George Finlay (stuck on front flyleaf of Alexander Finlay, Letters on a Journey to Bombay . . . in 1834-5, printed privately, 1837).
Newspaper clipping concerning a bank robbery (previously loose in Alexander Finlay, Letters on a Journey to Bombay . . . in 1834-5, printed privately, 1837).
Edward Hawkins to George Finlay. British Museum, London, 15 January 1851. B.M. would like the Athenian decadrachm but thinks price excessive (previously on front fly leaf of William M. Leake, Numismatica Hellenica . . ., London, 1856).
Evangelinos A. Sophocles to George Finlay. 19 March 1852. To introduce Professor Cornelius Conway Felton (in Greek, previously loose at back of G. Bancroft, History of the United States. . ., vol. 1, Boston, 1854).
G.A.-(?) to George Finlay. New Jersey, 28 March 1853. To introduce Professor Cornelius Conway Felton of Cambridge, Massachusetts, intending to visit antiquities of Greece (letter previously loose at end of G. Bancroft, History of the United States . . .).
Charles Holt Bracebridge to George Finlay. 6 September 1853. To introduce Mr. Reeve, Clerk to the Privy Council (previously stuck on back flyleaf of J. A. Cramer, A Geographical and Historical Description of Ancient Greece, vol. 1, Oxford, 1828).
Cornelius Conway Felton to George Finlay. 3 November 1853. Thanks George Finlay for his invitation to dine (previously loose at back of G. Bancroft, History of the U.S…., Boston, 1854).
Newspaper clipping on Crete (previously loose in Richard Monckton Milnes, Memorials of a Tour . . . in Greece, London, 1834, illustrations added 1860). Extensive handwritten notes near the beginning of the book, not in Finlay's hand. Illustrations include: 'pencil sketch of the author by a lady' (1848); 'Tempi di Pesto,' painting (5 x 10 cm); 'Psorarus of Corfu' painting (18 x 26 cm); 'Costume of Sinardes,' painting (18 x 26 cm); double-sided drawing of 'Turkish tombs,' pencil sketch 'by William Gell, and overleaf 'Rhodes' in pen and pencil by Gell (13 x 24 cm); double-sided drawing of pencil sketch of 'Church, now mosque' by Gell, and overleaf pencil sketch by Gell of Palace of the Grand Master (13 x 24 cm); 'Souliots,' coloured drawing by Gell of (7 x 13 cm), 'Via Mala,' hand-painted engraving (18 x 21 cm), newspaper cutting 1st Jan 1866 pasted in re: kidnapping by brigands (14 x 18 cm); 'Pnyx,' pencil drawing by Gell (13 x 18 cm); 'Athens,' watercolour by Gell (22 x 34 cm); news cutting on excavations at Athens.
Adolf Ellissen to George Finlay. Göttingen, 15 September 1861. On publishing problems in connection with E's German translation of George Finlay, Griechenland unter den Römem, Leipzig, 1861 (in German, attached to front flyleaf).
Herman Merivale to George Finlay. Hotel d'Archi?, no date. Returns a book lent by George Finlay. (previously loose in J. P. Bellaire, Précis des opérations générales de la division française du Levant . . ., Paris, 1805,.
Label written by Herman Merivale with George Finlay's address (previously loose in J. P. Bellaire, Précis des opérations générales de la division française du Levant . . ., Paris, 1805.
Carl Boetticher to George Finlay. Tempelhofer-Ufer 37, Berlin, 1 July 1862. Sends George Finlay his Der Baumkultus der Hellenen, Berlin, 1856; mention of B's discoveries on Acropolis. Thanks George Finlay for hospitality during his stay at Athens (previously loose in front of B's book).
Sir William R. Wilde to George Finlay. 1 Merrion Square, Dublin, 7 March 1863. Thanks George Finlay for statistical information on Greece; is sending book requested by George Finlay; personal news (stuck on back flyleaf of printed papers on Population, Statistics, Taxation in G. Britain and Ireland, with loose newspaper cuttings and notes by George Finlay).
Eric Farquhar to George Finlay. 20 April 1865. Would like to delay visit to Rusopoulos's collection of vases (previously stuck on front flyleaf of J. Y. Ackerman, A Descriptive Catalogue . . . of Roman Coins, vol. 2, London, 1834).
G. Constantine (United States Vice-Consul) to George Finlay. Athens, 11 August 1865. Offers a copy of Diplomatic Correspondence of the U.S.from the Year 1864 (previously stuck on front flyleaf of Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs . . ., pt. I, Washington, 1865).
Hahn (Austrian Consul for western Greece). Open letter. Syra, 21 April 1867. On the system of lighthouses in the Cyclades (printed in French; loose at back of Greek Papers: Finance and Statistics, vol. ii, 1858-68).
Constantinos Loucas to George Finlay. re rent owed (in Greek, previously stuck on front flyleaf of R. Walpole, Travels . . ., London, 1820). Also part of front of envelope, with Finlay's name.
The Revd. Alexander Napier to Fanny Potterill. Holkham Vicarage, Wells, Norfolk, 8 June 1871 Requests her good offices in asking George Finlay for information on Lord Byron's last days in Greece with view to publishing translation and new edition of Karl Elze's Life of Byron (previously loose in J. Kennedy, Conversations on Religion with Lord Byron . . ., London, 1830).
Fanny Potterill to George Finlay. 26 Bedford Gardens, Kensington, 12 June 1871. Asks if George Finlay will help A. Napier whose letter (FIN/GF/B/9/50/1) is enclosed (previously loose in J. Kennedy, Conversations on Religion with Lord Byron . . ., London, 1830).
Press cutting on 'the wit and humour of the South-Sea Islanders' (previously loose in J. L., Prehistoric Times . . ., London, 1865).
Robert G. Watson to George Finlay. Athens, 12 February 1872. Has made the acquaintance of many who took part in the Greek Revolution and asks for loan of George Finlay's History of the Greek Revolution (loose at front of Charles Thomas Newton, Travels and Discoveries in the Levant, vol. 1, London, 1865).
Robert G. Watson to George Finlay. On the Atlantic, 17 April 1872. Asks George Finlay to review his Handbook on Greece; is en route for Japan (loose at front of Charles Thomas Newton, Travels and Discoveries in the Levant, vol. 1, London, 1865).
John Evans to George Finlay. Nash Mills, Hemel Hempstead, 20 April 1872. Thanks for receipt of obsidian flints found in Corinth and Salagova; comparison with Mexico and Egypt (previously stuck on front flyleaf of J. Evans, The Ancient Stone Implements . . ., London, 1872).
Robert Keep to George Finlay. Berlin, October 1872. To introduce George Bancroft, U.S. ambassador in Berlin, visiting Athens (stuck in front of G. Bancroft, History of the United States . . ., vol. 1, Boston, 1854).
Visiting card of George Bancroft (previously loose in G. B., History of the United States . . ., vol. 1, Boston, 1854). Envelope to George Finlay stuck on inside cover and George Bancroft's visiting card loose.
W. Stuart to George Finlay. Athens, 20 March 1873. Thanks for gift of George Finlay's book on Conquest of the Morea in 1715 (previously attached to front flyleaf of F. R. Chesney, Expedition for the Survey of the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris . . ., vol. 1, London, 1850).
Note on the Treaty of Tilsit between Napoleon and Tsar Alexander of Russia (previously loose in F. R. Chesney, Expedition for the Survey of the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris . . ., vol. 1, London, 1850).
Visiting card of Rev. A. N. Arnold (previously loose in F. R. Chesney, Expedition for the Survey of the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris . . ., vol. 1, London, 1850).
Press cutting of advertisement for A History of Greece by George W. Cox, London (previously loose in Tales of Ancient Greece by George W. Cox, London, 1872)
Press cutting on the new Dean of St Paul's, the Rev. R. W. Church (previously loose in G. F. Bowen, Mount Athos, Thessaly, and Epirus . . ., London, 1852.).
Jean-Alexandre Buchon to George Finlay. 16 June, n.y. re purchase of memoirs of James Horner (in French; previously stuck on front flyleaf of J. A. C. B., Nouvelles recherches historiques sur . . . la principauté française de Morée, vol. II, Paris, 1843).
n.d. Notes by George Finlay on Napoleon III, Histoire de Jules César, Paris, 1865 (previously loose in book).
Miss Constance MacGregor to Mr. William Cooke. 27 May n.y. Personal details and references to 'The Exhibition' (stuck on front flyleaf of Official Catalogue of the Great Exhibition . . ., London, 1851).
News clipping on Paris Universal exhibition, The Times, 26 Mar 1856 (previously loose in Official Catalogue of the Great Exhibition . . ., London, 1851).
News clipping on Paris exhibition 1855, The Morning Advertiser, 22 Apr 1854 (previously loose in Official Catalogue of the Great Exhibition . . ., London, 1851).